(The Center Square) – Tennessee lawmakers filed bills on topics ranging from the state’s grocery tax to assisted suicide as the 2026 General Assembly session began on Tuesday.
Democrats and Republicans introduced bills in 2025 to remove the state sales tax on groceries, but neither passed.
Rep. Todd Warner, R-Chapel Hill, introduced a new bill Tuesday that would ensure cities and counties continue to receive the same amount they currently receive from the grocery tax.
The Republican proposal filed in 2025 would have allowed cities and counties to impose a 2.75% food tax to offset the revenue they would not receive from the state. Democrats proposed requiring corporations to report their worldwide revenue to offset the loss of grocery tax revenue, which they said would bring in $891 million annually.
Also filed on Tuesday is a bill that would make assisted suicide a crime in Tennessee. The legislation filed by Sen. Adam Lowe, R-Calhoun, creates a class D felony charge if a person provides the means or encourages it, which, if convicted, can result in a prison sentence of up to 12 years. If the person is a minor, it is a Class C felony, punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
The bill did not have a Senate sponsor as of Tuesday.
Rep. Tom Stinnett, R-Friendsville, filed a bill that increases the penalty for flying an unmanned aircraft over a correctional facility from a class C misdemeanor to a class D felony. The bill would also allow correctional officers to disable the aircraft. The state would not be held liable for any damage to the aircraft, according to the bill.
The House and Senate did not vote on any bills on their first day.
