NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — With a new year, it comes with new laws that officially go into effect in the State of Tennessee.
For some of them, it will also spark new controversies.
Effective Jan. 1, one new Tennessee law requires any "abortion-inducing drug" to be provided only by a doctor in a medical facility, and cannot be provided through the mail.
"Of course, that avenue was even further closed off by what happened a few months later when Roe V. Wade was struck down by the Dobbs decision at the Supreme Court," said Pat Nolan, NewsChannel 5's Political Analyst.
For those opposing abortion, it's another way to prevent them in the state. But for activists like Dr. Katrina Green, it poses another threat to women's healthcare.
"I worry about what this means to people who have unplanned pregnancies," said Green. "So taking that option away from those folks may lead to deaths here in Tennessee."
In 2021, Dallas Barrett died after a fight with security guards at Whisky Row. His mother, Tammy Barrett, called on lawmakers to change regulations for security guards.
"He didn’t deserve to die period," said Tammy Barrett. "They held him down while he continued to beg to breathe, so it was poorly handled all the way around."
"That has an impact on lawmakers, it makes it real. It’s not just something written on a piece of paper," said Nolan.
The law passed, meaning all armed and unarmed security guards in Tennessee have to show proof they passed general training, a CPR certification and de-escalation training. Security Guard Trainer Bob Allen says it's an important skill.
"So you need to stand there and listen to people, let them vent for a minute. A lot of people will get over it if they get to vent on it for a minute on somebody," said Allen, who works at Royal Range USA.
Jan. 1 also marks the beginning of new age eligibility rules for Tennessee's foster care program. But it comes at a problematic time for the Department of Children's Services.
"Obviously DCS needs all the help they can get," said Nolan.
Essentially, the law extends foster care benefits from age 18 to 21 if certain criteria are met. It also allows their caregivers to receive payments for continuing on as their guardians. The hope is, it will ease the transition for those children in state custody into adulthood.
"I’m sure it’s far from the answer of what they need, but it may be a step in that direction," said Nolan.
This law would authorize a County Property Assessor to display "UNLISTED" for the first and last name in the ownership field of an online searchable database of property when the property owner can prove the property belongs solely to them.
