By: Senator Page Walley
I recently passed three bills important to our district. Two of which came from ideas brought to me by business owners and law enforcement in our district. One bill passed the full Senate and two passed in committees.
Empowering restaurant owners to restrict animals from inside of their restaurants
The Senate passed a bill I am sponsoring to empower restaurant owners to restrict emotional support animals from the interior of a restaurant. The bill does not interfere with service animals and their job to aid persons with a disability. In fact, the disability coalition is supportive of this bill.
The idea for the measure is from multiple restaurant owners in our district who asked the legislature to clarify the distinction between emotional support animals and animals that are bred and trained to be service animals. Service animals are vital and have been properly trained to serve people with disabilities. Conversely, the sole purpose of emotional support animals is to provide comfort and companionship and are often untrained.
This bill strictly gives restaurant owners the ability to restrict the allowance of emotional support animals from the inside of their restaurant. However, a restaurant owner can still allow emotional support animals if they choose. It clearly gives restaurant owners the ability to appropriately and legally turn away those that are bringing non-service animals to the interior part of the restaurant.
Improving communication with mental health institutions
I passed legislation in the Senate Health and Welfare Committee to help local law enforcement agencies protect public safety by improving communication with mental health institutions. The legislation clarifies that local law enforcement agencies and local courts must be informed when a patient who lives in their jurisdiction is released from a psychiatric institution.
The notifications sent to law enforcement will let officers know that individuals who may be a danger to themselves or others are returning to their homes. Currently, the way the law is written, mental health institutions only alert law enforcement about involuntary commitments in the jurisdiction of the institution. However, if the patient lives in a different county than the location of the mental health facility, then law enforcement in the patient’s county is not informed.
This is an important bill that came from local sheriffs in our district. I am grateful for their input and partnership as we all work together to make our communities safer.
Helping local governments mitigate risks from natural disasters
Another bill that I am carrying on behalf of Governor Lee passed the Senate State and Local Government Committee to give more resources to help our rural counties prepare for national disasters.
The Resilient Tennessee Revolving Loan Fund Act would authorize the State of Tennessee to receive federal funds via the STORM Act. The STORM Act was passed by Congress in 2021 and allows eligible states to receive a loan fund for hazard mitigation assistance to reduce risks from natural hazards and disasters. The Finance Committee is the next stop for this bill.
I look forward to sharing more with you about news and updates in the General Assembly. In the meantime, please reach out to my office on issues of interest and importance at 615-741-2368 or sen.page.walley@capitol.tn.gov.
