Tennessee SB 858: State Employees - As introduced, requires the attorney general to annually report by January 15 of each year to the governor, speaker of the senate, and speaker of the house of representatives the number of injunctions brought against persons who committed harassment against a state employee in the preceding calendar year. - Amends TCA Title 50, Chapter 1.

Bill Text

Senate State and Local Government 1

Amendment No. 1 to SB0858

Briggs
Signature of Sponsor

AMEND Senate Bill No. 858 House Bill No. 939*

SA0195
004602
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by deleting everything after the caption and substituting instead the following:
WHEREAS, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) was
enacted by the United States Congress to encourage and support employers in offering
voluntary pension and welfare benefit plans to their employees by establishing uniform national
standards for plan administration, including reporting, disclosure, fiduciary responsibilities, and
claims and appeals procedures; and
WHEREAS, 2024 marked the 50
th anniversary of ERISA, which for five decades has
played a critical role in protecting employees' access to employer-sponsored retirement and
health and welfare benefits while providing employers with the flexibility to design benefit plans
tailored to their workforce's needs; and
WHEREAS, employer-sponsored retirement and health benefits are a key tool for
attracting and retaining a skilled workforce, allowing businesses to compete for talent by offering
comprehensive and customized benefits that meet the needs of their employees and their
families; and
WHEREAS, ERISA ensures that employers have the flexibility to design and administer
benefit plans that best meet the needs of their workforce without being subject to a patchwork of
conflicting state regulations, thereby reducing administrative burdens and costs for both
employers and employees; and
WHEREAS, Section 514 of ERISA provides that ERISA generally preempts "any and all
state laws" to the extent they "relate to" employee benefit plans sponsored by private
employers; and

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WHEREAS, state and local government efforts to impose additional regulations on
ERISA-governed plans create legal uncertainty, increase compliance costs, and deter
employers—particularly multi-state businesses—from maintaining or expanding benefit
offerings, ultimately reducing employee access to these important benefits; and
WHEREAS, regulatory uncertainty and increased costs discourage business investment
and expansion within states that enact laws conflicting with ERISA, making it less attractive for
businesses to operate in or relocate to those states; and
WHEREAS, Tennessee seeks to maintain a competitive business environment that
encourages employers to provide high-quality retirement and health benefits by ensuring state
and local laws do not create unnecessary barriers to the voluntary provision of these benefits;
and
WHEREAS, on January 20, 2025, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order
establishing the Department of Government Efficiency for the express purpose of government
efficiency and productivity, and this General Assembly also believes that through limited
government with little interference in the private sector, Tennessee will continue to grow and
prosper as a business-friendly state; and
WHEREAS, employers protected by ERISA are free to exercise their religious freedoms
granted to them by the Constitution of the United States by designing benefits that align with
their morally and closely held religious beliefs; and
WHEREAS, protecting ERISA as the law of the land will keep state and local
governments at home or across the country from unnecessary and costly government
interference on Tennessee businesses and entrepreneurs, thus allowing business to thrive;
now, therefore,
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 50, Chapter 1, Part 4, is amended by
adding the following as a new section:
50-1-403.

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Notwithstanding another law to the contrary, a law enacted by this state or a
political subdivision of this state must not regulate, restrict, or otherwise govern any
employer welfare benefit plan subject to preemption under Section 514 of the federal
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) (29 U.S.C. § 1144).
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.