Correction, Dept. of

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Changes Reporting Time for Deaths in Custody

This bill changes how quickly Tennessee's Department of Correction must report deaths of people in its custody to state legislators.

What This Bill Does

• Reduces the time from 10 business days to five business days for reporting deaths of people in custody to state legislators.
• Requires that reports include the name of the department facility where the death occurred.
• Limits this requirement to people whose last known address was within Tennessee.

Who It Names or Affects

• The Department of Correction
• State legislators representing districts where deceased individuals resided

Terms To Know

business days

days from Monday to Friday, excluding holidays and weekends.

custody

being under the control or supervision of a government agency.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify what happens if the last known address is outside Tennessee.
• It's unclear how this change will affect current reporting practices.

Official Summary Text

Abstract summarizes the bill.

Current Bill Text

SENATE BILL 108
By Roberts

HOUSE BILL 287
By Lafferty

HB0287
000368
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4,
relative to oversight of governmental entities.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 4-3-611, is amended by deleting the
section and substituting:
(a) For the purposes of oversight, the commissioner of correction shall provide a
report of the death of a person in the custody of the department at a department facility
within five (5) business days of the person's death to the state senator and
representative who represented the deceased person. The state legislators receiving
the report are determined by the last known home address of the deceased person in
this state.
(b) The information contained in the report required pursuant to subsection (a)
must include, but not be limited to, the name of the department facility where the death
occurred, subject to § 10-7-504.
(c) This section does not apply to the deaths of persons whose last known home
address was not in this state.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect July 1, 2025, the public welfare requiring it.