Tennessee SB 1580 / HB 1470 is a state statute that prohibits any artificial intelligence system from advertising or representing to the public that it is, or can act as, a qualified mental health professional. It codifies a new section, §33-1-205, in Tenn. Code Ann. Title 33, ch. 1, part 2, enforces the prohibition through the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act of 1977 at $5,000 per violation, and takes effect July 1, 2026, the earliest effective date among the 2026 wave of state chatbot and AI mental-health laws.
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Senate sponsor | Page Walley (SB 1580, ID 009808) |
| House sponsor | Tim Hicks (HB 1470) |
| Codification | Tenn. Code Ann. Title 33, ch. 1, part 2 (new §33-1-205) |
| Effective date | July 1, 2026 ("the public welfare requiring it") |
Scope and definitions
Under §33-1-205(c), "artificial intelligence" means models and systems capable of performing functions generally associated with human intelligence, including reasoning and learning. The Tennessee definition does not require "general public access" or capture-by-conversation simulation, so it applies to any AI system that engages in mental-health representation, not only to conversational companion products.
Among the 2026 state AI mental-health laws, Tennessee's is the narrowest in subject matter: it addresses professional impersonation alone, rather than the broader disclosure, minor-protection, or engagement-design provisions found in California SB 243, Washington HB 2225, Oregon SB 1546, Idaho SB 1297, and Nebraska LB525.
Key provisions
The operative prohibition, §33-1-205(a), states: "A person who develops or deploys an artificial intelligence system shall not advertise or represent to the public that such system is or is able to act as a qualified mental health professional." The obligation falls on any person who develops or deploys such a system.
Enforcement and penalties
A violation of §33-1-205 constitutes a violation of the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act of 1977 (Title 47, ch. 18, part 1), specifically an unfair or deceptive act or practice (§33-1-205(b)). Section 2 of the act amends Tenn. Code Ann. §47-18-104(b) to add violation of §33-1-205 to the list of unfair or deceptive acts subject to TCPA enforcement.
The civil penalty is $5,000 per violation, applied notwithstanding the TCPA's general civil-penalty caps. The per-violation amount is five times the $1,000-per-violation penalty in Idaho and Nebraska, but Tennessee's statute does not include the per-operator $500,000 aggregate cap that those two states impose. Because enforcement runs through the TCPA, the Tennessee Attorney General can bring an enforcement action without developing new doctrine, and a high-volume platform offering large numbers of professional-impersonation interactions could accrue per-violation penalties without an aggregate ceiling.
Comparative position
| Aspect | Tennessee SB 1580 | Other 2026 chatbot laws |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | Professional impersonation only | Disclosure / minor-protection / engagement-design |
| Per-violation penalty | $5,000 (no aggregate cap) | $1,000/$500K cap (ID/NE), CPA-driven (WA), $1K stat. dmg. (OR) |
| Effective date | 2026-07-01 (earliest) | 2026-01-01 (CA) → 2027-07-01 (ID/NE) |
| PRA | No (TCPA only) | Yes (CA, OR, WA); No (ID, NE) |
| Sexual content rules for minors | Not addressed | Yes |
| Suicide protocol | Not addressed | Yes (CA, ID, NE, OR, WA) |
Related litigation
In Pennsylvania v. Character.AI (Shapiro/Sunday, filed May 5, 2026), Pennsylvania's Commonwealth Court suit alleges that Character.AI's chatbot "Emilie" represented itself as a licensed psychiatrist, supplied a fake license number, and offered to prescribe medication. Tennessee §33-1-205 would treat the same conduct as a TCPA violation. Garcia v. Character Technologies, Inc. is an antecedent case raising professional-impersonation concerns.
Relationships
- related: Idaho SB 1297 — Conversational AI Safety Act, Nebraska LB525 — Conversational AI Safety Act + Agricultural Data Privacy Act, Oregon SB 1546 — Artificial Intelligence Companions, Washington ESHB 2225 — AI Companion Chatbots, California SB 243 — Companion Chatbots — 2026 wave of state companion-chatbot / mental-health AI laws.
- related: Pennsylvania v. Character.AI — Tennessee statute would have directly applied to the alleged conduct.
- depends-on: AI Mental Health and Psychological Harm — concept-level case the statute instantiates.
- supports: Techno-Federalism — Southeast entry into multi-state AI regulatory grid.
Source
Primary text: Raw Sources/Tennessee SB 1580.md (source_class: foundational).