Tennessee Legislation Allowing All County Residents To Challenge Library Books Advancing In House

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The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –

Legislation allowing all county residents to challenge books with which they take issue at their local libraries is advancing in the state House of Representatives.

Sponsored by Representative Johnny Garrett (R-Goodlettsville-District 45), House Bill 2449 (HB2449) passed unanimously in the House Departments and Agencies Subcommittee on March 10th and now heads to the House State and Local Government Committee where it is scheduled to be heard on Tuesday, March 24th, 2026.

Currently, challenging a book at a public library depends on local policy with some library systems limiting review requests to parents or guardians who live within the library’s district.

With the introduction of HB2449, state law could broaden who can ask for a book to either be moved within the library, reclassified, or removed entirely, to any resident who lives within the county.

The companion Senate Bill 2319 (SB2319), sponsored by Senator Mark Pody (R-Lebanon-District 17) was referred to the Senate Delayed Bills Committee in early February.

Contact information for members of the House State and Local Government Committee may be found below.

House State and Local Government Committee – HB2449 scheduled to be heard March 24

HB2449 allows all county residents to challenge books with which they take issue at their local libraries.

Rep.john.crawford@capitol.tn.gov; rep.dave.wright@capitol.tn.gov; rep.rush.bricken@capitol.tn.gov; rep.ed.butler@capitol.tn.gov; rep.michele.carringer@capitol.tn.gov; rep.jesse.chism@capitol.tn.gov; rep.vincent.dixie@capitol.tn.gov; rep.rick.eldridge@capitol.tn.gov; rep.dan.howell@capitol.tn.gov; rep.michael.lankford@capitol.tn.gov; rep.tom.leatherwood@capitol.tn.gov; rep.mary.littleton@capitol.tn.gov; rep.greg.martin@capitol.tn.gov; rep.jake.mccalmon@capitol.tn.gov; rep.larry.miller@capitol.tn.gov; rep.bo.mitchell@capitol.tn.gov; rep.jerome.moon@capitol.tn.gov; rep.jason.powell@capitol.tn.gov; rep.dennis.powers@capitol.tn.gov; rep.tim.rudd@capitol.tn.gov; rep.iris.rudder@capitol.tn.gov; rep.gabby.salinas@capitol.tn.gov; rep.todd.warner@capitol.tn.gov

About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.