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SB1773 • 2026

Children

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 36, