Law Enforcement

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 8; Title 38 and Title 39, relative to law enforcement.

Elections Firearms

Active

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

Sponsor: Lamberth, White
Last action: 2026-04-08
Official status: Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/14/2026
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Law Enforcement Permit Application Time Change

This bill changes the time limit for Tennessee's POST commission to notify retired officers about denied firearm carry permit applications from ten calendar days to ten business days.

What This Bill Does

Changes the notification period for the POST commission to inform a retired officer of a denied firearm carry permit application from ten calendar days to ten business days.
Updates the law in Title 38 of the Tennessee Code Annotated.

Who It Names or Affects

Retired officers applying for firearm carry permits
The POST commission responsible for issuing these permits

Terms To Know

POST Commission: A group that oversees the training and certification of law enforcement officers in Tennessee.

Limits and Unknowns

Does not specify what happens if the POST commission misses the ten business day deadline.
The bill does not change any other parts of the permit application process.
It is unclear how many retired officers will be affected by this change.

Amendments

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

HA1055

Amendment 1-0 to HB2157

Plain English: The amendment establishes a Tennessee Safe Initiative Task Force within the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to address prevalent criminal activity and provide additional law enforcement operations.

Establishes a new task force called the Tennessee Safe Initiative Task Force, which will assess when criminal activities are so widespread that they endanger public safety and require extra police work.
The task force is made up of eight voting members including the director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the commissioner of safety, district attorneys general, sheriffs, and chiefs of police appointed by various associations or elected officials.
Sets out rules for how long each member serves on the task force and how vacancies are filled.

The amendment text is truncated at the end, so some details about the full authority and operations of the task force may be missing.

SA0998

Amendment 1-0 to SB2405

Plain English: The amendment adds new powers to Tennessee's criminal investigation division by establishing a program called the Tennessee Safe Initiative and allowing agents to investigate gang-related crimes without needing approval from district attorneys.

Establishes a new program within the criminal investigation division known as the Tennessee Safe Initiative, which allows agents to investigate criminal gang activities independently of district attorney requests.
Defines 'criminal gang activities' to include offenses committed by gang members and other unlawful actions associated with gangs.
Permits the bureau to enter into agreements for exchanging or temporarily assigning agents from different law enforcement entities within Tennessee or across state lines.

The exact scope of duties and responsibilities for agents under the new program is not fully detailed in the amendment text.

Bill History

2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/14/2026
2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed behind the budget
2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly
Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee Ayes 7, Nays 2 PNV 0
2026-04-07 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/8/2026
2026-04-07 Tennessee General Assembly
Assigned to s/c Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee
2026-04-07 Tennessee General Assembly
Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Finance, Ways, and Means Committee
2026-04-07 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 4/7/2026
2026-04-07 Tennessee General Assembly
Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to Judiciary Committee
2026-04-07 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor change.
2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 4/7/2026
2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 4/8/2026
2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 4/1/2026
2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly
Action Def. in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee to 4/1/2026
2026-03-23 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) withdrawn.
2026-03-23 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor change.
2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 3/25/2026
2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly
Action Def. in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee to 3/25/2026
2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 3/18/2026
2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly
Assigned to s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee
2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly
Ref. to Judiciary Committee
2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly
P2C, caption bill, held on desk - pending amdt.
2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly
Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Judiciary Committee
2026-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly
Intro., P1C.
2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly
Filed for introduction
2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly
Introduced, Passed on First Consideration
2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly
Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

Abstract summarizes the bill.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

SENATE BILL 2405
By White

HOUSE BILL 2157
By Lamberth
HB2157
012398
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 8;
Title 38 and Title 39, relative to law enforcement.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 38-8-123(d)(2), is amended by
deleting "ten (10) days" and substituting instead "ten (10) business days".
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.