---
type: "Bill"
title: "Funeral Directors and Embalmers - As enacted, authorizes qualified aliens enumerated in federal law to apply for an embalmer's license; changes the requirement that an applicant for an embalmer's license have obtained an associate of arts degree to an associate degree. - Amends TCA Section 62-5-307."
description: "Funeral Directors and Embalmers - As enacted, authorizes qualified aliens enumerated in federal law to apply for an embalmer's license; changes the requirement that an applicant for an embalmer's license have obtained an associate of arts degree to an associate degree. - Amends TCA Section 62-5-307."
jurisdiction: "us/states/tn"
legislature: "Tennessee General Assembly"
session: "111"
identifier: "SB 856"
citation: "Tennessee SB 856 (111)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Funeral Directors and Embalmers"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Boyd", "Crowe"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 32
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2019-01-15"
last_action: "2019-04-24"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/a4facf37-15a9-44b3-a76d-db21fd20236d"
source_url: "http://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/default.aspx?BillNumber=SB0856&GA=111"
source_hash: "5d51db3cb69d217a735b8f3379abc1d9dfd5dcedd468e6dd04546b67f3332a61"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-tn"]
---

# Tennessee SB 856 (111) — Funeral Directors and Embalmers - As enacted, authorizes qualified aliens enumerated in federal law to apply for an embalmer's license; changes the requirement that an applicant for an embalmer's license have obtained an associate of arts degree to an associate degree. - Amends TCA Section 62-5-307.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Amendment HA0025** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/111/Amend/HA0025.pdf)
2. **Amendment SA0171** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/111/Amend/SA0171.pdf)
3. **Current Version** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/111/Bill/SB0856.pdf)

## Votes

- FLOOR VOTE: Third Consideration 4/4/2019 Passed (1) — **30–0** (pass) · upper
- FLOOR VOTE: REGULAR CALENDAR AS AMENDED PASSAGE ON THIRD CONSIDERATION 3/7/2019 Passed (1) — **84–0** (pass) · lower
- HOUSE CALENDAR & RULES COMMITTEE: H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 3/7/2019 2/28/2019 (2) — **0–0** (fail) · lower
- SENATE COMMERCE AND LABOR COMMITTEE: Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 9, Nays 0 PNV 0 3/26/2019 Passed (2) — **9–0** (pass) · upper
- HOUSE BUSINESS SUBCOMMITTEE: Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to Commerce Committee 2/19/2019 (4) — **0–0** (pass) · lower
- HOUSE COMMERCE COMMITTEE: Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee 2/26/2019 (3) — **0–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Boyd — primary (person)
- Crowe — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2019-01-15** Filed for introduction `reading-1, introduction`
- **2019-01-18** Intro., P1C. `introduction`
- **2019-01-19** P2C, ref. to Commerce Committee `referral-committee`
- **2019-01-22** Assigned to s/c Business Subcommittee `referral-committee`
- **2019-02-06** Filed for introduction `reading-1, introduction`
- **2019-02-07** Introduced, Passed on First Consideration `introduction`
- **2019-02-11** Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Commerce and Labor Committee
- **2019-02-13** Placed on s/c cal Business Subcommittee for 2/19/2019
- **2019-02-19** Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to Commerce Committee `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2019-02-20** Placed on cal. Commerce Committee for 2/26/2019
- **2019-02-26** Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2019-02-27** Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 2/28/2019
- **2019-02-28** H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 3/7/2019
- **2019-03-07** Engrossed; ready for transmission to Sen.
- **2019-03-07** Passed H., as am., Ayes 84, Nays 0, PNV 2 `passage`
- **2019-03-07** H. adopted am. (Amendment 1 - HA0025) `amendment-passage`
- **2019-03-11** Received from House, Passed on First Consideration `introduction`
- **2019-03-19** Placed on Senate Commerce and Labor Committee calendar for 3/26/2019
- **2019-03-26** Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 9, Nays 0 PNV 0
- **2019-04-02** Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 4/4/2019
- **2019-04-04** Companion House Bill substituted
- **2019-04-04** Passed Senate, Ayes 30, Nays 0 `passage`
- **2019-04-04** Amendment withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - SA0171)
- **2019-04-04** Senate substituted House Bill for companion Senate Bill.
- **2019-04-05** Enrolled; ready for sig. of H. Speaker.
- **2019-04-08** Signed by H. Speaker
- **2019-04-09** Signed by Senate Speaker
- **2019-04-10** Transmitted to Governor for his action. `executive-receipt`
- **2019-04-18** Signed by Governor. `executive-signature`
- **2019-04-24** Comp. became Pub. Ch. 161
- **2019-04-24** Pub. Ch. 161
- **2019-04-24** Effective date(s) 04/18/2019

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/a4facf37-15a9-44b3-a76d-db21fd20236d`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Tennessee legislature records).