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HB1899 • 2026

Hospitals and Health Care Facilities

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 68, Chapter 11, relative to healthcare facilities.

Healthcare
Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
Slater, Watson
Last action
2026-04-09
Official status
Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/14/2026
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Changes to Licensing Requirements for Homes for the Aged

This bill changes how homes for older people are classified based on the number of unrelated residents they have.

What This Bill Does

  • Defines a 'home for the aged' as a place that accepts older adults for long-term care and provides room, board, and personal services.
  • Changes the classification from tier 1 to tier 2 if a home houses six or more non-related people instead of four or more.
  • Requires homes with five or fewer unrelated residents to be licensed by the department of disabilities and aging as tier 1 homes.
  • Requires homes with six or more unrelated residents to be licensed by the health facilities commission as tier 2 homes.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Homes for older people in Tennessee
  • The Department of Disabilities and Aging
  • The Health Facilities Commission

Terms To Know

tier 1 home for the aged
A home that houses five or fewer non-related residents.
tier 2 home for the aged
A home that houses six or more non-related residents.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify how existing homes will transition to new classifications.
  • It is unclear if there are additional financial impacts beyond the $800 funding mentioned for FY26-27 and subsequent years.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/14/2026

  2. 2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rcvd. from S., held on H. desk.

  3. 2026-04-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Engrossed; ready for transmission to House

  4. 2026-04-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed Senate, Ayes 32, Nays 0

  5. 2026-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Consent Calendar 2 for 4/6/2026

  6. 2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Calendar Committee

  7. 2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Health and Welfare Committee calendar for 4/1/2026

  8. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Reset on Final calendar of Senate Health and Welfare Committee

  9. 2026-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Health and Welfare Committee calendar for 3/18/2026

  10. 2026-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action deferred in Senate Health and Welfare Committee to 3/18/2026

  11. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed behind the budget

  12. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Health and Welfare Committee calendar for 3/17/2026

  13. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 3/11/2026

  14. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee

  15. 2026-03-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass; ref to Finance, Ways, and Means Committee

  16. 2026-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Health Committee for 3/3/2026

  17. 2026-02-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to Health Committee

  18. 2026-02-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Health Subcommittee for 2/18/2026

  19. 2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Health and Welfare Committee

  20. 2026-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Health Subcommittee

  21. 2026-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to Health Committee

  22. 2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  23. 2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  24. 2026-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  25. 2026-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

Present law requires a home for the aged to be licensed. Tier 1 homes for the aged must be licensed by the department of disabilities and aging. Tier 2 homes for the aged must be licensed by the health facilities commission. The chief administrator fo
r the home for the aged must be certified as a residential or institutional home administrator and submit proof of completion of 24 hours of continuing education courses during the biennial renewal of their certification. The health facilities commission
i
s required to inspect homes for the aged at least once every 15 months.

"HOME FOR THE AGED" DEFINED

Present law generally defines "home for the aged" as a home represented and held out to the general public as a home that primarily accepts aged persons for relatively permanent, domiciliary care and provides room, board, and personal services. Present
law categorizes a tier 1 home for the aged as a home that houses three or fewer nonrelated persons and a tier 2 home for the aged as a home that houses four or more nonrelated persons. This bill, instead, categorizes a tier 1 home for the aged as a home
th
at houses five or fewer nonrelated persons and a tier 2 home for the aged as a home that houses six or more nonrelated persons.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
SENATE BILL 2083
By Watson

HOUSE BILL 1899
By Slater
HB1899
011275
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 68,
Chapter 11, relative to healthcare facilities.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 68-11-201(23)(A), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting:
(A) "Home for the aged" means a home represented and held out to the general
public as a home that primarily accepts an aged person for relatively permanent,
domiciliary care and provides room, board, and personal services and that is categorized
as either a tier 1 home for the aged or a tier 2 home for the aged as follows:
(i) A home for the aged that houses five (5) or fewer nonrelated persons
is a tier 1 home for the aged; and
(ii) A home for the aged that houses six (6) or more nonrelated persons
is a tier 2 home for the aged;
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.