Criminal Offenses

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary and text do not provide specific details about enforcement mechanisms or financial impacts, leaving these areas uncertain.

Criminal Offenses Act

This bill changes laws related to criminal offenses in Tennessee by altering penalties for sexual exploitation of minors and removing restrictions on juveniles who threaten mass violence from purchasing firearms.

What This Bill Does

• Removes the requirement that a juvenile, aged 14 or older, who is adjudicated delinquent for threatening mass violence at school cannot buy or possess firearms until age 25.
• Changes the penalty classification for possessing more than 50 images of sexual exploitation involving minors from Class C to Class B felony and over 100 to a Class A felony.

Who It Names or Affects

• Juveniles aged 14 and older who are adjudicated delinquent for threatening mass violence at school
• Individuals involved in the sale or possession of materials that sexually exploit minors

Terms To Know

Class A felony

The most serious type of felony crime, punishable by a long prison sentence and high fines.

Threat of mass violence

An act that involves planning or threatening to commit an attack on multiple people at once.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify how the changes will be enforced.
• It is unclear what the financial impact of these changes will be for local governments.

Official Summary Text

I
f a juvenile
14 or older
is adjudicated delinquent for conduct that, if committed by an adult, would constitute
a
threat of mass violence

on school property or at
a
school-related activity
and
could lead to the imminent serious bodily injury or death of four
or more people,
then
present law requires
the court
to
prohibit the juvenile from purchasing or possessing a firearm
, or obtaining a license to carry a firearm,
until the juvenile reaches
25. Unless
a court has reinstated the person's right to posses
s a firearm
, a violation of this offense is a Class A misdemeanor,
punishable by up to 11 months, 29 days in prison, a fine up to $2,500, or both.
Additionally, a person
appropriately licensed by the federal government to stock and sell firearms
is prohibited from selling firearms to such juveniles.

This bill removes these provisions.

FIREARM SELLERS

Present law prohibits persons
appropriately licensed by the federal government
to
stock and sell firearms to
certain individuals. This bill adds that such sellers are prohibited from selling firearms to anyone that is
ineligible to possess a firearm pursuant to any court order or under any law of this state.

SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF A MINOR

Present law provides that i
t is unlawful for a person to knowingly possess material that includes a minor engaged i
n s
exual activity
or s
imulated sexual activity that is patently offensive.
Generally, a
violation is a Class D felony
,
punishable by two to 12 years in prison and a fine up to $5,000.
H
owever, if the number of individual images, materials, or combination of images and materials, that are possessed is more than
50
, then the offense
is
a Class C felony
,
punishable by three to 15 years in priso
n and a fine up to $10,000.

If
such
number exceeds 100,
then
the offense
is
a Class B felony
,
punishable by eight to 30 years in prison and a fine up to $25,000.

This bill removes these penalty classifications and provides, instead, that, generally, a
violation is a Class C felony
.

H
owever, if the number of individual images, materials, or combination of images and materials, that are possessed is more than 50, then the offense is a Class B felony. If
such
number exceeds 100, then the offense is a Class A felony
,
punishable by 15 to 60 years in prison and a fine up to $50,000
.

AGGRAVATED SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF A MINOR

It is unlawful for a person to knowingly promote, sell, distribute, transport, purchase
,
or exchange material, or possess with the intent
ion to do the same
, that includes a minor engaged in
s
exual activity
or s
imulated sexual activity that is patently offensive.

A violation is a Class C felony.

H
owever, if the number of individual images, materials, or combination of images and materials that are promoted, sold, distributed, transported, purchased, exchanged or possessed, with intent to
do the same
, is m
ore than 25, then the offense
is
a Class B felony.

This bill removes the above penalty classifications and provides, instead, that, generally, a
violation is a Class B felony
. Ho
wever, if the number of individual images, materials, or combination of images and materials that are promoted, sold, distributed, transported, purchased, exchanged, or possessed, with intent to promote, sell, distribute, transport, purchase, or exchange,
is more than 25, then the offense is a Class A felony.

ESPECIALLY AGGRAVATED SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF A MINOR

Present law provides that i
t is unlawful for a person to knowingly promote, employ, use,
assist, transport
,
or permit a minor to participate in the performance of, or in the production of, acts or material that includes the minor engaging i
n s
exual activit
y or s
imulated sexual activity that is patently offensive.

A violation
of this offense
is a Class B felony.
This bill raises the offense classification to a Class A felony
.

Current Bill Text

SENATE BILL 2465
By Bailey

HOUSE BILL 2253
By Williams
HB2253
012556
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 37
and Title 39, relative to criminal justice.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 37-1-190, is amended by deleting
subdivision (a)(2)(G) and substituting:
(G) A threat of mass violence, as defined in § 39-16-517 or § 39-13-813; or
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 39-17-1307, is amended by deleting
subdivision (j)(1)(G) and substituting:
(G) A threat of mass violence, as defined in § 39-16-517 or § 39-13-813; or
SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 39-17-1316, is amended by deleting
subdivision (a)(1)(A)(v)(g) and substituting:
(g) A threat of mass violence, as defined in § 39-16-517 or § 39-13-813; or
SECTION 4. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 39-17-1351, is amended by deleting
subdivision (c)(19)(G) and substituting:
(G) A threat of mass violence, as defined in § 39-16-517 or § 39-13-813; or
SECTION 5. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 39-17-1352, is amended by deleting
subdivision (a)(11)(G) and substituting:
(G) A threat of mass violence, as defined in § 39-16-517 or § 39-13-813; or
SECTION 6. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 39-17-1316(a)(1)(A), is amended by
adding the following as a new subdivision:
(vi) Are ineligible to possess a firearm pursuant to any court order or under any
law of this state.

- 2 - 012556

SECTION 7. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 39-17-1003, is amended by deleting
subsection (d) and substituting:
(d) A violation of this section is a Class C felony; however, if the number of
individual images, materials, or combination of images and materials, that are
possessed is more than fifty (50), then the offense is a Class B felony. If the number of
images, materials, or combination of images and materials, exceeds one hundred (100),
then the offense is a Class A felony.
SECTION 8. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 39-17-1004, is amended by deleting
subdivision (a)(4) and substituting:
(4) A violation of this section is a Class B felony; however, if the number of
individual images, materials, or combination of images and materials that are promoted,
sold, distributed, transported, purchased, exchanged, or possessed, with intent to
promote, sell, distribute, transport, purchase, or exchange, is more than twenty-five (25),
then the offense is a Class A felony.
SECTION 9. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 39-17-1004, is amended by deleting
subdivision (b)(4) and substituting:
(4) A violation of this section is a Class B felony; however, if the number of
individual images, materials, or combination of images and materials, that are promoted,
sold, distributed, transported, purchased, exchanged, or possessed, with intent to
promote, sell, distribute, transport, purchase, or exchange, is more than twenty-five (25),
then the offense is a Class A felony.
SECTION 10. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 39-17-1005(d), is amended by
deleting "Class B felony" and substituting "Class A felony".
SECTION 11. This act takes effect July 1, 2026, the public welfare requiring it.