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HB2221 • 2026

Victims' Rights

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4; Title 8; Title 16; Title 18; Title 40 and Title 67, Chapter 4, Part 6, relative to victim notification systems.

Active

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

Sponsor
Sherrell, Haile
Last action
2026-04-14
Official status
Signed by H. Speaker
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide details on how the additional notice time will be utilized or what happens if a shorter notice period is needed. Additionally, it is unclear whether this change applies to all types of hearings or only specific ones.

Victims' Rights Act

This law changes the amount of notice victims must receive before a hearing from 24 hours to 36 hours.

What This Bill Does

  • Changes the amount of time victims must be notified before a hearing from 24 hours to 36 hours.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Victims who are registered in the criminal proceedings notification system
  • Courts that handle criminal cases

Terms To Know

victim notification system
A system that tells victims about important events in their case, like court hearings.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify how the additional time will be used or what happens if a victim needs less notice.
  • It is unclear whether this change applies to all types of hearings or only specific ones.

Amendments

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

Amendment 1-0 to HB2221

Plain English: The amendment requires clerks of criminal courts to give the Tennessee Sheriffs' Association all necessary court data for running a victim notification system.

  • Clerks of criminal courts must provide the Tennessee Sheriffs' Association with all needed court information for managing a victim notification system.
  • The amendment does not specify what kind of 'court data' is required or how it will be used by the Tennessee Sheriffs' Association.
  • It's unclear if this change affects existing systems or creates new requirements beyond current practices.
Amendment 1-0 to SB2210

Plain English: The amendment requires clerks of criminal courts to give the Tennessee Sheriffs' Association all necessary court data for managing victim notifications.

  • Clerks of criminal courts must provide the Tennessee Sheriffs' Association with all needed court information for running a system that notifies victims about criminal proceedings.
  • The amendment does not specify what kind of 'court data' is required or how it will be used by the Tennessee Sheriffs' Association.
  • It's unclear if this change affects existing victim notification systems or creates new requirements beyond providing court data to the association.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by H. Speaker

  2. 2026-04-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Enrolled; ready for sig. of H. Speaker.

  3. 2026-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed Senate, Ayes 29, Nays 0

  4. 2026-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Amendment withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - SA0825)

  5. 2026-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate substituted House Bill for companion Senate Bill.

  6. 2026-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Received from House, Passed on First Consideration

  7. 2026-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  8. 2026-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Engrossed; ready for transmission to Sen.

  9. 2026-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed H., as am., Ayes 93, Nays 0, PNV 0

  10. 2026-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. adopted am. (Amendment 1 - HA0975)

  11. 2026-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  12. 2026-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Companion House Bill substituted

  13. 2026-04-07 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 4/9/2026

  14. 2026-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/9/2026

  15. 2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 4/2/2026

  16. 2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee

  17. 2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 4/1/2026

  18. 2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  19. 2026-03-23 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  20. 2026-03-23 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 8, Nays 0 PNV 0

  21. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  22. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  23. 2026-03-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Reset on Final calendar of Senate Judiciary Committee

  24. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/16/2026

  25. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee

  26. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Ref. to Judiciary Committee

  27. 2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  28. 2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Judiciary Committee

  29. 2026-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  30. 2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  31. 2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  32. 2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

ON APRIL 9, 2026, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 2221, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1
rewrites the bill to, instead, require t
he clerks of the criminal courts
to
provide the Tennessee sheriffs' association with all court data necessary for the administration of the criminal proceedings notification system
.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
SENATE BILL 2210
By Haile

HOUSE BILL 2221
By Sherrell
HB2221
012580
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4;
Title 8; Title 16; Title 18; Title 40 and Title 67,
Chapter 4, Part 6, relative to victim notification
systems.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 40-38-507(b)(1), is amended by
deleting "twenty-four (24) hours" and substituting "thirty-six (36) hours".
SECTION 2. This act takes effect July 1, 2026, the public welfare requiring it.