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HB2354 • 2026

Sentencing

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39 and Title 40, relative to criminal offenses.

Crime Education
Active

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

Sponsor
Littleton, 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

The official source does not provide specific details about the financial impact or the fate of those already on probation when the new rule takes effect.

Changes to Sentencing for Sexual Battery by Authority Figures

This bill changes Tennessee law so that people who commit sexual battery by an authority figure are ineligible for probation.

What This Bill Does

  • Adds a new rule stating that someone who commits sexual battery by an authority figure is not eligible for probation.
  • Updates the state's criminal code in Title 39 and Title 40 to include this change.

Who It Names or Affects

  • People who commit sexual battery by an authority figure will not be able to get probation under this new rule.
  • Courts and judges in Tennessee will have to follow these new rules when sentencing people for certain crimes.

Terms To Know

Probation
A sentence where a person convicted of a crime does not go to jail but must follow certain rules set by the court.
Authority figure
Someone in a position of power or trust, like a teacher or coach, who has control over others.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify what happens to people already on probation for this crime before the new rule takes effect.
  • It is unclear how much this change will cost the state in terms of increased incarceration.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/14/2026

  2. 2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed behind the budget

  3. 2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/8/2026

  4. 2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee

  5. 2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass; ref to Finance, Ways, and Means Committee

  6. 2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  7. 2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in Judiciary Committee to 4/1/2026

  8. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 3/23/2026

  9. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  10. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 3/18/2026

  11. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee to 3/18/2026

  12. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 3/11/2026

  13. 2026-02-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee

  14. 2026-02-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    Ref. to Judiciary Committee

  15. 2026-02-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee

  16. 2026-02-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 2/24/2026

  17. 2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  18. 2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Judiciary Committee

  19. 2026-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  20. 2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  21. 2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  22. 2026-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

Abstract summarizes the bill.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
SENATE BILL 2110
By White

HOUSE BILL 2354
By Littleton
HB2354
012117
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39
and Title 40, relative to criminal offenses.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 40-35-303, is amended by adding
the following new subdivision (a)(1)(G) and redesignating the current subdivision and
subsequent subdivisions appropriately:
(G) Section 39-13-527;
SECTION 2. This act takes effect July 1, 2026, the public welfare requiring it, and
applies to offenses occurring on or after that date.