---
type: "Bill"
title: "Therapists, Physical and Occupational - As enacted, allows the practice of physical therapy to be under the written or oral referral of a nurse practitioner or physician assistant; removes certain minimum education requirements to engage in the independent practice of physical therapy. - Amends TCA Title 63."
description: "Therapists, Physical and Occupational - As enacted, allows the practice of physical therapy to be under the written or oral referral of a nurse practitioner or physician assistant; removes certain minimum education requirements to engage in the independent practice of physical therapy. - Amends TCA Title 63."
jurisdiction: "us/states/tn"
legislature: "Tennessee General Assembly"
session: "113"
identifier: "SB 72"
citation: "Tennessee SB 72 (113)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Physical and Occupational", "Therapists"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Watson"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 19
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2023-01-04"
last_action: "2023-04-18"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/5bb0de26-0132-4775-a342-1b8453caaa46"
source_url: "http://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/default.aspx?BillNumber=SB0072&GA=113"
source_hash: "e198b84983daa93d52fb5880e8877b8552985cb200b379b926f1ad7f12245695"
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 72 (113) — Therapists, Physical and Occupational - As enacted, allows the practice of physical therapy to be under the written or oral referral of a nurse practitioner or physician assistant; removes certain minimum education requirements to engage in the independent practice of physical therapy. - Amends TCA Title 63.

## Version chain

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

1. **Current Version** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/113/Bill/SB0072.pdf)

## Votes

- SENATE HEALTH AND WELFARE COMMITTEE: Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Calendar Committee 2/8/2023 Passed — **9–0** (pass) · upper
- SENATE HEALTH AND WELFARE COMMITTEE: Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Calendar Committee 2/8/2023 Passed (2) — **9–0** (pass) · upper
- FLOOR VOTE: REGULAR CALENDAR PASSAGE ON THIRD CONSIDERATION 3/20/2023 Passed — **97–0** (pass) · lower
- FLOOR VOTE: Motion to Adopt 2/13/2023 Passed (1) — **32–0** (pass) · upper
- SENATE HEALTH AND WELFARE COMMITTEE: Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Calendar Committee 2/8/2023 Passed (1) — **9–0** (pass) · upper
- FLOOR VOTE: Motion to Adopt 2/13/2023 Passed — **32–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Watson — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2023-01-04** Filed for introduction `filing`
- **2023-01-10** Introduced, Passed on First Consideration `introduction`
- **2023-01-11** Passed on Second Consideration, held on desk pending committee appointments `passage`
- **2023-01-20** Refer to Senate Health & Welfare Committee
- **2023-02-01** Placed on Senate Health and Welfare Committee calendar for 2/8/2023
- **2023-02-08** Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Calendar Committee
- **2023-02-09** Placed on Senate Consent Calendar 2 for 2/13/2023
- **2023-02-13** Passed Senate, Ayes 32, Nays 0 `passage`
- **2023-02-13** Engrossed; ready for transmission to House `receipt`
- **2023-02-16** Rcvd. from S., held on H. desk.
- **2023-03-20** Passed H., Ayes 97, Nays 0, PNV 0 `passage`
- **2023-03-20** Subst. for comp. HB. `substitution`
- **2023-03-22** Signed by Senate Speaker `passage`
- **2023-03-22** Enrolled and ready for signatures `enrolled`
- **2023-03-23** Signed by H. Speaker `passage`
- **2023-03-24** Transmitted to Governor for action. `executive-receipt`
- **2023-04-04** Signed by Governor. `executive-signature`
- **2023-04-18** Effective date(s) 04/04/2023
- **2023-04-18** Pub. Ch. 107

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/5bb0de26-0132-4775-a342-1b8453caaa46`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Tennessee legislature records).