Mark Pody
Republican · TN · Tennessee State Senator for District 17; Vice-Chair, Senate Transportation and Safety Committee
Mark Pody is an insurance professional from Lebanon who served in the state House before joining the Tennessee Senate. He is vice-chair of the Senate Transportation and Safety Committee and chairs the Tennessee Legislative Prayer Caucus.
Where Mark Pody stands, based on their records
Supports
AI Regulation (2 records), Environment and Public Health (1 record), Anti-Corruption (2 records),
Opposes
Immigration (3 records), Gun Control (1 record), Women's Reproductive Rights (1 record),
Mixed record
Civil Rights (2 support · 7 oppose), Corporate Accountability (1 support · 1 oppose)
Track record
Track record — AI Regulation
AI Regulation · 2 support
Told FOX 17 News that unregulated artificial intelligence is a real risk. He said the people who build an AI system are the ones responsible for what it does.
September 14, 2026Supports AI Regulation
Source: foxchattanooga.com
Sponsored a law, signed April 28, 2026, that says artificial intelligence, software, and machines are not "persons" under Tennessee law (SB 837, Public Chapter 781). The Senate passed it 26-6.
April 28, 2026Supports AI Regulation
Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov
Track record — Environment and Public Health
Environment and Public Health · 1 support
Pody sponsored SB 564/HB 803, and voted for its April 2026 passage, adding approval, tracking, bonding, and regulatory requirements for decentralized wastewater systems using land application.
April 6, 2026Supports Environment and Public Health
Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov
Track record — Anti-Corruption
Anti-Corruption · 2 support
Voted to pass HB 773, which requires websites carrying official legal notices to be free to view. The Tennessee Senate passed it 23-8, and it became law.
April 22, 2025Supports Anti-Corruption
Source: legiscan.com
Voted to adopt the compromise version of SB 229, which charges political campaign committees a $150 yearly fee. The Tennessee Senate adopted it 23-6, and it became law.
April 22, 2025Supports Anti-Corruption
Source: legiscan.com
Track record — Immigration
Immigration · 3 oppose
Voted to pass HB 2219, which requires every county sheriff to sign a federal 287(g) immigration enforcement deal. The Tennessee Senate passed it 24-7, and it became law.
April 23, 2026Opposes Immigration
Source: legiscan.com
Voted to pass HB 1194, which extends the work authorization law to almost every private employer. The Tennessee Senate passed it 19-13, and it became law.
March 12, 2026Opposes Immigration
Source: legiscan.com
Voted to pass SB 6002, which creates a state immigration enforcement office directing how local police work with federal agents. The Tennessee Senate passed it 26-7, and it became law.
January 29, 2025Opposes Immigration
Source: legiscan.com
Track record — Public Education Quality
Public Education Quality · 2 support
Voted to give final approval to SB 714, which creates an oversight board for a struggling school district. The board must study the district's problems each year and set a turnaround plan with goals. The Senate adopted the final version 27-6.
April 22, 2026Supports Public Education Quality
Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov
Pody introduced Senate Bill 150 in January 2025, proposing to let students use Classic Learning Test scores to qualify for Tennessee's lottery-funded scholarships and to apply to public colleges. The Senate Education Committee sent the bill to a general subcommittee on March 11, 2026, and took no further action (SB 150, 114th General Assembly).
February 26, 2026Supports Public Education Quality
Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov
Track record — Gun Control
Gun Control · 1 oppose
Voted to pass SB 2028, which bars cities and counties from setting rules on how wildlife may be taken. The Tennessee Senate passed it 24-7, and it became law.
March 12, 2026Opposes Gun Control
Source: legiscan.com
Track record — Women's Reproductive Rights
Women's Reproductive Rights · 1 oppose
Pody sponsored SB 738; after a House amendment would expose abortion patients to homicide penalties, he said he would not bring the amended measure for a Senate vote because it lacked support.
February 24, 2026Opposes Women's Reproductive Rights
Source: tennesseelookout.com
Track record — Data Privacy
Data Privacy · 1 oppose
Sponsored a new Tennessee law giving parents full access to their minor child's health and medical records. It also requires reporting a child's suicidal statements to parents (Senate Bill 259).
February 26, 2026Opposes Data Privacy
Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov
Track record — Civil Rights
Civil Rights · 2 support · 7 oppose
Voted for HB 7003, Tennessee's new U.S. House map. It split Memphis and spread the city's majority-Black voters across neighboring districts. The Senate passed it 25-5 in a May 2026 special session.
