House Bill 1709, sponsored by Cochran, proposes amendments to the Tennessee Code Annotated that focus on the eligibility requirements for professional licenses across various fields. The bill establishes that individuals must be either United States citizens or qualified aliens, as defined in Section 4-58-102, to be eligible for a professional license. This new requirement is inserted into multiple sections related to professions such as court reporters, aeronautics instructors, and educators. Furthermore, the bill encourages the Supreme Court to create guidelines that limit law practice eligibility to U.S. citizens or qualified aliens.

In addition to the new eligibility criteria, the bill also deletes certain subdivisions from existing legal language, particularly in sections that previously outlined eligibility for various licenses. These deletions aim to streamline the requirements and focus on the citizenship or qualified alien status. Overall, House Bill 1709 seeks to standardize the eligibility criteria for professional licensing in Tennessee, emphasizing citizenship as a key requirement. The act will take effect upon becoming law and will apply to all relevant applications submitted or renewed after that date.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 4-58-103(a)(2), 4-58-103, 20-9-609(a), 20-9-609, 37-5-127, 42-2-210, 44-10-203, 44-15-111, 44-16-201, 44-17-104, 45-1-130, 47-18-5504, 47-18-5512, 47-18-5803, 47-26-804(a)(1), 47-26-804, 47-26-1004, 49-5-101, 49-5-106, 49-5-109, 52-2-406, 53-1-204, 53-7-216, 53-14-105(b), 53-14-105, 55-17-302, 56-6-103, 62-26-206(a)(2), 62-26-206, 62-26-207(a)(2), 62-26-207, 62-27-107(a), 62-27-107, 62-35-106(2), 62-35-106, 62-35-117(2), 62-35-117, 63-1-104(c), 63-1-104, 63-5-110(a)(2), 63-5-110, 63-6-207(a)(1), 63-6-207, 63-6-207(a)(2), 63-11-207(a)(3)(B), 63-11-207, 63-11-207(b)(2)(B), 63-11-207(c)(4)(B), 63-12-112(b)(4), 63-12-112, 63-14-103(a)(1), 63-14-103, 63-16-104(a)(1)(B), 63-16-104, 63-20-102(1)(A), 63-20-102, 68-24-602, 68-104-102, 68-135-103, 68-140-306, 68-221-904, 71-1-134