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HB0604 • 2026

Alcoholic Beverage Commission

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 55 and Title 57, relative to the alcoholic beverage commission.

Active

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

Sponsor
Lamberth, Briggs
Last action
2025-04-28
Official status
Effective date(s) 04/11/2025
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The provided candidate explanation includes claims that are not fully supported by the official source material, such as the commission's ability to investigate violations of alcohol laws. The bill text does not provide specific details on penalties for non-compliance or how it will affect ongoing investigations.

Alcoholic Beverage Commission Records Law

This bill requires law enforcement agencies to provide accident records related to alcohol to Tennessee's Alcoholic Beverage Commission and restricts how these records can be used.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires a law enforcement agency to provide records related to accidents involving alcohol upon request by the commission.
  • Makes sure the commission keeps such records confidential and does not share them with the public.
  • Protects accident-related records used in regulatory hearings from being disclosed to unauthorized persons.
  • Limits the commission's ability to summon witnesses but allows it to investigate violations of alcohol laws, including those related to accidents involving alcohol.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Law enforcement agencies that handle accident reports.
  • The Alcoholic Beverage Commission in Tennessee.
  • People involved in accidents or those who sell alcohol to people involved in such accidents.

Terms To Know

Alcoholic Beverage Commission
A government agency responsible for regulating the sale and distribution of alcoholic beverages.
Regulatory hearing
A formal meeting where rules or regulations are discussed, reviewed, or enforced by a regulatory body.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify what happens if law enforcement agencies do not provide the requested records.
  • It is unclear how this change will affect current investigations already in progress.
  • There are no details on penalties for non-compliance with these new requirements.

Amendments

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

Amendment 1-0 to HB0604

Plain English: The amendment adds new rules for how law enforcement agencies and the Alcoholic Beverage Commission handle accident records involving alcohol.

  • Law enforcement agencies must give the Alcoholic Beverage Commission records about accidents where alcohol was involved, including information on people who provided or sold alcoholic beverages to those in the accident.
  • The Alcoholic Beverage Commission must keep these records confidential and not share them with the public, except for use in regulatory hearings.
  • In regulatory hearings, such records are protected from being disclosed to anyone other than the court and parties involved.
  • The amendment does not specify how long the commission must keep these records or what happens if someone tries to access them through legal means like a Freedom of Information Act request.
Amendment 1-0 to SB0622

Plain English: The amendment adds new rules for how the Alcoholic Beverage Commission can request and use accident records from law enforcement agencies.

  • Law enforcement agencies must give the Alcoholic Beverage Commission records about accidents involving alcohol when asked.
  • The Alcoholic Beverage Commission must keep these records secret unless they are needed in a regulatory hearing.
  • In a regulatory hearing, only the court and parties involved can see the accident records.
  • It is unclear how this amendment will affect existing laws about public access to government records.

Bill History

  1. 2025-04-28 Tennessee General Assembly

    Effective date(s) 04/11/2025

  2. 2025-04-28 Tennessee General Assembly

    Pub. Ch. 191

  3. 2025-04-28 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. became Pub. Ch. 191

  4. 2025-04-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Governor.

  5. 2025-04-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Transmitted to Governor for his action.

  6. 2025-04-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Senate Speaker

  7. 2025-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by H. Speaker

  8. 2025-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Enrolled; ready for sig. of H. Speaker.

  9. 2025-03-31 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed Senate, Ayes 30, Nays 0

  10. 2025-03-31 Tennessee General Assembly

    Amendment withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - SA0223)

  11. 2025-03-31 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate substituted House Bill for companion Senate Bill.

  12. 2025-03-31 Tennessee General Assembly

    Received from House, Passed on First Consideration

  13. 2025-03-31 Tennessee General Assembly

    Companion House Bill substituted

  14. 2025-03-28 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 3/31/2025

  15. 2025-03-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    Engrossed; ready for transmission to Sen.

  16. 2025-03-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed H., as am., Ayes 94, Nays 0, PNV 0

  17. 2025-03-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. adopted am. (Amendment 1 - HA0137)

  18. 2025-03-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  19. 2025-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 8, Nays 0 PNV 0

  20. 2025-03-20 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 3/27/2025

  21. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 3/20/2025

  22. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee

  23. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate State and Local Government Committee calendar for 3/25/2025

  24. 2025-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action deferred in Senate State and Local Government Committee to 3/25/2025

  25. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. State & Local Government Committee for 3/19/2025

  26. 2025-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to State & Local Government Committee

  27. 2025-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate State and Local Government Committee calendar for 3/18/2025

  28. 2025-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Departments & Agencies Subcommittee for 3/11/2025

  29. 2025-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Departments & Agencies Subcommittee

  30. 2025-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Ref. to State & Local Government Committee

  31. 2025-03-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor change.

  32. 2025-03-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) withdrawn.

  33. 2025-03-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  34. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate State and Local Government Committee

  35. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  36. 2025-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, caption bill, held on desk - pending amdt.

  37. 2025-02-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  38. 2025-01-31 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  39. 2025-01-30 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

ON MARCH 27, 2025, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 604, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 rewrites the bill to, in
stead, make the following revisions to present law:



Requires a
law enforcement agency
to
provide records related to an accident, the persons involved in such accident, and persons involved in providing or selling alcoholic beverages to persons involved in an accident upon receipt of a request for such records by the alcoholic beverage commission
("commission")
.



Requires the
commission
to
keep
such
records received confidential and
to
not provide such records to the public.



Requires such records
that are used in a regulatory hearing
to
be protected from disclosure to any person other than the court and the parties involved in such regulatory hearing.



Requires the
commission
to
deny a request for
such
records and inform the requestor of their ability to file a similar request with the law enforcement agency that created the record.



Removes the provision authorizing the
commission
to summon
any applicant for a license or permit and also to summon and examine witnesses, and to administer oaths to such applicants and witnesses in making any investigation in regard thereto
and, instead, authorizes the commission to i
nvestigate a violation, whether criminal or regulatory in nature, of
the alcohol laws of this state
; a violation of
such laws
in relation to a motor vehicle accident involving alcoholic beverages; or any other matter in which the commission has criminal or regulatory jurisdiction. As a part of any such investigation, the commission may summon or subpoena witnesses, information, or documentation relevant to such investigation, including requesting records
as described above.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
SENATE BILL 622
By Briggs

HOUSE BILL 604
By Lamberth

HB0604
002562
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 55
and Title 57, relative to the alcoholic beverage
commission.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 57-4-201(b)(1), is amended by
deleting "shall make application to the commission in duplicate" in the first sentence of the
subdivision and substituting "shall make application to the commission in triplicate".
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.