Lawmakers in the Tennessee House and Senate passed a bill that bans emotional support animals inside restaurants and other indoor food service establishments.

The bill was sent to Governor Bill Lee to be signed to become law.

As of this morning (Friday, March 15, 2024), Governor Lee has not signed it yet.

Tennessee law already bans most dogs inside buildings that prepare or serve food.

House Bill 1635 extends the ban to specifically include emotional support animals and other animals, such as cats.

If the bill becomes law, only trained service dogs, police dogs, and fish/crustaceans inside tanks would be allowed inside restaurants.

It would only allow dogs trained to work for a person with a disability inside restaurants and would explicitly not consider animals providing comfort or emotional support as service animals.