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HB2337 • 2026

Hospitals and Health Care Facilities

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 48, Chapter 68 and Title 68, Chapter 11, relative to hospitals.

Healthcare
Active

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

Sponsor
McCalmon, Johnson
Last action
2026-04-02
Official status
Comp. SB subst.
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary does not mention adding a 30-day notice period, which was removed from the candidate explanation.

Changes for Public Benefit Hospital Transactions

This bill requires Tennessee's attorney general to consider if proceeds from certain hospital transactions are independent of acquiring or related entities when deciding whether to object.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires the attorney general to consider if proceeds from a public benefit hospital transaction are independent of acquiring or related entities when deciding whether to object.
  • Exempts hospitals established solely for county government benefit and with an estimated sales value over $500 million from this requirement, provided that two-thirds of the county legislative body approves it.

Who It Names or Affects

  • The attorney general
  • Public benefit hospitals and related entities
  • County governments with large public benefit hospitals

Terms To Know

public benefit hospital conveyance transaction
A transfer of ownership or control involving a hospital that serves the public interest.
acquiring or related entities
Organizations involved in acquiring another entity or connected to it, such as through shared ownership or management.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify what happens if a county government with an exempt hospital fails to approve the exemption.
  • It is unclear how this change will affect smaller hospitals that do not meet the $500 million threshold.
  • The exact impact on public benefit and related entities remains uncertain.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

Amendment 1-0 to HB2337

Plain English: The amendment changes how certain hospitals are classified and affects their relationship with local governments.

  • Hospitals established solely for county benefit and valued over $500 million will not be considered public benefit hospital entities under specific conditions.
  • A new subsection (b) is added to Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 48-68-206, which excludes certain hospitals from being classified as public benefit hospital entities if they meet the criteria set in the amendment.
  • The exact impact and implementation details of this change are not fully explained in the provided text.
  • It is unclear how many hospitals will be affected by these changes.
Amendment 1-0 to SB2194

Plain English: The amendment changes Tennessee's laws about hospitals by adding exceptions for certain large hospitals owned by counties and modifies how proceeds from hospital sales are handled.

  • Adds an exception to the definition of 'public benefit hospital entity' for hospitals established solely for a county government with an estimated value over $500 million.
  • Requires a two-thirds vote in the county legislative body to apply this new exception.
  • Modifies the requirement that proceeds from hospital sales must be controlled independently and limits when these proceeds can be returned to local governments.
  • The amendment text does not specify how many hospitals will qualify under the new exception or what specific changes it will bring about in practice.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-07 Tennessee General Assembly

    Transmitted to Governor for action.

  2. 2026-04-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by H. Speaker

  3. 2026-04-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Senate Speaker

  4. 2026-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. SB subst.

  5. 2026-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Enrolled and ready for signatures

  6. 2026-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed H., Ayes 95, Nays 0, PNV 0

  7. 2026-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Am. withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - HA0804)

  8. 2026-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Subst. for comp. HB.

  9. 2026-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/2/2026

  10. 2026-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  11. 2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 3/26/2026

  12. 2026-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee

  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 as amended, Ayes 27, Nays 1

  16. 2026-03-23 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 1 - SA0733)

  17. 2026-03-20 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 3/23/2026

  18. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Health Committee for 3/24/2026

  19. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  20. 2026-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 9, Nays 0 PNV 0

  21. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Health Subcommittee for 3/18/2026

  22. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c Health Subcommittee to 3/18/2026

  23. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  24. 2026-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  25. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Health Subcommittee for 3/11/2026

  26. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Health Subcommittee

  27. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Ref. to Health Committee

  28. 2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, caption bill, held on desk - pending amdt.

  29. 2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  30. 2026-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor change.

  31. 2026-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  32. 2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  33. 2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  34. 2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

ON MARCH 23, 2026, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 2194, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 rewrites the bill to, instead, require the attorney general, in making a decision as to whether to object to a public benefit hospital conveyance transaction, to consider whether the proceeds will be controlled as funds independently of the
acquiring or related entities. However, such consideration does not apply if the hospital was established solely for the benefit of a county government and has an estimated sales value of more than $500 million. This exemption only becomes effective in
a
county government that contains such a hospital upon approval by a 2/3 vote of the legislative body of the county government.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
SENATE BILL 2194
By Johnson

HOUSE BILL 2337
By McCalmon
HB2337
012388
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 48,
Chapter 68 and Title 68, Chapter 11, relative to
hospitals.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 48-68-203(a), is amended by adding
the following language after the first sentence:
Such notice must be provided not less than thirty (30) days prior to the transaction.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.