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HB1640 • 2026

Public Records

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 10, Chapter 7, Part 5, relative to confidentiality of department of safety records.

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Active

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

Sponsor
Lamberth, Johnson
Last action
2026-04-13
Official status
Comp. SB subst.
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary and text do not provide specific details on the consequences of illegal attempts to access confidential records.

Confidentiality of Department of Safety Records

This bill makes certain records held by Tennessee's Office of Homeland Security confidential and restricts their access to the public.

What This Bill Does

  • Makes all records about protected critical infrastructure facilities and security measures kept by the Office of Homeland Security private.
  • Adds that specific threat information, vulnerability assessments, and intelligence shared with partners are also confidential.
  • Requires the Office of Homeland Security to provide an annual report on threats against public officials.
  • Allows for the release of basic information about arrests and crimes without revealing sensitive details.

Who It Names or Affects

  • The Office of Homeland Security in Tennessee
  • People who request access to public records

Terms To Know

Critical Infrastructure
Important systems and assets that are essential for the functioning of a society, such as power plants or water treatment facilities.
Confidential Records
Documents that are not available to the public because they contain sensitive information.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify how long these records must remain confidential.
  • It is unclear what happens if someone tries to access these confidential records illegally.

Amendments

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

Amendment 1-0 to HB1640

Plain English: The amendment adds new provisions to Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 10-7-504(a)(2), making certain records related to critical infrastructure and security assessments confidential.

  • Records of the office of homeland security that describe or relate to protected critical infrastructure facilities are now confidential.
  • Specific vulnerability assessment information for locations is made confidential, but video footage may be redacted rather than withheld entirely.
  • Threat information related to terrorism, sabotage, and foreign adversary activity is designated as confidential.
  • Records involving intelligence sharing with federal, state, local, tribal, territorial, or private-sector partners are also now confidential.
  • The amendment does not specify all the details of how these records will be managed or protected in practice.
Amendment 2-0 to HB1640

Plain English: The amendment adds a new provision that allows members of the Tennessee General Assembly to request certain information from the office of homeland security and requires them to keep this information confidential.

  • Adds a new subdivision (vi) in SECTION 1(a)(2)(D) of HB1640, allowing members of the general assembly to receive information related to critical infrastructure from the office of homeland security upon request.
  • The amendment does not specify what happens if a member of the General Assembly fails to maintain confidentiality.
  • It is unclear how this new provision will interact with existing laws regarding public records and privacy.
Amendment 3-0 to HB1640

Plain English: The amendment makes records about detention facilities available for public inspection.

  • Records related to detention and other facilities where people are held will no longer be considered confidential.
  • The exact types of information that become open to the public are not detailed in this amendment text.
Amendment 1-0 to SB1881

Plain English: The amendment adds new provisions to Tennessee Code Annotated, making certain records related to critical infrastructure security confidential and not open to public inspection.

  • Records of the office of homeland security that describe or relate to protected critical infrastructure facilities are now confidential.
  • Specific threat information relating to terrorism, sabotage, or foreign adversary activity is also made confidential.
  • Intelligence sharing records marked as sensitive by federal or state partners cannot be disclosed unless required by law.
  • Basic information about arrests and crimes will still be released, except for details that could compromise security.
  • The amendment does not specify all the technical details of how these confidential records should be handled in practice.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. SB subst.

  2. 2026-04-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed H., Ayes 63, Nays 24, PNV 6

  3. 2026-04-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    Failed to adopt am (Amendment 3 - HA1116), Ayes 22, Nays 72, PNV 1

  4. 2026-04-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    Failed to adopt, Ayes 20, Nays 73, PNV 1

  5. 2026-04-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    Am. withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - HA1102)

  6. 2026-04-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    Subst. for comp. HB.

  7. 2026-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/13/2026

  8. 2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 4/9/2026

  9. 2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass; ref to Calendar & Rules Committee

  10. 2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Government Operations Committee for 4/8/2026

  11. 2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Government Operations Committee

  12. 2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rcvd. from S., held on H. desk.

