Public Officials

Plain English Breakdown

The effective date of July 1, 2026, means there could be a delay in implementation. This note was removed as it does not directly relate to the bill's content but rather its timeline.

Confidentiality of Elected Officials' Personal Information

This bill makes certain personal information about elected state and local officials confidential and not open for public inspection.

What This Bill Does

• Adds that the personally identifying information of elected state or local public officials must be kept confidential by governmental entities, officials, or employees.
• Requires this confidential information to be redacted wherever possible in documents and files.
• Does not limit access to such information for law enforcement agencies, courts, or other government agencies performing official functions.
• Does not close any personnel records of elected officials that are currently open under state law.
• Allows the release of confidential information if the elected official gives permission.

Who It Names or Affects

• Elected state and local public officials
• Governmental entities, officials, or employees who possess personal information about these officials

Terms To Know

personally identifying information

Information that can be used to identify an individual, such as home address, phone numbers, financial account details, and social security number.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify the exact penalties for violating these confidentiality requirements.
• It is unclear how this will affect public records requests involving elected officials' personal information.

Official Summary Text

Present law requires certain personal information in the employment records of certain public employees to be treated as confidential. Confidential information cannot be open for inspection by members of the public unless the employee expressly releases
the information. Such information is redacted, and does not generally interfere with public records requests. For example, generally, confidential information includes all of the following information of
any state, county, municipal or other public emplo
yee or former employee, or applicant to such position, in the possession of a governmental entity or any person in its capacity as an employer
:



Home telephone and personal cell phone numbers
.



Bank account and individual health savings account, retirement account
,
and pension account information
. However, nothing
limit
s
access to financial records of a governmental employer that show
s
the amounts and sources of contributions to the accounts or the amount of pension or retirement benefits provided to the employee or former employee by the governmental employer
.



Social security number
.



Residential information, including the street address, city, state, and zip code, for any state, county, municipal, or other public employee
.



Driver license information except where driving or operating a vehicle is part of the employee's job description or job duties or incidental to the performance of the employee's job
.



The
above-listed
information of immediate family members, whether or not the immediate family member resides with the employee, or household members
.



Emergency contact information
.



Personal, nongovernment
-
issued email address.

This bill adds that the same
personally identifying information
listed above
of an elected state or local public official in the possession of a state or local governmental entity, official, or employee is confidential and is not open for public inspection.
Such information
must be redacted wherever possible and must not be used to limit or deny access to otherwise public information because a file, a document, or a data file contains confidential information.
However, these provisions, pertaining to the
personally identifying information

of an elected state or local public offic
ial
, do not do any of the following:



Limit access to such information by law enforcement agencies, courts, or other governmental agencies performing official functions
.



Close any personnel records of such elected officials that are currently open under state law
.



Limit access to personally identifying information made confidential when the elected official expressly authorizes the release of such information.

Current Bill Text

SENATE BILL 1932
By Yarbro

HOUSE BILL 1862
By Brooks
HB1862
009286
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 2 and
Title 10, Chapter 7, relative to elected public
officials.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 10-7-504(f), is amended by adding
the following new subdivision (f)(12):
(A) The personally identifying information of an elected state or local public
official in the possession of a state or local governmental entity, official, or employee is
confidential and is not open for public inspection.
(B) Personally identifying information made confidential by this subdivision
(f)(12) must be redacted wherever possible and this subdivision (f)(12) must not be used
to limit or deny access to otherwise public information because a file, a document, or a
data file contains confidential information.
(C) This subdivision (f)(12) does not:
(i) Limit access to such information by law enforcement agencies, courts,
or other governmental agencies performing official functions;
(ii) Close any personnel records of such elected officials that are
currently open under state law; or
(iii) Limit access to personally identifying information made confidential
under this subdivision (f)(12), when the elected official expressly authorizes the
release of such information.

- 2 - 009286

(D) As used in this subdivision (f)(12), "personally identifying information" means
the information of an elected state or local public official described in subdivisions
(f)(1)(A)-(H).
SECTION 2. This act takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on July 1, 2026, the public welfare
requiring it.