The Banking & Consumer Affairs Subcommittee amended House Bill 420, a measure intended to bring Tennessee consumer‑protection rules for automatic renewals into online transactions, and then voted to roll the bill one week to allow additional stakeholder negotiation.

Sponsor Representative Rudd told the committee the bill’s goals are to require clear, conspicuous disclosures for automatic renewal and continuous‑service offers, to obtain express consumer consent before charging a stored payment method, and to require easy cancellation. He said the draft excludes regulated utilities and certain financial services and that an amendment would move the bill’s effective date from July 1 to Dec. 31, 2025 to give vendors time to update contracts and website code.

"What we're trying to do is rectify that and bring this in line with what we've already passed in the code," Rudd said, summarizing the intent to apply existing Tennessee consumer‑protection language to online subscription offers.

The committee adopted the amendment (voice vote: ayes) that: (1) carved out specified public‑utility, banking and similar regulated services from the statute’s scope, and (2) extended the implementation date to Dec. 31, 2025. Rudd also said he expects to drop one subsection that would have required an extra confirmation at the end of a free trial; stakeholders including technology and entertainment platforms had asked to avoid duplicative confirmations.

Committee members raised consumer examples (automatic, unnoticed renewals) and asked about overlap with federal law and other states. The sponsor said comparable online‑subscription rules exist in other states and that the goal is consumer protection. After discussion, a member moved and the committee agreed to roll the bill one week to finish technical drafting; no final passage occurred.

The subcommittee also noted that the changes mirror existing Tennessee Code language (testimony cited Tennessee Code section 47‑18‑133(a)(1) and (2)) but extend those requirements to online renewal and continuous‑service offers.

The subcommittee plans to take the bill up again after staff and stakeholders submit the clarified amendment language.