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HB1552 • 2026

Victims' Rights

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 40, Chapter 38, Part 6, relative to the address confidentiality program.

Children
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Powers, Jackson
Last action
2026-03-16
Official status
Comp. became Pub. Ch. 582
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide information on how long the address confidentiality program will remain in effect or what additional support is provided beyond the program itself.

Victims' Rights Act for Address Confidentiality

This act changes Tennessee's address confidentiality program to include siblings as eligible co-applicants and restricts persistent domestic violence offenders from participating in the program.

What This Bill Does

  • Adds siblings of victims to be eligible as co-applicants in the address confidentiality program.
  • Restricts people required by law to register as persistent domestic violence offenders from joining the address confidentiality program.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Victims of domestic abuse, stalking, human trafficking, rape, sexual battery, or other sexual offenses.
  • Co-applicants such as spouses, parents, siblings, and fiduciaries living with victims.
  • People required by law to register as persistent domestic violence offenders.

Terms To Know

co-applicant
A person who can apply for the address confidentiality program along with a victim if they live in the same home and meet certain requirements.
persistent domestic violence offender
Someone required by law to register on a special list because of repeated domestic violence offenses.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify how long the address confidentiality program will remain in effect.
  • It is unclear what additional support or resources are provided for victims beyond the address confidentiality program.

Bill History

  1. 2026-03-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. became Pub. Ch. 582

  2. 2026-03-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Effective date(s) 03/06/2026

  3. 2026-03-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Pub. Ch. 582

  4. 2026-03-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Governor.

  5. 2026-02-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    Transmitted to Governor for action.

  6. 2026-02-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by H. Speaker

  7. 2026-02-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Senate Speaker

  8. 2026-02-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Enrolled and ready for signatures

  9. 2026-02-23 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  10. 2026-02-23 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. SB subst.

  11. 2026-02-23 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed H., Ayes 92, Nays 0, PNV 0

  12. 2026-02-23 Tennessee General Assembly

    Subst. for comp. HB.

  13. 2026-02-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  14. 2026-02-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 2/23/2026

  15. 2026-02-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Reset on Regular Calendar for 2/23/2026

  16. 2026-02-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  17. 2026-02-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Engrossed; ready for transmission to House

  18. 2026-02-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed Senate, Ayes 31, Nays 0

  19. 2026-02-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  20. 2026-02-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Consent Calendar 2 for 2/19/2026

  21. 2026-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 2/19/2026

  22. 2026-02-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 2/12/2026

  23. 2026-02-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 2/12/2026

  24. 2026-02-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  25. 2026-02-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass; ref to Calendar & Rules Committee

  26. 2026-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  27. 2026-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Calendar Committee

  28. 2026-02-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  29. 2026-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 2/11/2026

  30. 2026-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  31. 2026-02-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 2/10/2026

  32. 2026-01-28 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 2/4/2026

  33. 2026-01-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Meeting Canceled

  34. 2026-01-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 1/28/2026

  35. 2026-01-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee

  36. 2026-01-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to Judiciary Committee

  37. 2026-01-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Judiciary Committee

  38. 2026-01-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  39. 2026-01-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  40. 2026-01-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  41. 2026-01-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

Present law
establish
es
a crime victim address confidentiality program, which must be open to applicants who are victims of domestic abuse, stalking, human trafficking, rape, sexual battery, or another sexual offense, as well as co-applicants, the children of an applicant or co
-applicant living at the same address as the applicant or co-applicant, and persons with disabilities for whom an applicant or co-applicant serves as a fiduciary and are living at the same address as the applicant or co-applicant if
those persons satisfy
certain
requirements, at no cost to the program participant.
A co-applicant is a
spouse, parent, or fiduciary of the applicant who lives in the same residence at the time the application is made and who resides in the same residence with the applicant while the applicant is a program participant
. This bill adds that a co-applicant may also be a sibling of the applicant.

INELIGIBLE PERSONS

Present law prohibits certain

persons from
participat
ing
in the address confidentiality program
. This bill adds that a person who
by law
is required to be
registered unde
r the
r
egistry of persistent domestic violence offenders
is
prohibit
ed
from participating in the address confidentiality program
.

APPLICATION FOR SUBSTITUTE ADDRESS

Generally, present law authorizes
an adult person, or a parent or fiduciary acting on behalf of a minor or person with a disability,
to
apply to the secretary of state to have an address designated by the secretary of state serve as the person's substitute address
.
In the absence of an ongoing criminal case that may result or has resulted in a conviction or an order of protection granted by a court of competent jurisdiction within this state which is in effect at the time of application,
the application m
ust contain
a notarized statement by a licensed professional with knowledge of the circumstances

confirming that such individual believes that the applicant, or the minor or person with a disability on whose behalf the application is made, is in danger of further harm
.

This bill removes the provision above that requires the court of competent jurisdiction to be within this state.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
SENATE BILL 1640
By Jackson

HOUSE BILL 1552
By Powers
HB1552
010266
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 40,
Chapter 38, Part 6, relative to the address
confidentiality program.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 40-38-601(6), is amended by
deleting "parent, or" and substituting "parent, sibling, or".
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 40-38-603, is amended by adding
the following as a new subdivision:
(5) Registry of persistent domestic violence offenders, compiled in chapter 39,
part 4 of this title.
SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 40-38-604(b)(4), is amended by
deleting "within this state".
SECTION 4. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.