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SB0304 • 2026

Evidence

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 24, Chapter 7, relative to child forensic interviews.

Children Crime Labor
Active

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

Sponsor
Haile, Doggett
Last action
2025-05-02
Official status
Effective date(s) 04/11/2025
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide details on enforcement mechanisms or penalties for non-compliance with the bill's provisions.

Law About Child Interviews for Court

This bill allows video recordings of child interviews about abuse to be used in court if the interviewer confirms their accuracy and the child is available for cross-examination.

What This Bill Does

  • Allows a video recording of an interview with a child who was abused to be shown as evidence in court if the forensic interviewer confirms it is accurate and the child can answer questions from both sides.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Children who have been abused and need to talk about it in court.
  • Forensic interviewers who record these conversations with children.
  • Courts that handle cases involving child abuse.

Terms To Know

forensic interviewer
A person trained to ask questions of a child who has been abused in a way that helps the court understand what happened.
cross examination
When someone asks questions to challenge or test the information given by another person during a trial.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify how it will be enforced.
  • It is unclear if there are any specific penalties for breaking this law.

Amendments

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

Amendment 1-0 to HB0583

Plain English: The amendment changes requirements for child forensic interviews to allow certain types of centers and federal agency employees to conduct these interviews without making them inadmissible.

  • Changes the criteria for who can conduct a child forensic interview, allowing interviews conducted by employees of accredited non-profit or supervised executive director-led child advocacy centers to be admissible in court.
  • Adds that an interview is not automatically inadmissible if the interviewer works for a federal agency and conducts it during a federal crime investigation.
  • The amendment text does not specify all details about how these changes will affect current practices or what constitutes 'nationally recognized accrediting agencies'.
Amendment 1-0 to SB0304

Plain English: The amendment changes requirements for child forensic interviews to allow certain types of centers and employees to conduct these interviews without making them inadmissible.

  • Changes the criteria for who can conduct child forensic interviews by allowing interviews conducted by employees of accredited non-profit or federal agencies, even if they do not meet all previous requirements.
  • Updates the conditions under which a child advocacy center's interview is admissible in court, including exceptions for accreditation status and supervision.
  • The amendment text does not specify all details about how these changes will be implemented or enforced.

Bill History

  1. 2025-05-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Effective date(s) 04/11/2025

  2. 2025-05-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Pub. Ch. 162

  3. 2025-05-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. became Pub. Ch. 162

  4. 2025-04-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Governor.

  5. 2025-04-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Transmitted to Governor for action.

  6. 2025-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by H. Speaker

  7. 2025-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Senate Speaker

  8. 2025-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

    Enrolled and ready for signatures

  9. 2025-03-31 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed H., Ayes 94, Nays 0, PNV 0

  10. 2025-03-31 Tennessee General Assembly

    Am. withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - HA0196)

  11. 2025-03-31 Tennessee General Assembly

    Subst. for comp. HB.

  12. 2025-03-31 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. SB subst.

  13. 2025-03-31 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  14. 2025-03-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 3/31/2025

  15. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 3/27/2025

  16. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee

  17. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 3/26/2025

  18. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in Judiciary Committee to 3/26/2025

  19. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 3/19/2025

  20. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in Judiciary Committee to 3/19/2025

  21. 2025-03-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rcvd. from S., held on H. desk.

  22. 2025-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  23. 2025-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  24. 2025-03-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  25. 2025-03-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Engrossed; ready for transmission to House

  26. 2025-03-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 32, Nays 0

  27. 2025-03-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 1 - SA0015)

  28. 2025-02-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 3/3/2025

  29. 2025-02-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 3/5/2025

  30. 2025-02-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee to 3/5/25

  31. 2025-02-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  32. 2025-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  33. 2025-02-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 2/25/2025

  34. 2025-02-19 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  35. 2025-02-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Meeting Canceled

  36. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Judiciary Committee

  37. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 2/19/2025

  38. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  39. 2025-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee

  40. 2025-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to Judiciary Committee

  41. 2025-02-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  42. 2025-01-29 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  43. 2025-01-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

Abstract summarizes the bill.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
HOUSE BILL 583
By Doggett

SENATE BILL 304
By Haile

SB0304
002234
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 24,
Chapter 7, relative to child forensic interviews.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 24-7-123(b)(1), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting:
(1) The child or the forensic interviewer who conducted the interview testifies,
under oath, that the offered video recording is a true and correct recording of the events
contained in the video recording and the child is available for cross examination;
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 24-7-123(b)(3)(A), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting:
(i) Was employed by a child advocacy center that meets the requirements of § 9-
4-213(a) or (b); provided, however, that an interview shall not be inadmissible solely
because the interviewer is employed by a child advocacy center that:
(a) Is not a nonprofit corporation, if the child advocacy center is
accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency; or
(b) Employs an executive director who does not meet the criteria of § 9-
4-213(a)(2), if the executive director is supervised by a publicly elected official; or
(ii) Was employed by a federal agency and conducted the forensic interview in
the course of an investigation of a federal crime;
SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.