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SB0678 • 2026

Sentencing

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39, Chapter 13, Part 5, relative to sexual offenses.

Children Crime
Active

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

Sponsor
White, Littleton
Last action
2025-05-13
Official status
Effective date(s) 07/01/2025
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary and official digest text indicate that the crime remains a Class B felony rather than becoming a Class A felony as initially stated in the candidate explanation.

Changing Sentencing for Aggravated Sexual Battery

This bill changes how people who commit aggravated sexual battery against minors or those unable to give consent due to mental or physical reasons are punished.

What This Bill Does

  • Changes the law so that if someone commits an aggravated sexual battery against a person younger than 18 or someone who cannot give consent because of mental or physical issues, it remains a Class B felony instead of becoming a Class A felony.
  • Requires the offender to be punished as a Range II offender for these crimes.
  • Allows judges some flexibility in sentencing, but ensures that sentences are not lower than what is required by law.

Who It Names or Affects

  • People who commit aggravated sexual battery against minors or those unable to give consent due to mental or physical reasons
  • Judges and courts responsible for sentencing offenders

Terms To Know

Class B felony
A serious crime that carries a longer sentence than some other types of felonies but shorter than others.
Range II offender
A category for offenders who have committed more severe crimes and face stricter sentencing guidelines.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify how judges should determine when a sentence can be within Range III.
  • It is unclear what specific changes this will bring to current sentencing practices.

Amendments

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

Amendment 1-0 to HB1352

Plain English: The amendment changes how someone convicted of aggravated sexual battery is sentenced if the victim was under 18 or unable to give consent due to mental or physical reasons.

  • If the victim was less than 18 years old or had a disability that prevented them from giving consent, the person who committed the crime must be punished as a Range II offender instead of a Range I offender.
  • The amendment does not specify what ranges mean in terms of actual sentencing details, which are likely defined elsewhere in Tennessee law.

Bill History

  1. 2025-05-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    Effective date(s) 07/01/2025

  2. 2025-05-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    Pub. Ch. 375

  3. 2025-05-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. became Pub. Ch. 375

  4. 2025-05-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Governor.

  5. 2025-04-23 Tennessee General Assembly

    Transmitted to Governor for action.

  6. 2025-04-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by H. Speaker

  7. 2025-04-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Senate Speaker

  8. 2025-04-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    Enrolled and ready for signatures

  9. 2025-04-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Concurred, Ayes 32, Nays 0, PNV 1(Amendment 1 - HA0374)

  10. 2025-04-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Message Calendar for 4/17/2025

  11. 2025-04-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed H., as am., Ayes 88, Nays 0, PNV 0

  12. 2025-04-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. adopted am. (Amendment 1 - HA0374)

  13. 2025-04-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Subst. for comp. HB.

  14. 2025-04-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. SB subst.

  15. 2025-04-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  16. 2025-04-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/14/2025

  17. 2025-04-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  18. 2025-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 4/10/2025

  19. 2025-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  20. 2025-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  21. 2025-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 4/9/2025

  22. 2025-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  23. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 4/2/2025

  24. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee to 4/2/2025

  25. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 3/26/2025

  26. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee to 3/26/2025

  27. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 3/19/2025

  28. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee to 3/19/2025

  29. 2025-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 3/12/2025

  30. 2025-02-27 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  31. 2025-02-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  32. 2025-02-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Engrossed; ready for transmission to House

  33. 2025-02-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed Senate, Ayes 27, Nays 0

  34. 2025-02-20 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 2/24/2025

  35. 2025-02-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Calendar Committee

  36. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Judiciary Committee

  37. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee

  38. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to Judiciary Committee

  39. 2025-02-11 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  40. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  41. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  42. 2025-02-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  43. 2025-01-31 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

ON APRIL 16, 2025, THE HOUSE SUBSTITUTED SENATE BILL 678 FOR HOUSE BILL 1352, ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1, AND PASSED SENATE BILL 678, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 rewrites the bill to, instead, provide that
if

the victim
in an
aggravated sexual battery was less than 18

or was mentally defective, mentally incapacitated, or physically helpless, then
such
battery
remains
a Class B felony
, and
the defendant must be punished as

a Range II offender
.

H
owever, the sentence imposed upon the defendant may, if appropriate, be within Range III but in no case lower than Range II.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
HOUSE BILL 1352
By Littleton

SENATE BILL 678
By White

SB0678
001476
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39,
Chapter 13, Part 5, relative to sexual offenses.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 39-13-504(b), is amended by
deleting the subsection and substituting:
(b)
(1) Except as provided by subdivision (b)(2), aggravated sexual battery is
a Class B felony.
(2) Aggravated sexual battery is a Class A felony if the victim was less
than eighteen (18) years of age or was mentally defective, mentally
incapacitated, or physically helpless.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect July 1, 2025, the public welfare requiring it.