Kerry E. Roberts

Sponsored a bill proposing to let Katie Beckett Part A families spend their allotted home and community care money through a health reimbursement arrangement. The Senate Health and Welfare Committee backed it 9-0 (Senate Bill 1053).

April 20, 2026Supports Healthcare Affordability

Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov · researched July 18, 2026

Roberts sponsored enacted SB 522 to authorize medically necessary TennCare coverage for diagnosis, genetic testing, and treatment of Kleefstra syndrome comparable to coverage for autism, Down syndrome, and related disorders.

April 4, 2025Supports Healthcare Affordability

Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov · researched July 18, 2026

Introduced a Tennessee bill proposing to require the Katie Beckett program's Part B to serve at least 5,000 children with serious medical needs (Senate Bill 2864).

April 19, 2024Supports Healthcare Affordability

Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov · researched July 18, 2026

Roberts sponsored SB 476, enacted in 2019 to direct Tennessee to seek federal approval for a Katie Beckett program serving children with significant disabilities or complex medical needs whose parents' income would otherwise make them ineligible for Medicaid.

May 29, 2019Supports Healthcare Affordability

Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov · researched July 18, 2026

Roberts sponsored SB 1590, enacted in 2026 to designate portions of the Buffalo River, Duck River, and other waterways as Class II pastoral river areas and expand related public outreach.

May 18, 2026Supports Environment and Public Health

Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov · researched July 18, 2026

Roberts sponsored SB 2465, enacted in 2018 as the Fresh Start Act to limit occupational-license denials based on criminal convictions not directly related to the profession, subject to specified exceptions.

July 1, 2018Supports Reduce Wealth Gap

Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov · researched July 18, 2026

Roberts sponsored enacted SB 1723 to reconstitute the Tennessee education-lottery board, subject specified lottery information to public-records requests, and set a 2030 termination date.

May 27, 2026Supports Anti-Corruption

Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov · researched July 18, 2026

Voted to pass HB 618. Starting in 2027 it bars a person who holds a local elected office from holding a second elected office in Tennessee at the same time. Anyone already holding two offices on January 1, 2027 may keep them and run again, and party executive committee seats do not count. The Tennessee Senate passed it 21-10, and it became law.

February 26, 2026Supports Anti-Corruption

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 6, 2026

Voted to adopt the compromise version of SB 229. It charges political campaign committees a $150 fee each year to help pay for the agency that regulates them, while candidates pay nothing. It also makes a candidate in a local election that crosses county lines file treasurer paperwork with each county's election commission. The Tennessee Senate adopted it 23-6, and it became law.

April 22, 2025Supports Anti-Corruption

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 6, 2026

Roberts sponsored SB 2465, enacted in 2018 as the Fresh Start Act to limit occupational-license denials based on criminal convictions not directly related to the profession, subject to specified exceptions.

July 1, 2018Supports Government Efficiency

Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov · researched July 18, 2026

Roberts sponsored SB 365, enacted in 2017 as the Program Integrity Act establishing additional requirements for public-benefit eligibility.

May 3, 2017Supports Government Efficiency

Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov · researched July 18, 2026

Voted to pass HB 2219. It requires every county sheriff to sign a deal with federal immigration agents under a federal program called 287(g), which lets local officers do some federal immigration work. The sheriff does not need the county's approval, and the state can hold back money from a county that does not sign. The Tennessee Senate passed it 24-7, and it became law.

April 23, 2026Opposes Immigration

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 6, 2026

Voted to accept the House's version of Senate Bill 1915, the final Senate vote on the bill. The law makes counties, cities, and towns check that each benefit applicant age 18 or older is a citizen or lawfully present. Local forms and automated phone systems must carry that notice after their first update following July 1, 2026. An agency may not delay a benefit only because the check is still pending. It must stop a recurring benefit once a final check shows the person is not a citizen or a qualified immigrant. Agencies must also report people who are not lawfully present and receive benefits to a state immigration enforcement office. An employee who knowingly fails to report commits a Class A misdemeanor. The attorney general may investigate local governments and withhold their state funding. The Senate agreed 24-6 and it became law as Public Chapter 1106.

April 22, 2026Opposes Immigration

Source: legiscan.com · researched August 27, 2026

Voted to pass HB 2502. It applies Tennessee sales tax to the service of sending money from this state to a place outside the United States through a licensed money transmitter. The Tennessee Senate passed it 21-7, and it became law.

