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SB2559 • 2026

Disability and Aging, Dept. Of

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 52, Chapter 8, Part 2, relative to respite care.

Active

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

Sponsor
Reeves, Shaw
Last action
2026-04-14
Official status
Placed on Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee calendar for 4/21/2026
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary and digest do not specify if the name change is part of the official changes, only that the word 'pilot' is removed.

Changing Rules for Respite Care Program

This bill changes Tennessee's Alzheimer's and dementia respite care program by removing limits on how many people can use it each year and when the program will end.

What This Bill Does

  • Removes the limit that says the program must serve up to 225 people at a time in each fiscal year.
  • Gets rid of the date when the program is supposed to stop working, which was December 31, 2026.

Who It Names or Affects

  • People with Alzheimer's and dementia who need respite care services
  • Area agencies on aging and disability in Tennessee that provide these services

Terms To Know

Respite Care Program
A program that provides temporary relief to caregivers of people with Alzheimer's or dementia.
Fiscal Year
The period used for budgeting and financial reporting, usually from July 1st to June 30th.

Limits and Unknowns

  • It does not say how much money will be spent on the program after these changes.
  • It is unclear if there are other parts of the law that might still limit the number of people who can use the program.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee calendar for 4/21/2026

  2. 2026-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  3. 2026-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  4. 2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  5. 2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  6. 2026-04-07 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  7. 2026-03-31 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  8. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed behind the budget

  9. 2026-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee

  10. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  11. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  12. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 3/18/2026

  13. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee to 3/18/2026

  14. 2026-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  15. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Health and Welfare Committee calendar for 3/11/2026

  16. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action deferred in Senate Health and Welfare Committee to 3/11/2026

  17. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  18. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  19. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  20. 2026-03-03 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  21. 2026-03-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  22. 2026-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Health and Welfare Committee calendar for 3/4/2026

  23. 2026-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  24. 2026-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  25. 2026-02-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  26. 2026-02-18 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  27. 2026-02-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  28. 2026-02-11 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  29. 2026-02-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  30. 2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  31. 2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Health Subcommittee

  32. 2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to Health Committee

  33. 2026-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) withdrawn.

  34. 2026-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor change.

  35. 2026-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  36. 2026-02-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  37. 2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  38. 2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

Present law establishes the Alzheimer's and dementia respite care pilot program to provide home and community-based services through grants provided to each of the nine area agencies on aging and disability in this state, and requires that the
Alzheimer'
s and dementia respite care program
actively serve up to 225 enrollees at one time in each fiscal year of the program's operation. This bill removes that requirement.

Present law requires the
Alzheimer's and dementia respite care program
to be operated from July 1, 2022, to December 31, 2026. This bill eliminates that termination date.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
HOUSE BILL 2599
By Shaw

SENATE BILL 2559
By Reeves
SB2559
012410
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 52,
Chapter 8, Part 2, relative to respite care.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 52-8-203(b), is amended by deleting
"pilot" wherever it appears.
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 52-8-203(b), is amended by deleting
subdivisions (b)(4)(B) and (C).
SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.