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SB0892 • 2026

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 38; Title 39 and Title 67, relative to background checks.

Active

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

Sponsor
Stevens, Hill
Last action
2025-03-31
Official status
Assigned to General Subcommittee of Senate Judiciary Committee
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The exact sections in Titles 39 and 67 of Tennessee Code Annotated are not specified, only that they relate to background checks.

Increasing Background Check Requests for State Leaders

This bill changes Tennessee's laws to allow the speakers of the Senate and House to request up to twenty background checks per year for people being considered for important jobs.

What This Bill Does

  • Changes the number of background investigations that the speakers of the Senate and House can ask for from 15 to 20 per year.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Speakers of the Senate and House of Representatives
  • People being considered for important jobs who will have background checks done on them

Terms To Know

Background check
A process where someone's history is checked to see if they are suitable for a job or position.
Speaker of the Senate/House
The leader of the Senate or House in Tennessee who helps run meetings and makes important decisions.

Limits and Unknowns

  • Does not specify how these background checks will be used after they are completed.
  • Does not address what happens if more than 20 requests are needed in a year.

Bill History

  1. 2025-03-31 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to General Subcommittee of Senate Judiciary Committee

  2. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/31/2025

  3. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  4. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  5. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c Civil Justice Subcommittee to the Gun Calendar

  6. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  7. 2025-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Civil Justice Subcommittee

  8. 2025-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Ref. to Judiciary Committee

  9. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Judiciary Committee

  10. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, caption bill, held on desk - pending amdt.

  11. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  12. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  13. 2025-02-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  14. 2025-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

Abstract summarizes the bill.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
HOUSE BILL 1287
By Hill

SENATE BILL 892
By Stevens

SB0892
002988
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 38;
Title 39 and Title 67, relative to background
checks.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 38-6-106(f), is amended by deleting
the language "fifteen (15) requests per calendar year" and substituting "twenty (20) requests per
calendar year".
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.