Americans for Prosperity – Tennessee (AFP-TN) released its 2026 Legislative Agenda, calling on state lawmakers in the Tennessee General Assembly to pass legislation that the organization says reflects the top priorities of grassroots Tennesseans.
AFP-TN’s “The Volunteer Way 2026 Legislative Agenda” urges state lawmakers to pass the Regulatory Freedom Act as well as legislation expanding school choice, repealing certificate of need (CON) laws, capping local property taxes, and reforming the licensing requirements for teachers and healthcare workers.
Although no such legislation has been introduced in the General Assembly to date, AFP-TN is urging lawmakers to consider a version of the Regulatory Freedom Act. The group argues the measure would make it easier to roll back red tape and bureaucracy that burden the economy, while also increasing legislative oversight of the state’s most costly and restrictive regulations.
A similar measure was recently approved by South Carolina lawmakers. The state’s Small Business Regulatory Freedom Act mandates a 25 percent reduction in regulations and prevents agencies from issuing new rules unless they are explicitly authorized by state law.
“Regulatory reform will result in Tennessee having a nation-leading business environment,” AFP-TN said.
AFP-TN is also calling on lawmakers to meet the demand for the state’s Education Freedom Scholarship Program, which saw 42,827 applications submitted from families in 94 out of Tennessee’s 95 counties in its first year.
A total of 20,000 scholarships – each worth approximately $7,295 – were awarded on a first-come, first-served basis for the program’s first year.
“Thousands of students were denied the opportunity to participate in the Education Freedom Scholarship due to the lottery-like nature of having limited spots available. We must make these families whole and ensure initial demand is met,” the organization said, adding how “not just the ones lucky enough to win the lottery” should be able to benefit from the program.
Based on the demand seen in the program’s first year, Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) recently proposed doubling the amount of scholarships available.
Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge), however, has said a possible expansion to the number of scholarships offered under the program would depend on the state’s revenue picture.
Further, AFP-TN is calling on lawmakers to repeal CON laws, an issue the organization has pushed for years, which permits state regulatory boards to decide whether or not healthcare providers can build or expand treatment facilities.
“More than a billion dollars in funding for rural healthcare is on the line, as the Trump Administration has signaled it wants to see CON laws repealed across the board and will grant Tennessee these funds if lawmakers stand with the free-market & President Trump,” AFP-TN said.
The organization is also calling for a state-mandated cap on local property taxes, emphasizing how Tennessee is one of only four states in the nation without one.
“It’s time to force local governments to live within their means, just like the people have to,” the AFP-TN said.
Finally, the organization is urging lawmakers to consider licensure reform that would allow teachers to enter the classroom with an associate degree and expand scope-of-practice laws in healthcare.
AFP-TN said a failure to pass such licensure reform “prohibits people from self-actualizing [and] contributing to the economy & society while driving up costs for taxpayers [and] consumers.”
Tori Venable, AFP-TN State Director, said the group’s 2026 legislative agenda is a “product of thousands of conversations with Tennesseans who want to see lower taxes, less government, more freedom and better education.”
The General Assembly is scheduled to convene on Tuesday, January 13, 2026.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Tennessee Capitol” by Kayfishup CC3.0.
Kendra – Well said.
Oh great……a failing education system and now we want to put people in the classroom that are not yet certified to teach. We have a shortage of teachers because no one in their right mind wants to be a teacher. So now we dumb down the classroom even more than it already is. There is an easy fix but no one wants to really fix anything. Between disrespectful, violent students and the fact that teachers today are more social workers than actual teachers makes teaching today very distasteful career.
TN Rep. Bud Hulsey will sponsor legislation we have been working on with Dr. Art Laffer to set caps on property taxes and home assessments. The bill is written and has a Senate sponsor too. It will take a huge citizen action to get it passed because your city and county governments do not want to have any restrictions on spending your money and asking for more. It is time the learned REAL budgeting and fiscal responsibility. If the citizens sit back and do not support this legislation in huge numbers eventually all of TN will look like Memphis when it comes to taxes. Understand this…..for every 1% increase in property tax your home loses 1.5% of value. The lower the taxes the higher price you can ask for your home. The higher the property tax the lower the home values. It is basic economics.
This organization’s wish list is a mixed bag for me some pro and lots of cons. The most prominent con for me is the push to make school vouchers available to any and all. Has anyone in their right mind calculated the cost of that if the law is not changed to reduce money going to the school from which the students depart? The real solution is to fix the public schools but no one wants to hold the administrators and teachers accountable. Rather they just throw good money after bad.
They never fix anything because they don’t want to fix it they just want the taxpayer to hand over more of their money. The issue with education in TN and all of America can be fixed and it won’t take money. As a matter of fact the fix will save money but throwing good money after bad is all they know to do. I and several others I know in this state could fix education in TN and it doesn’t take a PhD to do so….as a matter of fact the more credentials after ones name brings more incompetence. AFP is surely raking in some funding for pushing this agenda and I wonder what new job Lee is looking for after he leaves the Governor’s mansion. I am sure a lot what he has done in his 2nd term is paving the way for something lucrative in his future. Glad I never voted for him and I won’t be voting for Blackburn or Rose either. Just more of the same BS. My vote goes to a REAL constitutional conservative……Representative Monty Fritts.