Correction, Dept. of

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 38; Title 39; Title 40 and Title 55, relative to criminal law.

Crime

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor: Doggett, Gardenhire
Last action: 2026-04-06
Official status: Comp. SB subst.
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide details on the bill's intent beyond requiring annual reports.

Annual Report on Offender Diversion Programs

This bill requires the Tennessee Department of Correction to submit an annual report about the effectiveness of offender diversion programs to specific legislative committees.

What This Bill Does

Requires the department to give a yearly report by February 1st.
The report must be sent to certain legislative committees.
Includes information on how well offender diversion works.

Who It Names or Affects

Tennessee Department of Correction
Legislative committees dealing with criminal justice

Terms To Know

diversion programs: Programs that help keep people from going to prison by offering alternatives like community service or treatment.
legislative committee: A group within the state legislature that focuses on specific topics, such as criminal justice laws.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not specify what happens if the report is late or missing.
It's unclear how this will change current practices for reporting.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

HA0995

Amendment 1-0 to HB0489

Plain English: The amendment changes Tennessee law to require defendants who are not considered indigent and ordered to wear a transdermal monitoring device as part of their pretrial release or probation to pay for all associated costs.

Defendants must now cover the full cost of installing, monitoring, maintaining, and operating a transdermal monitoring device if they are not determined by the court to be indigent.
If defendants fail to make payments within five days after due dates, it can lead to termination of device monitoring or show cause hearings.
The amendment also updates several sections in Tennessee Code Annotated to include government agencies as providers of electronic monitoring services alongside qualified electronic monitoring providers.

Some parts of the text are technical and may be hard for a general audience to understand without additional context.

HA1070

Amendment 2-0 to HB0489

Plain English: The amendment changes Tennessee law to require defendants who are not considered indigent and ordered to wear a transdermal monitoring device as part of pretrial release or probation to pay for all associated costs.

Defendants must now cover the full cost of installing, monitoring, maintaining, and operating a transdermal monitoring device if they are not determined by the court to be indigent.
If defendants fail to make payments within five days after due dates, it can lead to termination of device monitoring or show cause hearings.
The amendment also updates several sections in Tennessee Code Annotated to include government agencies as providers of electronic monitoring services alongside qualified electronic monitoring providers.

Some parts of the amendment text are technical and may be hard for non-lawyers to understand fully without additional context.

SA0918

Amendment 1-0 to SB0254

Defendants must now cover the full cost of installing, monitoring, maintaining, and operating a transdermal monitoring device if they are not determined by the court to be indigent.
If a defendant fails to make payments within five days after the due date, it can lead to termination of device monitoring or other legal actions such as a show cause hearing.
The amendment also outlines procedures for notifying defendants and courts about nonpayment and provides options like scheduling bond hearings or allowing immediate payment to continue pretrial release.

Some parts of the text are technical and may be hard to understand without legal expertise, such as specific definitions and procedural details.
The full impact of these changes on defendants' rights and responsibilities is not fully explained in this amendment alone.

Bill History

2026-04-13 Tennessee General Assembly
H. Placed on Message Calendar
2026-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly
Senate returned to the House
2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly
Enrolled and ready for signatures
2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly
Requested S. to return.
2026-04-06 Tennessee General Assembly
Comp. SB subst.
2026-04-06 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-04-06 Tennessee General Assembly
Passed H., Ayes 96, Nays 0, PNV 0
2026-04-06 Tennessee General Assembly
Am. withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - HA0995)
2026-04-06 Tennessee General Assembly
Subst. for comp. HB.
2026-04-06 Tennessee General Assembly
Engrossed; ready for transmission to House
2026-04-06 Tennessee General Assembly
Passed Senate, Ayes 31, Nays 1
2026-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly
H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/6/2026
2026-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 4/6/2026
2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 4/2/2026
2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly
Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee
2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 4/1/2026
2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly
Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to Judiciary Committee
2026-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly
Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 9, Nays 0 PNV 0
2026-03-23 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/24/2026
2026-03-23 Tennessee General Assembly
Action deferred in Senate Judiciary Committee to 3/24/2026
2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 3/25/2026
2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/23/2026
2026-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly
Assigned to s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee
2026-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly
Ref. to Judiciary Committee
2026-03-16 Tennessee General Assembly
Reset on Final calendar of Senate Judiciary Committee
2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/16/2026
2026-02-11 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) withdrawn.
2026-02-11 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor change.
2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly
Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Judiciary Committee
2025-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly
P2C, caption bill, held on desk - pending amdt.
2025-02-03 Tennessee General Assembly
Intro., P1C.
2025-01-29 Tennessee General Assembly
Filed for introduction
2025-01-27 Tennessee General Assembly
Introduced, Passed on First Consideration
2025-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly
Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

ON APRIL 6, 2026, THE SENATE PASSED SENATE BILL 254.

ON APRIL 8, 2026, THE HOUSE REQUESTED THAT THE SENATE RETURN SENATE BILL 254.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

SENATE BILL 254
By Gardenhire

HOUSE BILL 489
By Doggett
HB0489
001802
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 38;
Title 39; Title 40 and Title 55, relative to criminal
law.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 40-36-105(2), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting:
(2) Conduct statewide public education concerning the purposes and goals of
this chapter and submit a report by February 1 of each year, to the committee of the
house of representatives with jurisdiction over subject matters pertaining to criminal
justice, judiciary committee of the senate, and fiscal review committee regarding the
effectiveness of diversion of offenders from state correctional institutions;
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.