April 16, 2026Opposes Immigration

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 6, 2026

Voted to pass HB 1194. It extends Tennessee's work authorization law to almost every private employer. The law had applied to businesses with at least six employees; it now applies to those with at least one. The Tennessee Senate passed it 19-13, and it became law.

March 12, 2026Opposes Immigration

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 6, 2026

Voted to pass SB 6002. It creates a new immigration enforcement office inside the state safety department, run by an officer the governor picks. That officer directs how state and local police work with federal immigration agents, hands out money from a new grant fund, and runs the state's part in federal programs. The Tennessee Senate passed it 26-7, and it became law.

January 29, 2025Opposes Immigration

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 6, 2026

Roberts sponsored enacted SB 2650 requiring notice of a voluntary restorative-justice option for victims through programs in Davidson and Shelby counties.

April 29, 2026Supports Public Safety and Crime Control

Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov · researched July 18, 2026

Sponsored a law that raised criminal penalties when agents of foreign governments or terrorist groups threaten, coerce, or retaliate against people in Tennessee. It also directed state investigators to warn the public about the practice (Senate Bill 2644, Public Chapter 777).

April 27, 2026Supports Public Safety and Crime Control

Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov · researched July 18, 2026

Roberts sponsored SB 640 in 2017 to add offenses for leaving a loaded, unsecured firearm where it endangered a child under 14 or knowingly allowing a child under 12 to use a firearm without adult supervision.

February 13, 2017Supports Public Safety and Crime Control

Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov · researched July 18, 2026

Sponsored a bill proposing to let Katie Beckett Part A families spend their allotted home and community care money through a health reimbursement arrangement. The Senate Health and Welfare Committee backed it 9-0 (Senate Bill 1053).

April 20, 2026Supports Social Programs and Welfare

Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov · researched July 18, 2026

Roberts sponsored enacted SB 522 to authorize medically necessary TennCare coverage for diagnosis, genetic testing, and treatment of Kleefstra syndrome comparable to coverage for autism, Down syndrome, and related disorders.

April 4, 2025Supports Social Programs and Welfare

Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov · researched July 18, 2026

Introduced a Tennessee bill proposing to require the Katie Beckett program's Part B to serve at least 5,000 children with serious medical needs (Senate Bill 2864).

April 19, 2024Supports Social Programs and Welfare

Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov · researched July 18, 2026

Roberts sponsored SB 476, enacted in 2019 to direct Tennessee to seek federal approval for a Katie Beckett program serving children with significant disabilities or complex medical needs whose parents' income would otherwise make them ineligible for Medicaid.

May 29, 2019Supports Social Programs and Welfare

Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov · researched July 18, 2026

Roberts sponsored SB 365, enacted in 2017 as the Program Integrity Act establishing additional requirements for public-benefit eligibility.

May 3, 2017Opposes Social Programs and Welfare

Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov · researched July 18, 2026

Roberts sponsored enacted SB 2636 allowing Classic Learning Test performance to be used alongside ACT and SAT results for specified purposes and revising home-school testing rules and opportunities.

May 18, 2026Supports Public Education Quality

Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov · researched July 18, 2026

In 2019 Roberts called higher education a liberal breeding ground and called for its elimination on his radio show, then said the elimination remark was humor and hyperbole while standing by his broader critique of liberal bias in higher education.

September 10, 2019Opposes Public Education Quality

Source: cbsnews.com · researched July 18, 2026

Voted to pass SB 2028. It bars cities and counties from setting rules on how wildlife may be taken, including firing a gun while lawfully hunting. Those rules are left to the state wildlife agency. The Tennessee Senate passed it 24-7, and it became law.

March 12, 2026Opposes Gun Control

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 6, 2026

Sponsored a Tennessee bill proposing to let gun owners sue a person or government agency for money damages over violations of their right to bear arms (Senate Bill 819).

April 8, 2025Opposes Gun Control

Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov · researched July 18, 2026

Roberts sponsored SB 640 in 2017 to add offenses for leaving a loaded, unsecured firearm where it endangered a child under 14 or knowingly allowing a child under 12 to use a firearm without adult supervision.

