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HB1989 • 2026

Military

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 2; Title 6; Title 8; Title 36; Title 39; Title 40; Title 49; Title 55; Title 58; Title 62; Title 63 and Title 66, relative to armed forces.

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Active

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

Sponsor
Lankford, Powers
Last action
2026-04-13
Official status
H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/14/2026
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Recognizing United States Space Force as Part of Armed Forces

This bill adds the United States Space Force to existing laws that cover different branches of the U.S. armed forces in Tennessee.

What This Bill Does

  • Adds the space force and its members to definitions related to military personnel.
  • Includes space force members in provisions about absentee voting, public office eligibility, state employment, parental custody, criminal offenses, weapons carrying, educational opportunities for children of service members, motor vehicle registration exemptions, resignation from Tennessee's national guard upon enlistment, and medical and dental licensure.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Members of the United States Space Force
  • Tennessee residents who are part of or related to military service members

Terms To Know

Armed Forces Personnel
Refers to active and reserve members of branches like army, navy, air force, space force, marine corps, and coast guard.
Uniformed Services
Includes the military branches plus other federal agencies such as Public Health Service.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify how it will be enforced or funded.
  • It is unclear if there are any specific benefits or penalties associated with this change.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/14/2026

  2. 2026-04-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  3. 2026-04-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    Objected to on Consent Calendar.

  4. 2026-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Consent Calendar for 4/13/2026

  5. 2026-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  6. 2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 4/9/2026

  7. 2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass; ref to Calendar & Rules Committee

  8. 2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. State & Local Government Committee for 4/8/2026

  9. 2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in State & Local Government Committee to 4/8/2026

  10. 2026-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  11. 2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. State & Local Government Committee for 3/31/2026

  12. 2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in State & Local Government Committee to 3/31/2026

  13. 2026-03-23 Tennessee General Assembly

    Engrossed; ready for transmission to House

  14. 2026-03-23 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  15. 2026-03-23 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed Senate, Ayes 29, Nays 0

  16. 2026-03-20 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Consent Calendar 2 for 3/23/2026

  17. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. State & Local Government Committee for 3/24/2026

  18. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in State & Local Government Committee to 3/24/2026

  19. 2026-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Calendar Committee

  20. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. State & Local Government Committee for 3/18/2026

  21. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate State and Local Government Committee calendar for 3/17/2026

  22. 2026-03-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to State & Local Government Committee

  23. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Departments & Agencies Subcommittee for 3/10/2026

  24. 2026-03-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c Departments & Agencies Subcommittee to 3/10/2026

  25. 2026-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Departments & Agencies Subcommittee for 3/3/2026

  26. 2026-02-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c Departments & Agencies Subcommittee to 3/3/2026

  27. 2026-02-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Departments & Agencies Subcommittee for 2/17/2026

  28. 2026-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Departments & Agencies Subcommittee

  29. 2026-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to State & Local Government Committee

  30. 2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  31. 2026-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  32. 2026-01-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate State and Local Government Committee

  33. 2026-01-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  34. 2026-01-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

Present law recognizes the army, navy, air force, marine corps, and coast guard as distinct branches of the United States armed forces and groups them collectively under the broader term "armed forces" or "armed forces personnel" throughout various provis
ions of Tennessee Code Annotated that address the following:



Absentee voting during elections


Attendance at municipal legislative meetings


Eligibility to hold public office


State employment and absence therefrom


Absence while holding public office


Parental custody and visitation


Criminal impersonation


Prohibited weapons


Carrying weapons during judicial proceedings


Carrying weapons on school property


Carrying weapons on public parks, playgrounds, civic centers, and other public recreational buildings and grounds


