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HB2374 • 2026

Bail, Bail Bonds

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

Crime
Active

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

Sponsor
Doggett, Haile
Last action
2026-04-14
Official status
H. nonconcurred in S. am. no. 1
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official summary does not mention that the bill makes it optional for courts to relieve sureties of liability. This claim was removed because there is no supporting evidence in the provided source material.

Changes to Bail and Fugitive Lists

This bill changes how Tennessee handles placing defendants on fugitive lists for certain failures to appear and extends the time frame for sureties to be relieved of liability.

What This Bill Does

  • Removes the requirement to place a defendant who fails to appear for non-violent or non-sexual felonies, violent or sexual Class A or B misdemeanors, or those charged with failure to appear on fugitive lists like the National Crime Information Center.
  • Extends from three business days to ten business days the period in which a surety can be relieved of liability if the defendant is not placed on the list within that time frame.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Defendants who fail to appear in court
  • Courts issuing bench warrants or capias
  • Sureties providing bail bonds

Terms To Know

Fugitive from justice
A person who has skipped a court appearance and is listed as wanted by law enforcement.
Bench warrant
An order issued by a judge to arrest someone for failing to appear in court.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify the exact impact on public safety or judicial processes.
  • It is unclear how this change will affect sureties' willingness to provide bail bonds under these new conditions.

Amendments

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

Amendment 1-0 to SB2161

Plain English: The amendment changes the time limit for a certain action from ten business days to three business days.

  • Changes 'ten (10) business days' to 'three (3) business days' in Section 2 of the bill.
  • The specific context and details about what happens within these time limits are not provided, so more information is needed to fully understand the impact of this change.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. nonconcurred in S. am. no. 1

  2. 2026-04-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Message Calendar

  3. 2026-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 30, Nays 0

  4. 2026-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 1 - SA0912)

  5. 2026-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate substituted House Bill for companion Senate Bill.

  6. 2026-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Companion House Bill substituted

  7. 2026-04-07 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 4/9/2026

  8. 2026-04-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Engrossed; ready for transmission to Sen.

  9. 2026-04-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed H., Ayes 95, Nays 0, PNV 0

  10. 2026-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/6/2026

  11. 2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  12. 2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  13. 2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass; ref to Calendar & Rules Committee

  14. 2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  15. 2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  16. 2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 9, Nays 0 PNV 0

  17. 2026-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/25/2026

  18. 2026-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action deferred in Senate Judiciary Committee to 3/25/2026

  19. 2026-03-23 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/24/2026

  20. 2026-03-23 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action deferred in Senate Judiciary Committee to 3/23/2026

  21. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  22. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  23. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  24. 2026-03-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Reset on Final calendar of Senate Judiciary Committee

  25. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  26. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  27. 2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee

  28. 2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to Judiciary Committee

  29. 2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Judiciary Committee

  30. 2026-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  31. 2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  32. 2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  33. 2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

Present law requires a defendant to be placed on any available state or federal list or database as a fugitive from justice, including the National Crime Information Center, if a court issues a bench warrant or a capias due to a defendant doing any of th
e following:



Failing to appear on a felony that is violent or sexual in nature.


Failing to appear on a Class A or Class B misdemeanor that is violent or sexual in nature.


Being charged with a failure to appear.

This bill removes the requirement to place on such list or database a defendant for failing to appear on Class A or Class B misdemeanors that are violent or sexual in nature and for being charged with a failure to appear.

LIABILITY OF SURETY

Present law removes liability for a surety for any undertaking if the defendant has not been placed on the available state or federal list or database within three business days of the entering agency's receipt of the bench warrant or capias.

This bill expands the time in which a surety is relieved from liability if the defendant has not been placed on the available state or federal list or database to 10 business days of the entering agency's receipt of the bench warrant or capias.

ON APRIL 9, 2026, THE SENATE SUBSTITUTED HOUSE BILL 2374 FOR SENATE BILL 2161, ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1, AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 2374, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 reduces from 10 to three the number of business days after the entering agency's receipt of the bench warrant or capias that the court may relieve the surety of liability for an undertaking if the defendant has not been placed on the availabl
e state or federal list or database.

ON APRIL 14, 2026, THE HOUSE NON-CONCURRED IN SENATE AMENDMENT #1.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
SENATE BILL 2161
By Haile

HOUSE BILL 2374
By Doggett
HB2374
011280
- 1 -

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

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 40-11-139(d)(1), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting:
(1) If a court issues a bench warrant or a capias due to a defendant's failure to
appear on a felony that is violent or sexual in nature as determined by the court, then the
defendant shall be placed on any available state or federal list or database as a fugitive
from justice, including the National Crime Information Center.
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 40-11-139(d)(3), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting:
(3) The court may relieve the surety of liability for an undertaking if the defendant
has not been placed on the available state or federal list or database within ten (10)
business days of the entering agency's receipt of the bench warrant or capias.
SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.