Bill Tracking

Tracking key Tennessee legislation from conservative, biblical perspective

Every year during our state’s legislative session (January – April), FACT tracks bills making their way through the Tennessee General Assembly that concern marriage, the family, life, and religious liberty. Traditionally, each bill that FACT tracks is listed by its individual Senate bill and House bill number within a specific category. 

However, there are two categories of bills this year that are of such paramount importance compared to everything else the legislature might consider that we will only be be tracking them.
 
These two categories of bills deal with what it means to be human. There is nothing more fundamental than the understanding of who we are and why we are here, as that colors the way we look at every other policy issue.  Get this wrong and a lot goes wrong.
 
Specifically, the two categories of bills involve what it means to be male and female. The bills that will define this understanding and usher it into our federal court system through legal challenges to their enactment address (1) the nature of the marital relationship and (2) transgender ideology and the nature of the parent-child relationship when a minor child struggles with his or her gender. 
 
More specifically, how your legislator votes on these two bills will tell you whether he or she believes (1) the marital relationship and the parent-child relationship are strictly a creation of man-made law and that what they are and what they mean depends on a statute or (2) whether those relationships exist prior to and are independent of any human law and that what they are and what they mean does not depend on a statute.
 
In other words, ask yourself this question: Would the husband-wife marital relationship and the rights and duties of parents in relation to their children go away and cease to exist if every statute on martrimony and parent-child were repealed?  If your answer is no, then your position and FACT’s position are aligned; if not, then we are not aligned.
 
We urge you to contact your legislator about these two categories of bills since your input can influence his or her decision.
 

Bills we are tracking

What is a Male and Female, What is the Nature of the Parent Child Relationship, and are Parental Rights and Duties Derived Only From Human law?

What is a Male and Female, What is the Nature of the Parent Child Relationship, and are Parental Rights and Duties Derived Only From Human law?

SB0001/HB0001

At this time, FACT does not support the bill as presently drafted. The reason is as follows: FACT will not support and will urge opposition to any bill that is worded in such a way as to allow a federal court to (1) affirm the United States Supreme Court’s understanding in Obergefell v. Hodges that persons are strictly autonomous beings without a given human nature as male and female and (2) apply that understanding in such a way as to allow the parent-child relationship to be redefined as was done by the Court to the marital relationship." INFORMATION ON SB 1/HOUSE BILL 1:

Is the Marital Relationship Between a Man and Woman Strictly a Creation of Human Law Made by the Tennessee Legislature?

Information about the bill:

2017-2018 Bill Results

Want to print off our bill tracking information to share with your family, friends, Bible study, and prayer group? We have what you need.

Understanding How it Works

How Tennessee Bills Become Law

The following represents the normal procedure in the Tennessee General Assembly of transforming bills into law. The steps below describe the passage of general bills.
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Deciphering Legislative Bill Abbreviations

Sometimes abbreviations used for tracking bills on the Tennessee General Assembly website can be confusing, so let’s first go through the most used bill abbreviations and what they mean, and then we will track a sample bill.
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Tracking Votes and Bill Passage

With a little help, deciphering votes and tracking the passage of a bill on the Tennessee General Assembly website is fairly simple.
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