NASHVILLE, TN (WLAF) – The start of a new year also brings new laws for Tennessee.

This year, legislators enacted new opioid, healthcare, gun and others that will have a direct impact on many people.

–  Any prescription for an opioid must be issued as an electronic prescription from the doctor. The deadline for pharmacists to update software to comply with the new law is Jan. 1, 2021.

–  Individuals can compare prices when it comes to healthcare. This new law requires health insurance companies to show the prices of services before treatment, so patients know what their out-of-pocket costs are upfront. Companies must now list prices for services ranging from x-rays and MRI’s to physical therapy.

–  Prosecutors will soon be able to charge someone with felony murder if a person dies as the result of aggravated neglect of an elderly person. It is a small but significant change that could bring more abusers to justice.

– Tennessee gun owners can now apply for a concealed only gun permit. It allows permit holders to carry a weapon if it is concealed. The new permit is in addition to what was previously the only handgun permit in Tennessee, which lets people either open-carry or concealed-carry. The new permit is called “an enhanced gun permit.” The enhanced permit costs $100, requires an eight hour hands on class and other background check requirements. The concealed only permit costs $35 less and only requires a 90-minute training course with no hands-on component.

–  State employees’ proton therapy will now be covered by state insurance. Proton is used for cancers of the brain, lung, breast and neck.

–  The age required for a person to receive an initial school bus endorsement was lowered from 25 to 23 if the person is an honorably discharged veteran of the United States armed forces, a member of the national guard or reserves or a licensed teacher employed by an LEA.

–  Health care coverage can now be extended to the surviving spouses and children of park rangers who are killed in the line of duty to the same extent as survivors of other first responders who are killed in the line of duty.

–  Electrical inspectors employed by a municipality, a county, or Tennessee must be certified by the state fire marshal; establishes a re-certification process for such electrical inspectors every three years; requires certain electrical inspectors under contract with the commissioner of commerce and insurance to be certified on and after January 1, 2020.

– Travel promoters must now have trust accounts to avoid commingling their funds with customer funds that are held for disbursement for payment of travel services.

– Police officers and firefighters who are members of the state retirement system are now eligible for service retirement upon completion of 25 years of creditable service.

– A new law creates a program managed by the commissioner of commerce and insurance to annually award grants to volunteer fire departments for the purchase of firefighting equipment or to meet local match requirements for federal grants for the purchase of firefighting equipment and training.

– The definition of agricultural land for purposes of greenbelt property tax program now includes two non-contiguous tracts of land within the same county totaling at least 15 acres and split only by a road, body of water, or public or private easement.

–  A new law now allows certain persons who receive certified occupational training as a prisoner or a student in a high school technical training class to receive an equivalent credit toward an occupational license relating to the training received. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 01/03/2020-6AM)