February 13, 2017Supports Gun Control

Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov · researched July 18, 2026

Sponsored a law that raised criminal penalties when agents of foreign governments or terrorist groups threaten, coerce, or retaliate against people in Tennessee. It also directed state investigators to warn the public about the practice (Senate Bill 2644, Public Chapter 777).

April 27, 2026Supports Civil Rights

Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov · researched July 18, 2026

Voted to pass HB 754. It makes gender clinics report every gender transition procedure to the state health department, including the patient's age, sex and home state, the drugs and doses used, and the name and contact details of the provider who prescribed them. It also bars cities and counties from banning therapy aimed at a minor's gender identity. The Tennessee Senate passed it 24-7, and it became law.

April 13, 2026Opposes Civil Rights

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 6, 2026

Roberts sponsored enacted SB 1055, which reorganized Tennessee expunction statutes and extended eligibility to facilitation, attempt, or solicitation of an otherwise expungeable offense.

April 29, 2025Supports Civil Rights

Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov · researched July 18, 2026

Roberts sponsored SB 2861, enacted in 2024 to generally prohibit state funds from being used for hormone-replacement therapy or sex-reassignment surgery for state inmates.

May 9, 2024Opposes Civil Rights

Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov · researched July 18, 2026

Roberts sponsored SB 1440, enacted in 2023 to define sex for Tennessee statutory construction purposes.

May 24, 2023Opposes Civil Rights

Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov · researched July 18, 2026

Roberts sponsored SB 2465, enacted in 2018 as the Fresh Start Act to limit occupational-license denials based on criminal convictions not directly related to the profession, subject to specified exceptions.

July 1, 2018Supports Civil Rights

Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov · researched July 18, 2026

Roberts sponsored SB 134, enacted in 2017 to generally require a search warrant or written consent before alcohol or drug testing of a driver's blood, with specified exceptions.

May 19, 2017Supports Civil Rights

Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov · researched July 18, 2026

Voted for Senate Bill 2040. Starting July 1, 2028, an owner above five percent generally cannot control a pharmacy plus both a health insurer and drug-benefit manager. Hospital pharmacies are not benefit managers, independent pharmacies keep mail, specialty, and delivery services, certain rare drugs are excluded, and a violating pharmacy may operate through December 31, 2028 during a real sale to an independent buyer. The Tennessee Senate passed it 24-9, and it became law.

April 20, 2026Supports Corporate Accountability

Source: legiscan.com · researched August 27, 2026

Roberts sponsored enacted SB 519 requiring foreign persons who report Tennessee land purchases under federal agricultural-investment law to also file the report with the state agriculture commissioner.

June 4, 2025Supports Corporate Accountability

Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov · researched July 18, 2026

Sponsored a bill proposing to make lobbyists working for adversary governments or blacklisted Chinese military firms file disclosure affidavits, with fines up to $50,000 (Senate Bill 1397).

February 12, 2025Supports Corporate Accountability

Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov · researched July 18, 2026

Voted against HB 2175. It requires delivery companies and their drivers to carry set car insurance while the driver is logged on and available for deliveries, and while a delivery is under way. The Tennessee Senate passed it 19-9, and it became law.

April 23, 2026

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 6, 2026

Introduced the Tennessee Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act, proposing to let the state treasurer invest up to 10% of the general fund and other state funds in bitcoin (Senate Bill 2639). A Senate committee recommended it for passage, but it has not become law.

April 20, 2026

Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov · researched July 18, 2026

Voted against SB 1868. It says a child placed in state custody for treatment stays only as long as the treatment needs, and that the treatment must be evidence-based and given by a qualified provider. Custody is capped at six months, which a court may extend once by six more after a hearing. The Tennessee Senate passed it 22-11, and it became law.

April 15, 2026

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 6, 2026

Roberts sponsored enacted SB 298 revising approval and notice rules for nonsectarian, nonreligious Bible courses and clarifying that public charter schools may offer them.

May 13, 2025

Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov · researched July 18, 2026

Voted against House Bill 1093. Machine gun now includes parts meant only to convert a gun; making, having, moving, fixing, or selling one rises from a Class E to a more serious Class C felony, and post-felony possession rules add ammunition. Aggravated assault by firing from a vehicle gets no probation and requires the full sentence with no early release. The Tennessee Senate passed it 23-8, and it became law.

April 22, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched August 27, 2026