Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed SB 2861, barring state funds for gender-affirming care for inmates
On April 29, 2024, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed SB 2861 (Public Chapter 821), prohibiting the state Department of Correction from using state funds to provide hormone replacement therapy or sex-reassignment surgery to inmates held in a state penitentiary, county jail, or workhouse. The General Assembly had passed the measure, with the Senate voting 24-3 on April 4 and the House 71-20 on April 11. The law took effect immediately upon signing.
Actors
On April 29, 2024, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed SB 2861 into law as Public Chapter 821, prohibiting the Tennessee Department of Correction from using state funds to administer hormone replacement therapy or to provide sex-reassignment surgery to inmates held in a state penitentiary, county jail, or workhouse. The measure, sponsored by Sen. Kerry Roberts and Rep. John Ragan, amended Titles 39, 40, and 41 of the Tennessee Code, which govern the state's correctional institutions.
The General Assembly passed the bill during its 113th session. The Senate approved it 24-3 on April 4, 2024, and the House substituted the companion measure, HB 2619, and passed it 71-20 on April 11, 2024. Both chamber speakers signed the enrolled bill on April 16, and it was transmitted to the governor on April 17. The law took effect immediately upon the governor's signature.
The statute withdraws state funding for the two principal forms of gender-affirming treatment for incarcerated transgender people — hormone therapy and surgery — care that inmates in state custody have no independent means to obtain.
Why we recorded this
Equal protection and the state's duty of care for those in its custody are at stake. Tennessee enacted a law that singles out transgender inmates for the denial of state-funded medical treatment — hormone therapy and sex-reassignment surgery — that incarcerated people have no independent means to obtain. This archive records when a government writes a protected characteristic into statute as the basis for withholding care, treating a class of people differently because of who they are.
Sources
- SB2861 Bill Information — 113th General Assembly — Tennessee General Assembly primary accessed July 16, 2026
- Tennessee SB2861 | 2023-2024 | 113th General Assembly — LegiScan secondary accessed July 16, 2026
See also
- Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a law shielding foster and adoptive parents who refuse to affirm a child's LGBTQ identity
- Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed SB1810 requiring schools to report students' gender-identity requests to parents
- Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed HB0878 letting officials and officiants refuse to solemnize any marriage
- Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed HB2310, imposing civil liability on adults who help minors obtain gender-affirming care
- Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed HB 836 shielding faith-based adoption agencies that deny LGBTQ+ families
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