Trial by court-martial as bar for criminal prosecution for the same offense


Educational opportunities for military children


Exemption of nonresident owners from registering motor vehicles


Tennessee Military Code of 1970


Resignation of national guard officers


Barber licensure


Receiving equivalent credits towards occupational licensure


Licensure for the practice of healing arts


Podiatry license


Dentistry license


Medical license


Writings eligible for registration

This bill
recognizes the United States space force as a distinct branch of the United States armed forces
by including
the space force
and members of the space force in the same provisions described above.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
SENATE BILL 1670
By Powers

HOUSE BILL 1989
By Lankford
HB1989
010561
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 2;
Title 6; Title 8; Title 36; Title 39; Title 40; Title 49;
Title 55; Title 58; Title 62; Title 63 and Title 66,
relative to armed forces.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 2-1-104(a)(1), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting instead:
(1) "Armed forces personnel" means members of the army, navy, air force,
space force, marine corps, coast guard, environmental science services administration,
and public health service of the United States or members of the merchant marine of the
United States and their spouses and dependents;
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 6-54-143(b)(1), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting instead:
(1) The active and reserve components of the army, navy, air force, space force,
marine corps, or coast guard of the United States;
SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 8-18-101(4), is amended by deleting
the subdivision and substituting instead:
(4) Soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, or guardians in the regular army, navy, air
force, or space force of the United States; and
SECTION 4. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 8-30-307(a), is amended by deleting
the subsection and substituting instead:
(a) When invitations to interview candidates are extended, whether for
appointment or promotion, and the pool of candidates includes any person who has
been honorably discharged from the army, navy, air force, space force, marine corps, or

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coast guard or any member of the reserve components, as defined in 10 USC § 10101,
who performs active federal service in the armed forces of the United States, these
persons must be invited to interview.
SECTION 5. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 8-48-201, is amended by deleting the
section and substituting instead:
"Military service," as used in this part, includes the enlistment or induction into
the United States army or any branch thereof, the United States navy, the air force, the
space force, the marine corps, the coast guard, the merchant marine, or any other
military activity carried on in the aid of the war effort.
SECTION 6. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 36-7-102(18)(A), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting instead:
(A) Active and reserve components of the army, navy, air force, space force,
marine corps, or coast guard of the United States;
SECTION 7. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 39-16-301(e)(1), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting instead:
(1) Active and reserve components of the army, navy, air force, space force,
marine corps, or coast guard of the United States;
SECTION 8. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 39-17-1302(b)(1), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting instead:
(1) Was incident to the performance of official duty and pursuant to military
regulations in the army, navy, air force, space force, coast guard, or marine service of
the United States or the Tennessee national guard, or was incident to the performance
of official duty in a governmental law enforcement agency or a penal institution;
SECTION 9. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 39-17-1306(c)(1), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting instead:

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(1) Is in the actual discharge of official duties as a law enforcement officer, or is
employed in the army, air force, space force, navy, coast guard, or marine service of the
United States or any member of the Tennessee national guard in the line of duty and
pursuant to military regulations, or is in the actual discharge of official duties as a guard
employed by a penal institution, or as a bailiff, marshal, or other court officer who has
responsibility for protecting persons or property or providing security;
SECTION 10. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 39-17-1309(e)(1), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting instead:
(1) Persons employed in the army, air force, space force, navy, coast guard, or
marine service of the United States or any member of the Tennessee national guard
when in discharge of their official duties and acting under orders requiring them to carry
arms or weapons;
SECTION 11. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 39-17-1311(b)(1)(A), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting instead:
(A) Persons employed in the army, air force, space force, navy, coast guard, or
marine service of the United States or any member of the Tennessee national guard
when in discharge of their official duties and acting under orders requiring them to carry
arms or weapons;
SECTION 12. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 40-16-101, is amended by deleting
the second sentence and substituting instead:
"Members of the armed forces of the United States" includes all officers and
enlisted personnel of the army, navy, air force, space force, marine corps, and
coast guard while on active duty and also includes any and all persons subject to
trial by court-martial under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, whether a
civilian, reservist, or member of any other federal agency.

