---
type: "Bill"
title: "Nurses, Nursing - As enacted, clarifies that the definition of the practice of nursing does not prevent qualified registered nurses from making determinations that patients are experiencing emergency medical conditions, in certain circumstances. - Amends TCA Title 63, Chapter 7, Part 1 and Title 68."
description: "Nurses, Nursing - As enacted, clarifies that the definition of the practice of nursing does not prevent qualified registered nurses from making determinations that patients are experiencing emergency medical conditions, in certain circumstances. - Amends TCA Title 63, Chapter 7, Part 1 and Title 68."
jurisdiction: "us/states/tn"
legislature: "Tennessee General Assembly"
session: "111"
identifier: "SB 317"
citation: "Tennessee SB 317 (111)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Nurses", "Nursing"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Reeves", "Vaughan"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 33
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2019-01-29"
last_action: "2019-04-01"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/de798281-ffa7-4974-8e58-21f54ad817f2"
source_url: "http://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/default.aspx?BillNumber=SB0317&GA=111"
source_hash: "ac9260a7966cdb0df1b42feee365f75784deab2c8b40458b61137056945d4d17"
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 317 (111) — Nurses, Nursing - As enacted, clarifies that the definition of the practice of nursing does not prevent qualified registered nurses from making determinations that patients are experiencing emergency medical conditions, in certain circumstances. - Amends TCA Title 63, Chapter 7, Part 1 and Title 68.

## Version chain

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

1. **Amendment HA0015** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/111/Amend/HA0015.pdf)
2. **Amendment SA0053** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/111/Amend/SA0053.pdf)
3. **Current Version** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/111/Bill/SB0317.pdf)

## Votes

- FLOOR VOTE: REGULAR CALENDAR PASSAGE ON THIRD CONSIDERATION 3/7/2019 Passed (1) — **87–0** (pass) · lower
- SENATE HEALTH AND WELFARE COMMITTEE: Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 7, Nays 0 PNV 0 2/27/2019 Passed — **7–0** (pass) · upper
- HOUSE HEALTH COMMITTEE: Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee 2/26/2019 — **0–0** (pass) · lower
- HOUSE FACILITIES, LICENSURE, & REGULATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE: Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to Health Committee 2/19/2019 — **0–0** (fail) · lower
- HOUSE CALENDAR & RULES COMMITTEE: H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 3/7/2019 2/28/2019 (2) — **0–0** (fail) · lower
- FLOOR VOTE: as Amended Third Consideration 3/7/2019 Passed (1) — **29–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Reeves — primary (person)
- Vaughan — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2019-01-29** Filed for introduction `reading-1, introduction`
- **2019-01-30** Filed for introduction `reading-1, introduction`
- **2019-01-30** Intro., P1C. `introduction`
- **2019-01-31** Introduced, Passed on First Consideration `introduction`
- **2019-01-31** P2C, ref. to Health Committee `referral-committee`
- **2019-02-01** Assigned to s/c Facilities, Licensure, & Regulations Subcommittee `referral-committee`
- **2019-02-04** Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Health and Welfare Committee
- **2019-02-06** Placed on s/c cal Facilities, Licensure, & Regulations Subcommittee for 2/12/2019
- **2019-02-12** Meeting Canceled
- **2019-02-13** Placed on s/c cal Facilities, Licensure, & Regulations Subcommittee for 2/19/2019
- **2019-02-19** Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to Health Committee `referral-committee`
- **2019-02-20** Placed on Senate Health and Welfare Committee calendar for 2/27/2019
- **2019-02-20** Placed on cal. Health Committee for 2/26/2019
- **2019-02-26** Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2019-02-27** Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 7, Nays 0 PNV 0
- **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
- **2019-03-05** Placed on Senate Floor Session calendar for 3/7/2019
- **2019-03-07** Passed H., Ayes 87, Nays 0, PNV 0 `passage`
- **2019-03-07** Am. withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - HA0015) `amendment-withdrawal`
- **2019-03-07** Subst. for comp. HB.
- **2019-03-07** Engrossed; ready for transmission to House
- **2019-03-07** Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 29, Nays 0 `passage`
- **2019-03-07** Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 1 - SA0053)
- **2019-03-07** Comp. SB subst.
- **2019-03-08** Enrolled and ready for signatures
- **2019-03-12** Signed by Senate Speaker
- **2019-03-13** Signed by H. Speaker
- **2019-03-15** Transmitted to Governor for action.
- **2019-03-20** Signed by Governor. `executive-signature`
- **2019-04-01** Pub. Ch. 12
- **2019-04-01** Effective date(s) 03/20/2019
- **2019-04-01** Comp. became Pub. Ch. 12

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/de798281-ffa7-4974-8e58-21f54ad817f2`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Tennessee legislature records).