State Government

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

State Government

ON MARCH 30, 2026, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 1271, AS AMENDED.

What This Bill Does

• ON MARCH 30, 2026, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 1271, AS AMENDED.
• AMENDMENT #1 rewrites the bill to, instead, require each state and local governmental entity to revise any existing ordinance, resolution, rule, policy, and procedure that includes a reference to a natural person's sex or gender to state that those terms are defined as the immutable characteristics of the person's reproductive system that identify the person as male or female, as determined by anatomy and genetics testing at the time of birth, by January 1, 2027.
• Further, after July 1, 2026, a state or lo cal governmental entity is prohibited from adopting or enacting any ordinance, resolution, rule, policy, or procedure that reflects a sex or gender that is not based upon or defined as the immutable characteristics of the person's reproductive system that identify the person as male or female, as determined by anatomy and genetics testing at the time of birth.
• However, a state or local governmental entity is not noncompliant with these provisions based solely on the local governmental entity's acceptance o f a valid birth certificate or other lawfully issued form of identification.

Limits and Unknowns

• This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Official Summary Text

ON MARCH 30, 2026, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 1271, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 rewrites the bill to, instead, require each state and local governmental entity to revise any existing ordinance, resolution, rule, policy, and procedure that includes a reference to a natural person's sex or gender to state that those terms
are defined as the immutable characteristics of the person's reproductive system that identify the person as male or female, as determined by anatomy and genetics testing at the time of birth, by January 1, 2027. Further, after July 1, 2026, a state or
lo
cal governmental entity is prohibited from adopting or enacting any ordinance, resolution, rule, policy, or procedure that reflects a sex or gender that is not based upon or defined as the immutable characteristics of the person's reproductive system that
identify the person as male or female, as determined by anatomy and genetics testing at the time of birth. However, a state or local governmental entity is not noncompliant with these provisions based solely on the local governmental entity's acceptance
o
f a valid birth certificate or other lawfully issued form of identification.

REMEDIES FOR NON-COMPLIANCE

Local Governmental Entities

This amendment authorizes a person residing in the jurisdiction of the local governmental entity that has not complied with the above provisions may file a complaint in a chancery court in that person's county of residence, such person must prove by a pr
eponderance of the evidence that the local governmental entity has not complied. If the court finds the local governmental entity is in violation, then the court must issue a writ of mandamus ordering the entity to comply, and may take any other action w
it
hin the scope of the jurisdiction of the court to ensure compliance. If the court has not complied within 90 days, then the local governmental entity becomes ineligible to enter into any grant contract with the department of economic and community develo
pment until the local governmental entity comes into compliance.

State Governmental Entities

This amendment authorizes a person to file a complaint with the comptroller of the treasury ("comptroller") that a state governmental entity is in violation of and has not complied with the above provisions. The comptroller may investigate whether the s
tate governmental entity is in compliance. If the comptroller finds that a state governmental entity is not in compliance with the above provisions, then the comptroller must provide written notice of the findings to the executive head or governing body
of
the entity. If the state governmental entity has not come into compliance within 90 days, then the comptroller must take one of the following actions, depending on the type of entity:



For a state governmental entity that is not an institution of higher education, and that is eligible to enter into a grant contract with the department of economic and community development, the comptroller must provide notice to the department of the entity's noncompliance. The state governmental entity becomes ineligible to enter into grant contracts until it comes into compliance and is issued a certificate of completion by the comptroller.


For a state governmental entity that is an institution of higher education, or that is otherwise ineligible to enter into a grant contract with the department of economic and community development, the comptroller must provide notice of the entity's noncompliance to the department of finance and administration and to the chairs of the joint government operations committee of the senate and the house of representatives. The department of finance and administration must (i) for a first notice of noncompliance, notify the entity that a second or third notice will result in a loss of general revenue from this state; (ii) for a second notice of noncompliance, withhold 10% of the total general fund revenue the entity is otherwise entitled to receive for the next subsequent fiscal year; (iii) for a third notice of noncompliance, withhold 20% of the total general fund revenue the entity is otherwise entitled to receive for the next subsequent fiscal year. Any withheld funds must be held in escrow until the state governmental entity has been issued a certificate of compliance by the comptroller. Further, upon receipt of a third notice of noncompliance, the chairs of the joint government operations committee must require the executive head or governing body of the entity to appear before the committee, and must make recommendations to the speakers of the senate and house of representatives regarding the entity's noncompliance.

Current Bill Text

HOUSE BILL 1271
By Cochran

SENATE BILL 936
By Rose

SB0936
002203
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 1;
Title 3; Title 4; Title 5; Title 6; Title 7 and Title 8,
relative to biological sex.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 8, Chapter 50, Part 1, is amended by
adding the following as a new section:
It is the policy of this state that there are only two (2) sexes, a biological male and
a biological female.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.