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SB1012 • 2026

Day Care

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 71, Chapter 3, Part 5, relative to child care.

Children
Active

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

Sponsor
Oliver, Glynn
Last action
2025-03-17
Official status
Rcvd. from S., held on H. desk.
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not specify penalties for false attestations, nor does it provide details on enforcement or monitoring mechanisms.

Child Care Attestation Form for Family Relationships

This bill requires the commissioner of human services to create an attestation form that primary caregivers must use to prove their family relationship with children they care for, specifically including nieces and nephews by whole or half-blood.

What This Bill Does

  • Changes Tennessee's child care laws to include nieces and nephews of the whole or half-blood as being related to a primary caregiver.
  • Requires the commissioner of human services to develop an attestation form for primary caregivers to prove their family relationship with children in their care, specifically including nieces and nephews by whole or half-blood.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Primary caregivers who operate child care agencies
  • Children enrolled in the child care agency operated by a primary caregiver

Terms To Know

Attestation form
A document that primary caregivers must fill out to prove their family relationship with children they are caring for, specifically including nieces and nephews of the whole or half-blood.
Primary caregiver
The person who runs a child care agency and is related by blood to the children in their care.

Limits and Unknowns

  • It does not specify what happens if someone falsely attests about family relationships.
  • Does not provide details on how the commissioner will enforce or monitor the use of the attestation form.

Amendments

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

Amendment 1-0 to SB1012

Plain English: The amendment adds a new section to Tennessee Code Annotated that requires the commissioner of human services to create an attestation form for primary caregivers to prove their direct family relationship with children in their care.

  • Adds a requirement for the commissioner of human services to develop and make available an attestation form for primary caregivers to declare under penalty of perjury their bloodline relationship as half-niece or half-nephew to a child enrolled in their childcare agency.
  • The amendment does not specify how this new section will be enforced or what the consequences are for false attestations.
  • It is unclear if there are other types of familial relationships that might also require similar attestation forms beyond half-nieces and nephews.

Bill History

  1. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Failed for lack of second in: Health Subcommittee

  2. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  3. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c Health Subcommittee to 3/11/2026

  4. 2026-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Health Subcommittee for 3/4/2026

  5. 2026-02-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c Health Subcommittee to 3/4/2026

  6. 2026-02-11 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  7. 2026-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Health Subcommittee

  8. 2026-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Ref. to Health Committee

  9. 2025-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  10. 2025-03-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    Engrossed; ready for transmission to House

  11. 2025-03-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  12. 2025-03-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 25, Nays 6

  13. 2025-03-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 1 - SA0102)

  14. 2025-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 3/13/2025

  15. 2025-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Calendar Committee

  16. 2025-02-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Health and Welfare Committee calendar for 3/5/2025

  17. 2025-02-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action deferred in Senate Health and Welfare Committee to 3/5/2025

  18. 2025-02-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Health and Welfare Committee calendar for 2/26/2025

  19. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  20. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  21. 2025-02-06 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  22. 2025-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  23. 2025-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  24. 2025-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

ON MARCH 13,
2025, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 1012, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 adds that t
he commissioner of human services
must
develop an attestation form that may be used by a primary caregiver for the purpose of attesting, under penalty
of perjury, to the primary caregiver's direct family bloodline to a child enrolled in the primary caregiver's child care agency, indicating that the child is related to the primary caregiver as a half-niece or half-nephew. The commissioner
must
make the a
ttestation form available in a downloadable format for free on the department's public website.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
HOUSE BILL 936
By Glynn

SENATE BILL 1012
By Oliver

SB1012
001073
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 71,
Chapter 3, Part 5, relative to child care.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 71-3-501(12), is amended by
deleting the language "siblings of the whole or half-blood, step-siblings, nieces, nephews" and
substituting instead "siblings of the whole or half-blood, step-siblings, nieces or nephews of the
whole or half-blood,".
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.