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SECTION 13. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-12-301, is amended by deleting
the language:
R. "Uniformed service(s)" means the army, navy, air force, marine corps, coast
guard as well as the commissioned corps of the national oceanic and
atmospheric administration, and public health services.
and substituting instead:
R. "Uniformed service(s)" means the army, navy, air force, space force, marine
corps, coast guard, as well as the commissioned corps of the national oceanic
and atmospheric administration, and public health services.
SECTION 14. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 55-4-120(a)(1)(C), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting instead:
(C) An owner or operator who operates in this state shall not be entitled to
reciprocity for a period in excess of thirty (30) days; provided, that any personnel of the
army, navy, marine corps, air force, or space force stationed in this state, whose motor
vehicle is properly registered in that person's state of domicile, will not be required to
reregister the vehicle in this state.
SECTION 15. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 58-1-102(2), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting instead:
(2) "Active military service of the United States" means full-time duty in the army,
navy (including marine corps), air force, space force, or coast guard of the United States;
SECTION 16. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 58-1-217(b), is amended by
deleting the subsection and substituting instead:
(b) Enlistment in the regular army, air force, space force, navy, marine corps, or
coast guard of the United States shall be deemed a resignation by the person so
enlisted of all commissions held in the military forces of this state.

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SECTION 17. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 62-3-108(2), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting instead:
(2) Commissioned medical or surgical officers of the United States army, navy,
air force, space force, or marine hospital service;
SECTION 18. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 62-76-106(a)(1), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting instead:
(1) "Honorably discharged veteran" means any person who has been honorably
discharged from the army, navy, air force, space force, marine corps, or coast guard, or
any person who has been honorably discharged from a reserve component as defined in
10 U.S.C. § 10101, having performed active federal service in the armed forces of the
United States;
SECTION 19. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 63-1-110(a), is amended by
deleting the subsection and substituting instead:
(a) Any person licensed to practice a healing art or any branch thereof in this
state who is an officer in the commissioned medical corps of the army, the navy, the air
force, the space force, or the public health service of the United States shall not be
required to register as provided in this chapter.
SECTION 20. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 63-3-108, is amended by deleting
the section and substituting instead:
This chapter shall not apply to the commissioned physicians and surgeons of the
United States army, navy, air force, space force, or marine hospital service in the actual
performance of their official duties, nor to physicians and surgeons or to osteopathic
physicians and surgeons regularly licensed under the laws of this state, nor to visiting
podiatrists called into consultation in this state from another state where they are duly
qualified under the laws of that state to practice podiatry.

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SECTION 21. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 63-5-109(2), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting instead:
(2) The practice of dentistry and dental hygiene in the discharge of their official
duties by graduate dentists and by dental hygienists in the United States public health
service, army, navy, air force, space force, coast guard, or veterans administration;
SECTION 22. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 63-5-130, is amended by deleting
the first and second sentences and substituting instead:
Any person licensed to practice dentistry or dental hygiene in this state who is an
officer in the commissioned dental corps of the army, navy, air force, space force,
or the public health service of the United States shall not be required to register
as required in this chapter. Such person shall file with the board an affidavit on a
form to be furnished by the board, which affidavit shall state the date on which
such person entered the army, navy, air force, space force, or the public health
service of the United States and such other facts as tend to verify such service
as the board shall deem necessary.
SECTION 23. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 63-6-204(a)(3), is amended by
deleting the first sentence and substituting instead:
This chapter shall not apply to surgeons of the United States army, navy, air
force, space force, or marine hospital service regardless of the hospital or
practice site; provided, that the surgeon's practice is part of the surgeon's
authorized military service or training.
SECTION 24. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 66-24-101(a)(20), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting instead:
(20) Discharges of soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians, and naval and
army officers of the United States. County registers are required, upon application of

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lawful holders thereof, to register such discharges without charge to the person named
in the discharge, or to the holder of such discharge. Certified copies of such registered
discharges issued by the register shall be legal evidence of such discharge;
SECTION 25. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.