News
The Tennessee Disability Coalition creates and produces important content related to disability.
If you don’t see the kind of content you’re looking for on any of these pages or would like alternative formats, please reach out to us at [email protected] or 615-383-9442.
Celebrate the 36th Anniversary of the ADA
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is turning 36 this year! On July 26, 1990, President G.H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act into law. This important civil rights law protects the rights of people with disabilities by ensuring people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone. Join us in celebrating #ADA36 and the hard work...
2026 TN Legislative Session Wrap Up
The dust has settled on the 2026 TN General Assembly legislative session. This year, the Disability Coalition tracked more than 100 bills with the potential to affect Tennesseans with disabilities. As in most years, many bills never made it to the floor. Sometimes that is good news; other times it means promising ideas fail to advance. Together with our members...
Adjournment & Special Session
Less than two weeks after the General Assembly adjourned, Governor Lee called lawmakers back to Nashville to review Tennessee’s congressional maps. Legislators convened yesterday afternoon for a special session. First, the adjournment. The flurry of end-of-session activity—and the constantly changing budget—means it takes time for the dust to settle and for a clear picture of what happened to emerge. The...
$58 Billion Budget Passed, 150 Bills Remaining
April 16th, TN House and Senate negotiators settled on a more than $58 billion dollar spending plan for Tennessee. Both chambers passed the budget. That sets the stage for a flurry of activity to get to the end of session. The House has as many as 150 bills remaining to be heard on the floor and several measures are headed...
Legislative Advocacy Before, During and After Session
As the 114th TN General Assembly wraps up, we reflect on the challenges and progress of this session. Most bills in the General Assembly do not become law. That’s not failure—it’s part of the process. We take time in today’s missive to think through the legislative advocacy process before, during and after session. That process usually begins before a bill...
Calendar Goes Quiet & Budget Takes Center Stage
At the General Assembly, we are now in the final phase—focused almost entirely on the budget. None of the bills we are tracking are scheduled for committee hearings next week. Only the Government Operations and State and Local Government Committees are meeting to wrap up remaining business, while most activity has shifted to the House and Senate Finance Committees. Budget...
Updated Bill Tracker & Calendar
The Tennessee General Assembly is in the final stretch, where schedules can change quickly, access can tighten, and bills may move with little notice. At the same time, budget negotiations are coming into sharper focus, with key funding decisions expected to shape which proposals ultimately move forward. The updated disability-related bills tracker is available: TDC April 3 Bill Tracking There...
The Process Behind the Policy: Fiscal Notes Explained
The Tennessee General Assembly has several responsibilities outlined in the state constitution. One is lawmaking—proposing, debating, and passing both general bills (statewide) and local bills (affecting specific counties or towns). Another key responsibility is fiscal oversight. The General Assembly alone can: Appropriate money from the state treasury Levy and collect taxes, and authorize local governments to do the same Pass...
Budget, Bill Updates & Late-Session Surprises
A couple of notable things from this week: We told you that the Senate Health and Welfare Committee held its final meeting on March 18. Well, surprise – at the end of this week the committee scheduled another meeting for April 1. A couple of bills we are following are on the calendar. See the schedule and tracker. The Governor...
Legislative Update: 1000 bills in Committee Next Week + Action Alert
It has been another busy week at the General Assembly. The Committee calendars have been packed – and so have the committee rooms. Citizen advocates attending meetings are experiencing new barriers to having their voices heard. Committee chairs are reluctant to allow speakers to testify on bills, and access to some legislators is tougher for members of the public. The...
Caption Bills: Things May Not Be What They Seem
A “caption” is a brief and required summary of the subject of a proposed piece of legislation. It appears at the top of the bill, on the hardcopy bill jacket, and often in legislative calendars. It acts as a title outlining the bill’s purpose, scope, and affected laws. It is a quick and convenient way to get a sense of...
Disability Advocacy Day & Bill Tracker Update
We hope that you had a chance to participate in the 6th annual Disability Advocacy Day on March 11th. All over Tennessee landmarks lighted up blue. Advocates worked to get local proclamations, and we celebrated our collective action. Visibility is an important step in breaking down barriers in a world not always built for us. We show up. We speak...