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SB0045 • 2026

Sentencing

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

Children Crime
Active

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

Sponsor
Lamar, Parkinson
Last action
2026-04-14
Official status
Placed on Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee calendar for 4/21/2026
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source does not provide specific details on the financial impact or the certainty of increased sentence lengths.

Changes in Criminal Sentencing for Offenses Involving Minors

This bill adds a new factor judges can consider when deciding sentences for adults who commit crimes with minors, regardless of whether the minor is charged or convicted.

What This Bill Does

  • Adds a new rule that says when an adult commits a crime with a minor, this can be used to give the adult a longer sentence.
  • This rule applies whether or not the minor involved in the crime faces charges or gets convicted.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Adults who commit crimes with minors will have this new factor considered when their sentences are decided.
  • Judges and courts that decide on criminal sentences in Tennessee.

Terms To Know

Enhancement factor
A reason judges can use to give someone a longer sentence for committing a crime.
Permissible range
The range of possible sentences that a judge is allowed to choose from when sentencing someone who has committed a crime.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify how much more money will be needed for the criminal justice system because of these changes.
  • It's unclear if this change will lead to longer sentences in all cases involving minors.

Amendments

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

Amendment 1-0 to HB1165

Plain English: The amendment adds a new provision to Tennessee law that allows for harsher sentencing if an adult commits a crime with a minor.

  • Adds a new subdivision to Section 40-35-114 of the Tennessee Code Annotated, which states that an adult who commits a crime involving a minor can receive a more severe sentence.
  • The exact nature and extent of the harsher sentencing is not specified in the amendment text.
  • It's unclear how this provision will interact with existing laws regarding minors involved in criminal activities.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee calendar for 4/21/2026

  2. 2025-04-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee calendar for 4/21/2025

  3. 2025-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee calendar for 4/15/2025

  4. 2025-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rule #83(8) Suspended, to be heard in Senate Finance, Ways & Means Committee on 4/15/2025

  5. 2025-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/14/2025

  6. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed behind the budget

  7. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 3/19/2025

  8. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  9. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  10. 2025-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 3/12/2025

  11. 2025-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in Judiciary Committee to 3/12/2025

  12. 2025-02-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 3/5/2025

  13. 2025-02-26 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  14. 2025-02-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 2/26/2025

  15. 2025-02-18 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  16. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee

  17. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to Judiciary Committee

  18. 2025-02-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 2/18/2025

  19. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  20. 2025-02-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  21. 2025-01-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Judiciary Committee

  22. 2025-01-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  23. 2025-01-07 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

Abstract summarizes the bill.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
HOUSE BILL 1165
By Parkinson

SENATE BILL 45
By Lamar

SB0045
000071
- 1 -

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

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 40-35-114, is amended by adding
the following as a new subdivision:
( ) The defendant was an adult at the time of the offense and committed the
offense with a minor, regardless of whether the minor was convicted of the offense;
SECTION 2. This act takes effect July 1, 2025, the public welfare requiring it, and
applies to offenses committed on or after that date.