NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A long slate of new Tennessee laws significantly affecting transgender athletes, controversial books, homeless camps, and harsh criminal sentences will go into effect July 1.
The state’s GOP-controlled General Assembly and Republican Gov. Bill Lee signed off on hundreds of bills earlier this year during the annual legislative session. Many of those laws will kick in Friday, which is the start of a new fiscal year.
Notably, Tennessee will become the first U.S. state to make it a felony to camp on local public property such as parks — a move critics say is designed to target homeless encampments.