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HB1268 • 2026

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 8; Title 10; Title 16; Title 37; Title 38; Title 39; Title 40; Title 41 and Title 55, relative to criminal justice.

Crime Elections
Active

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

Sponsor
Scarbrough, Taylor
Last action
2026-04-20
Official status
H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/21/2026
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not specify consequences for late submissions or involvement of the assistant director in report submission.

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Reporting Requirements

This bill changes when and how the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation reports its narcotics investigations to certain committees in the state legislature.

What This Bill Does

  • Changes the deadline for submitting annual written reports about narcotics investigations from 'each year' to February 15 each year.
  • Updates the name of the committee receiving these reports from 'criminal justice committee of the house of representatives' to 'committee of the house of representatives with jurisdiction over criminal justice matters'.

Who It Names or Affects

  • The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
  • Committees in the state legislature responsible for criminal justice matters.

Terms To Know

Narcotics investigations
Investigations into illegal drug activities and related crimes.
Assistant director
A high-ranking official who helps manage a department or division within an organization.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify what happens if the report is submitted late.
  • It's unclear how this change will affect the Bureau of Investigation's operations beyond reporting requirements.
  • The bill text does not explicitly mention requiring the assistant director to be included in submitting these reports.

Amendments

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

Amendment 1-0 to HB1268

Plain English: House Judiciary 1 Amendment No.

  • House Judiciary 1 Amendment No.
  • 1 to HB1268 Farmer Signature of Sponsor AMEND Senate Bill No.
  • 846* House Bill No.
  • 1268 HA1060 016071 - 1 - by deleting all language after the caption and substituting instead: WHEREAS, the General Assembly recognizes that a critical need exists in the thirtieth judicial district for additional criminal justice resources because of an increase in violent crime; and WHEREAS, from 2018 to 2024, the number of homicide offenses in the thirtieth judicial district increased by thirty-three percent, and the number of aggravated assault offenses increased by forty-one percent; and WHEREAS, a task force was created by President Donald Trump to combat crime in the thirtieth judicial district, and the task force operations have resulted in thousands of arrests, straining the criminal court system in the thirtieth judicial district; and WHEREAS, it is the intent of the General Assembly to increase the efficiency of the criminal justice system by adding additional criminal courts to the thirtieth judicial district for the purpose of handling violent crime cases; and WHEREAS, the goals of the violent criminal courts created by this act include: (1) Increasing case management efficiency; (2) Expediting criminal case processing by increasing trial capacity; (3) Reducing caseloads for prosecutors and public defenders; and (4) Increasing public safety through more expeditious case processing; now, therefore, BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE: SECTION 1.
Amendment 1-0 to SB0846

Plain English: Senate Judiciary 1 Amendment No.

  • Senate Judiciary 1 Amendment No.
  • 1 to SB0846 Gardenhire Signature of Sponsor AMEND Senate Bill No.
  • 846* House Bill No.
  • 1268 SA0931 013605 - 1 - by deleting all language after the caption and substituting instead: WHEREAS, the General Assembly recognizes that a critical need exists in the thirtieth judicial district for additional criminal justice resources because of an increase in violent crime; and WHEREAS, from 2018 to 2024, the number of homicide offenses in the thirtieth judicial district increased by thirty-three percent, and the number of aggravated assault offenses increased by forty-one percent; and WHEREAS, a task force was created by President Donald Trump to combat crime in the thirtieth judicial district, and the task force operations have resulted in thousands of arrests, straining the criminal court system in the thirtieth judicial district; and WHEREAS, it is the intent of the General Assembly to increase the efficiency of the criminal justice system by adding additional criminal courts to the thirtieth judicial district for the purpose of handling violent crime cases; and WHEREAS, the goals of the violent criminal courts created by this act include: (1) Increasing case management efficiency; (2) Expediting criminal case processing by increasing trial capacity; (3) Reducing caseloads for prosecutors and public defenders; and (4) Increasing public safety through more expeditious case processing; now, therefore, BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE: SECTION 1.
Amendment 2-0 to SB0846

Plain English: Amendment No.

  • Amendment No.
  • 2 to SB0846 Lamar Signature of Sponsor AMEND Senate Bill No.
  • 846* House Bill No.
  • 1268 SA0986 017380 - 1 - by deleting subdivisions (30)(F)(i) and (ii) in the amendatory language of SECTION 2 and substituting: (i) Effective September 1, 2026, there is created in the thirtieth judicial district one (1) additional criminal court to be designated as a violent criminal court and one (1) additional chancery court.
Amendment 3-0 to SB0846

Plain English: The amendment creates an additional violent criminal court and a circuit court in the thirtieth judicial district of Tennessee, with judges appointed by the governor until elections in August 2028.

  • Creates one additional violent criminal court and one additional circuit court in the thirtieth judicial district starting September 1, 2026.
  • Appoints judges for these courts by the governor to serve until August 2028 when voters will elect new judges who will serve until September 2030.
  • Directs presiding judges to transfer cases involving specific criminal offenses to the newly created violent criminal court and circuit court.
  • The exact nature of the criminal offenses mentioned in § 40-35-501(aa), (bb), and (cc) is not provided, making it unclear which cases will be transferred.
  • Details about how the governor will appoint judges are not specified.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-20 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/21/2026

  2. 2026-04-20 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 4/20/2026

  3. 2026-04-20 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass; ref to Calendar & Rules Committee

  4. 2026-04-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Finance, Ways, and Means Committee for 4/20/2026

  5. 2026-04-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee calendar for 4/20/2026

  6. 2026-04-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec for adopt by s/c ref. to Finance, Ways, and Means Committee

  7. 2026-04-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/15/2026

  8. 2026-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee calendar for 4/21/2026

  9. 2026-04-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  10. 2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/14/2026

  11. 2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed behind the budget

  12. 2026-04-07 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/8/2026

  13. 2026-04-07 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee

  14. 2026-04-07 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Finance, Ways, and Means Committee

  15. 2026-04-07 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 4/7/2026

  16. 2026-04-07 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to Judiciary Committee

  17. 2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 4/7/2026

  18. 2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 4/1/2026

  19. 2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee to 4/1/2026

  20. 2026-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee Ayes 8, Nays 1 PNV 0

  21. 2026-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor change.

  22. 2026-03-23 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/24/2026

  23. 2026-03-23 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action deferred in Senate Judiciary Committee to 3/24/2026

  24. 2026-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor change.

  25. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 3/25/2026

  26. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee to 3/25/2026

  27. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/23/2026

  28. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 3/18/2026

  29. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee to 3/18/2026

  30. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 3/11/2026

  31. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee to 3/11/2026

  32. 2026-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 3/4/2026

  33. 2025-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

    Taken off notice for cal in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee of Judiciary Committee

  34. 2025-03-31 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to General Subcommittee of Senate Judiciary Committee

  35. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 4/2/2025

  36. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee to 4/2/2025

  37. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/31/2025

  38. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 3/26/2025

  39. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee

  40. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Ref. to Judiciary Committee

  41. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  42. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Judiciary Committee

  43. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  44. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  45. 2025-02-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  46. 2025-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

Abstract summarizes the bill.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
SENATE BILL 846
By Harshbarger

HOUSE BILL 1268
By Scarbrough

HB1268
002848
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 8;
Title 10; Title 16; Title 37; Title 38; Title 39; Title
40; Title 41 and Title 55, relative to criminal justice.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 38-6-207, is amended by deleting
"each year" and substituting "by February 15 of each year" and by deleting "criminal justice
committee of the house of representatives" and substituting "committee of the house of
representatives with jurisdiction over criminal justice matters".
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.