Criminal Procedure

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not specify which exact crimes are included in the list of serious crimes to which conspiracy, criminal attempt, and solicitation apply.

Changes to Criminal Procedure

This bill adds conspiracy, criminal attempt, and solicitation to a list of serious crimes for which offenders must serve their full sentence without reduction.

What This Bill Does

• Adds conspiracy, criminal attempt, and solicitation to the list of offenses that require serving 100% of the imposed sentence without any reduction in time served due to credits earned if such offense is related to specific serious crimes listed in the bill.

Who It Names or Affects

• Individuals involved in conspiracy, criminal attempt, or solicitation to commit specific serious crimes listed in the bill.

Terms To Know

Conspiracy

Agreeing with one or more people to commit a crime.

Criminal Attempt

Trying to commit a crime, even if it is not completed.

Solicitation

Asking someone else to commit a crime.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify how the changes will be enforced or funded.
• It is unclear what impact this legislation will have on existing cases before July 1, 2026.

Official Summary Text

Present law provides that
there is no release eligibility for a person committing an offense, on or after July 1, 2022, that is
listed below.
The person
must s
erve 100% of the sentence imposed by the court undiminished by any sentence reduction credits.
However, t
he
person may
earn credits for satisfactory program performance, and those credits may be used for the purpose of increased privileges, reduced security classification, or any purpose other than the reduction of the sentence.
Such offense
s
with
no release eligibility
include all of the following:



Attempted first degree murder
.



Second degree murder
.



Vehicular homicide
, when the proximate cause of the reckless killing was t
he driver's intoxication
.



Aggravated vehicular homicide
.



Especially aggravated kidnapping
.



Especially aggravated robbery
.



Carjacking
.



Especially aggravated burglary
.

This bill adds to the above list
conspiracy
,
criminal attempt
, and
solicitation,
if such offense was
to commit any of the offenses listed
above.

MAY
USE CREDITS
TO REDUCE BY UP TO 15%

Present law provides that
there is no release eligibility for a person committing an offense, on or after July 1, 2022, that
is listed below.
The person
must
serve 100% of the sentence imposed by the court undiminished by any sentence reduction credits
. However,
credits earned for satisfactory program performance may be used to reduce by up to 15% the percentage of the sentence imposed by the court that the person must serve before becoming eligible for release on parole but
does
not alter the sentence expiration date.
Program pe
rformance credits may also be used
for the purpose of increased privileges, reduced security classification, or any purpose other than the reduction of the sentence imposed by the court.

The offenses
include all of the following
:



Except
if the offense involved the use of a firearm from within a motor vehicle
,

an i
ntentional or knowing
aggravated assault
that i
nvolved the use or display of a deadly weapon
or
a reckless assault that i
nvolved the use or display of a deadly weapon.



A
n intentional or knowing a
ggravated assault
that involved
strangulation or attempted strangulation
.



Aggravated assault, if the offense resulted in serious bodily injury to or the death of another
.



Aggravated assault against a law enforcement officer, first responder, or nurse, if the offense involved the use of a deadly weapon;



A
ggravated assault against a law enforcement officer, first responder, or nurse
that r
esult
ed
in serious bodily injury
,

death, or i
nvolved strangulation or attempted strangulation
.



Voluntary manslaughter
.



Vehicular homicide,
when the proximate cause of the reckless killing was either (i) c
onduct creating a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury to a person;
(ii) drag racing; or (iii) t
he driver's conduct in a posted construction zone where the person killed was an employee of the department of transportation or a highway construction worker.



Reckless homicide
.



Aggravated kidnapping
.



Involuntary labor servitude
.



Trafficking persons for forced labor or services
.



Aggravated robbery
.



Aggravated burglary
.



Aggravated arson
.



Possessing or using a firearm or antique firearm during commission of or attempt to commit a dangerous felony
.



The manufacture, delivery, or sale of a controlled substance, where the instant offense is classified as a Class A, B, or C felony and the person has two or more prior convictions for the manufacture, delivery, or sale of a controlled substance classified as a Class A, B, or C felony, prior to or at the time of committing the instant offense
.



Criminally negligent homicide
.

This bill adds
conspiracy
,
criminal attempt
, and
solicitation
to this list
,
if such offense was
to commit any of the
listed offenses.

Current Bill Text

SENATE BILL 1929
By Taylor

HOUSE BILL 2465
By Rudder
HB2465
010889
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Section
40-35-501, relative to criminal procedure.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 40-35-501(bb)(2), is amended by
adding the following new subdivisions:
(I) Conspiracy, under § 39-12-103, to commit any of the offenses listed in this
subdivision (bb)(2);
(J) Criminal attempt, under § 39-12-101, to commit any of the offenses listed in
this subdivision (bb)(2); and
(K) Solicitation, under § 39-12-102, to commit any of the offenses listed in this
subdivision (bb)(2).
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 40-35-501(cc)(2), is amended by
adding the following new subdivisions:
(R) Conspiracy, under § 39-12-103, to commit any of the offenses listed in this
subdivision (cc)(2);
(S) Criminal attempt, under § 39-12-101, to commit any of the offenses listed in
this subdivision (cc)(2); and
(T) Solicitation, under § 39-12-102, to commit any of the offenses listed in this
subdivision (cc)(2).
SECTION 3. This act takes effect July 1, 2026, the public welfare requiring it, and
applies to offenses committed on or after that date.