Tennessee House on third reading: autonomous vehicles, medical practice, podiatry, rescue squad recognition and more pass

The Tennessee House considered and passed a series of bills on third and final reading across transportation, health, public safety, and administrative topics.

Autonomous vehicles: Representative Freeman moved to substitute and pass Senate Bill 2253 (companion to HB 2302) on third reading; committee amendments were handled and withdrawn and the Speaker declared the bill passed after the House recorded a constitutional majority.

Medical practice modernization: Chairman Terry explained that Senate Bill 1753 (companion to HB 177) adds titles such as clinical informatics, lifestyle medicine, and medical virtualist to the list of titles that fall under the practice of medicine and includes protections to ensure physicians make appropriate clinical determinations. The House adopted a committee amendment and passed the bill.

Podiatry scope: The House passed Senate Bill 2358 (companion to HB 2021), modernizing podiatrists' authority to treat soft tissue up to the tibial tuberosity.

Rescue Squad Recognition Act: Chairman Powers described HB 357 (substituted to SB 1110) as the Rescue Squad Recognition Act, which prohibits a locality or nonprofit from operating a rescue squad unless duly recognized and authorized by the state fire marshal; it requires rulemaking with stakeholders and passed on third reading.

Accessibility signage for adult changing tables: Representative Riper moved passage of SB 2529 (companion to HB 1912), requiring the Department of Transportation to mark rest areas and welcome centers that have adult-size changing tables and to publish locations online; the measure passed.

Other items: The House also passed bills clarifying next-of-kin status for suicide-related autopsy appeals, naming a National Guard armory, and making adjustments to privilege-tax reporting processes to help the state treasurer monitor funds.

Procedure and outcome: Committee amendments were adopted or withdrawn as noted on the floor, motions to adopt were seconded properly, and the Speaker declared the recorded bills passed after confirming constitutional majorities. The transcript records voice and roll-call confirmations for many items but does not include full roll-call tallies for every bill in the floor remarks; where tallies were read by the Clerk, the transcript preserves the totals.