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SB1217 • 2026

Correction, Dept. of

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

Crime Housing
Active

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

Sponsor
Oliver, Dixie
Last action
2025-02-12
Official status
Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Judiciary Committee
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details about the types of housing services or how the changes will be implemented, leaving these aspects unclear.

Tennessee Law Change for Inmate Reentry

This bill amends Tennessee's criminal justice laws to require that housing services be addressed in the orientation program before an inmate is released from prison.

What This Bill Does

  • Adds 'housing' to the list of topics that must be covered in the orientation program before an inmate is released from prison.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Inmates who are about to be released from prison in Tennessee.
  • The Department of Correction, which must provide the necessary orientation and information on housing services.

Terms To Know

reentry
The process by which people who have been in prison return to society after being released.
orientation program
A training session or course that prepares inmates for life outside of prison before they are released.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify what kind of housing services will be provided.
  • It is unclear how the Department of Correction will implement these changes.
  • There is no information on funding or resources to support this new requirement.

Bill History

  1. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Judiciary Committee

  2. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  3. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  4. 2025-02-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  5. 2025-02-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  6. 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 1029
By Dixie

SENATE BILL 1217
By Oliver

SB1217
003022
- 1 -

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

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 40-35-505, is amended by deleting
"education, employment" and substituting "education, housing, employment".
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.