# Tennessee SB 1265: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 53, Chapter 7 and Chapter 380 of the Public Acts of 2023, relative to the inspection of food derived from animals. Tennessee SB 1265, AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 53, Chapter 7 and Chapter 380 of the Public Acts of 2023, relative to the inspection of food derived from animals., is a 114th General Assembly (2025-2026) Senate bill sponsored by no sponsor on record; status signed, last action 2025-06-04 (Effective date(s) 05/09/2025) (as of 2026-11-01). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/TN-SB1265-2025-2026 - As of: 2026-11-01 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Tennessee SB 1265 - State: Tennessee - Session: 114th General Assembly (2025-2026) - Title: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 53, Chapter 7 and Chapter 380 of the Public Acts of 2023, relative to the inspection of food derived from animals. - Status: signed - Chamber: Senate - Introduced: 2025-02-06 - Last action: 2025-06-04, Effective date(s) 05/09/2025 - Sponsors: no sponsor on record - Cosponsors: 3 - Subjects: Agriculture, Dept. of - Touches household money: no - Roll calls: 4 (142 yes, 0 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 5 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - State safety checks for Tennessee meat: benefit, medium. The law creates state inspections for cattle, sheep, swine, and goat meat sold within Tennessee. Standards must meet federal requirements for humane handling, safety checks, sanitation, labels, records, transport, and recalls. Exclusions cover personal-use processing, qualifying retail or restauran… - Meat businesses face licenses and penalties: cost, medium. Meat establishments and custom processors need annual, nontransferable licenses for each location and must pay fees set by rule. Applicants must provide required information, allow inspections, and pass a sanitary inspection before approval. Licensees and responsible persons cannot have felony conv… - Custom meat gets limited inspection exemptions: mixed, low. The agriculture commissioner may exempt qualifying custom-processed animals and meat from state inspection. Processing must occur at a licensed, sanitary facility, with custom meat always kept physically separate from inspected meat. Packaged custom meat must immediately carry a clear “Not for Sale… - State meat oversight limits local rules: mixed, low. Tennessee's agriculture department controls state regulation and inspection of livestock slaughter, meat processing, and meat transport within Tennessee. Local governments cannot regulate or inspect those activities, but retain zoning and code enforcement and may cooperate with the department. Fede… - State pays basic meat inspection costs: mixed, low. Tennessee pays the base cost of required livestock inspections. Meat businesses pay for overtime, holiday inspections, voluntary inspection services, marking devices and supplies, containers, and labels. The agriculture department controls official inspection-marking devices and supplies, with fees… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Cosponsor: Paul Bailey (Republican), Senate - Cosponsor: Janice Bowling (Republican), Senate - Cosponsor: Adam Lowe (Republican), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2025-04-21 | House | FLOOR VOTE: REGULAR CALENDAR PASSAGE ON THIRD CONSIDERATION 4/21/2025 | pass | 92 | 0 | | | 2025-04-15 | Senate | FLOOR VOTE: as Amended Third Consideration 4/15/2025 | pass | 31 | 0 | | | 2025-04-08 | Senate | SENATE FINANCE, WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE | pass | 10 | 0 | | | 2025-03-26 | Senate | SENATE ENERGY, AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE | pass | 9 | 0 | | ## Actions (27) - 2025-06-04: Effective date(s) 05/09/2025 - 2025-06-04: Pub. Ch. 463 - 2025-05-09: Signed by Governor. (Senate) - 2025-05-01: Transmitted to Governor for action. (Senate) - 2025-04-30: Signed by H. Speaker (House) - 2025-04-29: Signed by Senate Speaker (Senate) - 2025-04-28: Enrolled and ready for signatures (Senate) - 2025-04-21: Passed H., Ayes 92, Nays 0, PNV 0 (House) - 2025-04-21: Am. withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - HA0156) (House) - 2025-04-21: Subst. for comp. HB. (House) - 2025-04-16: Rcvd. from S., held on H. desk. (House) - 2025-04-15: Sponsor(s) Added. (Senate) - 2025-04-15: Engrossed; ready for transmission to House (Senate) - 2025-04-15: Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 31, Nays 0 (Senate) - 2025-04-15: Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 1 - SA0248) (Senate) - 2025-04-14: Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 4/15/2025 (Senate) - 2025-04-11: Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 4/15/2025 (Senate) - 2025-04-08: Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Calendar Committee (Senate) - 2025-04-01: Placed on Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee calendar for 4/8/2025 (Senate) - 2025-03-26: Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee Ayes 9, Nays 0 PNV 0 (Senate) - 2025-03-19: Placed on Senate Energy, Ag., and Nat. Resources Committee calendar for 3/26/2025 (Senate) - 2025-03-19: Action deferred in Senate Energy, Ag., and Nat. Resources Committee to 3/26/2025 (Senate) - 2025-03-18: Sponsor(s) Added. (Senate) - 2025-03-13: Placed on Senate Energy, Ag., and Nat. Resources Committee calendar for 3/19/2025 (Senate) - 2025-02-12: Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Energy, Ag., and Nat. Resources Committee (Senate) - 2025-02-10: Introduced, Passed on First Consideration (Senate) - 2025-02-06: Filed for introduction (Senate) ## Bill text - Enrolled / Public Chapter: [PDF](https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/acts/114/pub/pc0463.pdf) - Fiscal Note: [PDF](https://capitol.tn.gov/Bills/114/Fiscal/SB1265.pdf) - HA0156: [PDF](https://capitol.tn.gov/Bills/114/Amend/HA0156.pdf) - Introduced: [PDF](https://capitol.tn.gov/Bills/114/Bill/SB1265.pdf) - SA0248: [PDF](https://capitol.tn.gov/Bills/114/Amend/SA0248.pdf) ## Related bills - SB 1232: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 40, Chapter 32, Part 1, relative to expunction of criminal records. (signed) - SB 1255: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 37; Title 49; Title 63; Title 68 and Title 71, relative to blood lead level testing. (signed) - SB 0855: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4; Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 8; Title 12; Title 13; Title 29; Title 54; Title 64; Title 65; Title 68 and… (signed) - SB 0539: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 7; Title 13; Title 48; Title 49; Title 67 and Title 68, relative to low-income housing. (signed) - SB 0254: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 38; Title 39; Title 40 and Title 55, relative to criminal law. (signed) - SB 0198: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 67, relative to taxes. (signed) ## Sources - [Enrolled / Public Chapter (PDF)](https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/acts/114/pub/pc0463.pdf) - [Fiscal Note (PDF)](https://capitol.tn.gov/Bills/114/Fiscal/SB1265.pdf) - [HA0156 (PDF)](https://capitol.tn.gov/Bills/114/Amend/HA0156.pdf) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://capitol.tn.gov/Bills/114/Bill/SB1265.pdf) - [SA0248 (PDF)](https://capitol.tn.gov/Bills/114/Amend/SA0248.pdf) ## Related - [SB 1232: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 40, Chapter 32, Part 1, relativ…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/TN-SB1232-2025-2026) - [SB 1255: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 37; Title 49; Title 63; Title 6…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/TN-SB1255-2025-2026) - [SB 0855: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4; Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; T…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/TN-SB0855-2025-2026) - [SB 0539: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 7; Title 13; Title 48; Title 49…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/TN-SB0539-2025-2026) - [SB 0254: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 38; Title 39; Title 40 and Titl…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/TN-SB0254-2025-2026) - [SB 0198: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 67, relative to taxes.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/TN-SB0198-2025-2026) - [Tennessee bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/tennessee/bills) - [Tennessee state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/tennessee) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/TN-SB1265-2025-2026 (as of 2026-11-01).