  13. 2026-04-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Engrossed; ready for transmission to House

  14. 2026-04-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  15. 2026-04-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 27, Nays 6

  16. 2026-04-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 1 - SA0862)

  17. 2026-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 4/6/2026

  18. 2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. State & Local Government Committee for 4/8/2026

  19. 2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in State & Local Government Committee to 4/8/2026

  20. 2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. State & Local Government Committee for 3/31/2026

  21. 2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  22. 2026-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 7, Nays 2 PNV 0

  23. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Public Service Subcommittee for 3/25/2026

  24. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c Public Service Subcommittee to 3/25/2026

  25. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate State and Local Government Committee calendar for 3/24/2026

  26. 2026-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action deferred in Senate State and Local Government Committee to 3/24/2026

  27. 2026-03-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  28. 2026-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Public Service Subcommittee for 3/18/2026

  29. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate State and Local Government Committee calendar for 3/17/2026

  30. 2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  31. 2026-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  32. 2026-01-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Public Service Subcommittee

  33. 2026-01-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to State & Local Government Committee - Government Operations for Review

  34. 2026-01-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  35. 2026-01-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  36. 2026-01-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

ON APRIL 6, 2026, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 1881, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 c
larifies that all records possessed by the office that describes protected critical infrastructure facilities and critical infrastructure, as defined within present state and federal law, and the security related to those described are confidential.
This amendment also
clarifies that all records that are designated by the commissioner of safety or the commissioner's designee as describing or relating to protected critical infrastructure facilities and critical infrastructure are confidential.

This amendment also a
dds that
the following records are confidential:



Records involving acts of terrorism, as defined within present law, against critical infrastructure facilities and critical infrastructure are confidential.


All records involving vulnerability or security assessment information for specific locations, including risk and vulnerability assessments, penetration test results, security or emergency response plans, schematics, floor plans, utility layouts, access control configurations, camera placements and coverage, alarm specifications, guard-force posture, response times, cybersecurity architecture and defensive configurations, suspicious activity reporting with identifying details, threat streams and indicators of compromise, and other operational details that could be used to exploit a weakness are confidential. Unless otherwise required to be confidential by law, video footage of an alleged crime is open to public inspection. However, such footage may be redacted to protect vulnerability or security assessment information for specific locations.


All records regarding specific threat information relating to acts of terrorism, as defined in present law, targeted violence, sabotage, or foreign adversary activity are confidential. As used in this amendment, "foreign adversary" means a nation specified in federal regulations.


All records involving intelligence sharing and sensitive capabilities that are received from, produced for, or shared with a federal, state, local, tribal, territorial, or private-sector partner that are marked, designated, or accompanied by restrictions indicating the information is sensitive security information, homeland security information, or otherwise restricted from public release by the originating entity, to the extent disclosure would reveal security capabilities, analytical tradecraft, operational methods, or specific threat indicators are confidential.


All records regarding threats against and vulnerabilities of public officials, political candidates, judges, prosecutors, law enforcement officers, or other persons for whom protective operations are conducted or contemplated are confidential. The office of homeland security must provide an annual report to the general assembly by January 31 of each year with the number of threats against public officials investigated by the office in the prior year and the number of threats that resulted in criminal charges or a prosecution.

U
nless otherwise confidential by law, this amendment does not prohibit the disclosure of records relating to an investigation of alleged misconduct by a law enforcement officer, an investigation of excessive use of force, or an investigation into a violati
on of department policies, practices, or standards.

Unless otherwise confidential by law, this
amendment also
does not require information to be redacted from an affidavit, warrant, charging instrument or other judicial record.

This amendment also provides that r
ecords of state or local costs associated with private-sector partners are not confidential.
However, t
he identity of a private-sector partner is confidential as required under state or federal law.

This amendment requires the office of homeland security, unless otherwise confidential by law, to
release basic information about an arrested person, an arrest, or a crime, including the offense description, location, time and date of the alleged crime, identification of investigating officers, a narrative description of the incident, arrest informati
on, and names of involved parties.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
SENATE BILL 1881
By Johnson

HOUSE BILL 1640
By Lamberth
HB1640
010044
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 10,
Chapter 7, Part 5, relative to confidentiality of
department of safety records.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 10-7-504(a)(2)(A), is amended by
adding the language "the office of homeland security," after the language "All investigative
records of the Tennessee bureau of investigation,".
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 10-7-504(a)(2), is amended by
adding the following new subdivision:
( ) The following records of the office of homeland security must be treated as
confidential and are not open to inspection by members of the public:
(i) All records possessed by the office describing protected critical
infrastructure submitted or created for protected use regarding the security of
critical infrastructure or protected systems, analyses, warnings, interdependency
studies, recovery, reconstitution, or for other appropriate purposes;
(ii) All records relating to the identification, analysis, prevention,
preemption, disruption, response, maintenance, and defense against and
mitigation of terrorist or criminal threats and acts against Tennessee's critical
infrastructure and the homeland; and
(iii) All records that are designated by the commissioner of safety or the
commissioner's designee as describing or relating to protected critical
infrastructure.
SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.