May 7, 2026Opposes Civil Rights
Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov
Voted to pass HB 1271, which requires cities and counties to define sex and gender in their rules by physical traits at birth. The Tennessee Senate passed it 24-6, and it became law.
April 22, 2026Opposes Civil Rights
Source: legiscan.com
Voted to pass HB 754, which makes gender clinics report every gender transition procedure to the state. The Tennessee Senate passed it 24-7, and it became law.
April 13, 2026Opposes Civil Rights
Source: legiscan.com
Sponsored the Senate measure letting public schools display the Ten Commandments and other founding documents. It was signed into law in May 2026 (Public Chapter 924).
February 26, 2026Opposes Civil Rights
Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov
Pody sponsored SB 1041 to authorize local school boards and charter governing bodies to employ or accept volunteer school chaplains.
February 26, 2026Opposes Civil Rights
Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov
Voted to pass HB 601, which opens a late-stage innocence appeal to people who pleaded guilty. The Tennessee Senate passed it 24-6, and it became law.
April 10, 2025Supports Civil Rights
Source: legiscan.com
Voted for the Senate version of Senate Bill 336, which changed the child support condition for restoring voting rights to twelve months of compliance. The Senate passed it 24-8, and a later House rewrite became law.
April 10, 2025Supports Civil Rights
Source: legiscan.com
Voted to pass HB 1237, which bars race-based rules for who sits on state boards. The Tennessee Senate passed it 24-6, and it became law.
March 31, 2025Opposes Civil Rights
Source: legiscan.com
Pody sponsored the Tennessee Natural Marriage Defense Act, a proposal to prohibit state recognition or facilitation of same-sex marriage despite the U.S. Supreme Court's nationwide ruling.
September 17, 2015Opposes Civil Rights
Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov
Track record — Corporate Accountability
Corporate Accountability · 1 support · 1 oppose
Voted for Senate Bill 2040, which bars an owner from controlling a pharmacy plus both a health insurer and drug-benefit manager from 2028. The Tennessee Senate passed it 24-9, and it became law.
April 20, 2026Supports Corporate Accountability
Source: legiscan.com
Sponsored a bill to block neighbors from suing racetracks over nuisance or property claims when the track was built first, and to bar local rules limiting track operations (Senate Bill 1646).
January 21, 2026Opposes Corporate Accountability
Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov
Track record — Public Infrastructure
Public Infrastructure · 2 support
Pody sponsored SB 564/HB 803, and voted for its April 2026 passage, adding approval, tracking, bonding, and regulatory requirements for decentralized wastewater systems using land application.
April 6, 2026Supports Public Infrastructure
Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov
Sponsored a bill proposing to send sales tax on vehicle and tire sales above a base amount to the state highway fund (Senate Bill 24).
February 18, 2026Supports Public Infrastructure
Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov
Track record — General
General · 8 records
Voted for a special-session law that removed Tennessee's ban on redrawing U.S. House districts between census counts (HB 7002). The Senate passed it 22-8.
May 7, 2026
Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov
Voted against SB 1868, which caps state custody of a child for treatment at six months, extendable once. The Tennessee Senate passed it 22-11, and it became law.
April 15, 2026
Source: legiscan.com
Voted against HB 1971, which narrows the law letting people ask a court to declare a government action unlawful to local bodies. The Tennessee Senate passed it 18-13, and it became law.
April 2, 2026
Source: legiscan.com
Voted against HB 618, which bars a person from holding two local elected offices at the same time. The Tennessee Senate passed it 21-10, and it became law.
February 26, 2026
Source: legiscan.com
Sponsored a bill requiring blasting companies to give owners or occupants of buildings within 300 feet of a blast hole a copy of the pre-blast survey for no more than $50 (Senate Bill 566). The Senate passed the companion House measure 32-0 in March 2026, after the House passed it 96-0.
February 24, 2026
Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov
Pody sponsored SB 1069, enacted to permit qualifying large Wilson County venues to conduct a limited annual antique or unique-vehicle auction without a motor-vehicle dealer license.
February 2, 2026
Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov
Pody sponsored SB 735 to require just compensation when lawfully erected outdoor advertising is acquired or removed and to prohibit amortization as compensation.
January 13, 2026
Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov
Voted against House Bill 1093, which raises the penalty for machine gun conversion parts to a Class C felony. The Tennessee Senate passed it 23-8, and it became law.
April 22, 2025
Source: legiscan.com
Past races Mark Pody ran in:
- Tennessee Senate District 17 · November 3, 2026 · State Senate District 17; Tennessee · incumbent
- Tennessee Senate District 17 · August 6, 2026 · State Senate District 17; Tennessee · incumbent