The Tennessee legislators hope to wrap up business sometime late Friday. So there is a mad dash to pass or kill the remaining bills before lawmakers rush back to start campaigning in their districts. A few hot items have already been wrapped up this week, with more to come. This is the most dangerous period in law, as legislators pass bills without carefully reading or understanding much of what they pass. The devil is in the details, as we and they often learn AFTER they adjourn.
EXPENSIVE LOBBYIST-FUNDED CVS DRUG FIGHT ENDS.
Tennessee lawmakers have passed a bill that will block certain companies from owning a pharmacy while also owning a pharmacy benefit manager and health insurance issuer. CVS ran a well-funded campaign against the legislation but ultimately failed. CVS is now threatening to challenge the bill’s constitutionality, as it did with similar legislation passed in Arkansas, and to close 134 stores in Tennessee, claiming it will cost 2,000 jobs. Legislative leaders backed the bill, and the same CVS arguments did not sway votes in the end. Governor Bill Lee has not committed to signing the bill, but is expected to do so.
PARTY ON! A Republican-led effort to close primary elections to non-party-affiliated voters failed in a House Committee this week, despite it being funded in the 2026 budget. Tennessee currently operates as an “open primary” state. Voters choose a Republican or Democratic party ballot during primary elections, with no official party registration required. While primary voters are required to pledge allegiance, in writing, to the party whose ballot they select, and warning signs about crossover voting are posted in precincts, there is no requirement to officially join a party in order to vote in its primary. Voters can change which party they vote for from election to election.
GOP Rep. Chris Todd introduced a bill in 2025 to make Tennessee a closed primary state. “In order to vote in that primary, you would have to be registered with that party,” Todd said during the debate. “Just like we don’t allow members off the street or from the Exchange Club to go over to the Rotary Club to elect their slate of officers each year, this is the same principle. It’s a private organization.”
Todd began the effort last year, but the bill ran into strong headwinds in the Senate when no one would second it for debate. However, the same Senate committee passed the bill this year, putting the proposal back in play.
But Monday, the House Finance Subcommittee voted 6-6 on the measure, which meant the bill doesn’t advance and is essentially killed for this legislative session. Four Republicans, Rep. John Gillespie (R-Memphis), Rep. Gary Hicks (R-Rogersville), Rep. Tim Hicks (R-Gray), and Rep. Ryan Williams (R-Cookeville) voted with the two Democrats on the committee, Rep. Antonio Parkinson (D-Memphis) and Rep. Jesse Chism (D-Memphis) against the bill.
Todd reportedly plans to try again next year.
Steve Gill is Editor and Publisher of TriStar Daily.
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