---
type: "Bill"
title: "Tennessee Higher Education Commission - As enacted, clarifies certain code references to account for the state university boards established by the FOCUS Act; reduces the number of student members on the higher education commission to a single voting member and revises the nominating process for that student member; removes the alumni requirement for appointments to the board of regents. - Amends TCA Section 8-30-102; Section 8-36-714; Section 8-50-809; Section 49-7-206; Section 49-7-211; Section 49-8-201; Title 49, Chapter 7, Part 1; Section 49-7-1003 and Section 49-7-204."
description: "Tennessee Higher Education Commission - As enacted, clarifies certain code references to account for the state university boards established by the FOCUS Act; reduces the number of student members on the higher education commission to a single voting member and revises the nominating process for that student member; removes the alumni requirement for appointments to the board of regents. - Amends TCA Section 8-30-102; Section 8-36-714; Section 8-50-809; Section 49-7-206; Section 49-7-211; Section 49-8-201; Title 49, Chapter 7, Part 1; Section 49-7-1003 and Section 49-7-204."
jurisdiction: "us/states/tn"
legislature: "Tennessee General Assembly"
session: "110"
identifier: "SB 2619"
citation: "Tennessee SB 2619 (110)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Tennessee Higher Education Commission"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Norris", "Williams"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 36
vote_count: 1
first_action: "2018-01-30"
last_action: "2018-04-04"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/ae988cff-7a36-404b-91b5-134d4be7a8a1"
source_url: "http://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/default.aspx?BillNumber=SB2619&GA=110"
source_hash: "70d6ea2ba4adea58f2fdf6f4192e99d77c74453c1de373a3efb4e13f45eaa709"
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 2619 (110) — Tennessee Higher Education Commission - As enacted, clarifies certain code references to account for the state university boards established by the FOCUS Act; reduces the number of student members on the higher education commission to a single voting member and revises the nominating process for that student member; removes the alumni requirement for appointments to the board of regents. - Amends TCA Section 8-30-102; Section 8-36-714; Section 8-50-809; Section 49-7-206; Section 49-7-211; Section 49-8-201; Title 49, Chapter 7, Part 1; Section 49-7-1003 and Section 49-7-204.

## Version chain

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

1. **Current Version** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/110/Bill/SB2619.pdf)

## Votes

- SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE: Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Calendar Committee 3/7/2018 Passed (1) — **8–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Norris — primary (person)
- Williams — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2018-01-30** Filed for intro. `introduction, reading-1`
- **2018-02-01** Introduced, Passed on First Consideration `introduction`
- **2018-02-01** Filed for introduction `introduction, reading-1`
- **2018-02-01** Intro., P1C. `introduction`
- **2018-02-05** Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Education Committee
- **2018-02-05** Assigned to s/c Education Administration & Planning Subcommittee `referral-committee`
- **2018-02-05** P2C, ref. to Education Administration & Planning `referral-committee`
- **2018-02-07** Placed on s/c cal Education Administration & Planning Subcommittee for 2/13/2018
- **2018-02-13** Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to Education Administration & Planning `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2018-02-14** Placed on cal. Education Administration & Planning for 2/20/2018
- **2018-02-15** Placed on Senate Education Committee calendar for 2/21/2018
- **2018-02-20** Rec. for pass; ref to Calendar & Rules Committee `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2018-02-21** Placed on Senate Education Committee calendar for 2/28/2018
- **2018-02-21** Action deferred in Senate Education Committee to 2/28/2018
- **2018-02-21** Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 2/22/2018
- **2018-02-22** H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 3/1/2018
- **2018-02-28** Placed on Senate Education Committee calendar for 3/7/2018
- **2018-02-28** Action deferred in Senate Education Committee to 3/7/2018
- **2018-03-01** H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 3/5/2018
- **2018-03-01** Reset on next avail. cal.
- **2018-03-05** Passed H., Ayes 94, Nays 1, PNV 0 `passage`
- **2018-03-06** Engrossed; ready for transmission to Sen.
- **2018-03-07** Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Calendar Committee
- **2018-03-08** Received from House, Passed on First Consideration `introduction`
- **2018-03-09** Placed on Senate Consent Calendar 2 calendar for 3/12/2018
- **2018-03-12** Companion House Bill substituted
- **2018-03-12** Passed Senate, Ayes 30, Nays 0 `passage`
- **2018-03-12** Senate substituted House Bill for companion Senate Bill.
- **2018-03-13** Enrolled; ready for sig. of H. Speaker.
- **2018-03-15** Signed by H. Speaker
- **2018-03-19** Signed by Senate Speaker
- **2018-03-20** Transmitted to Governor for his action. `executive-receipt`
- **2018-03-23** Signed by Governor. `executive-signature`
- **2018-04-04** Comp. became Pub. Ch. 602
- **2018-04-04** Pub. Ch. 602
- **2018-04-04** Effective date(s) 03/23/2018

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/ae988cff-7a36-404b-91b5-134d4be7a8a1`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Tennessee legislature records).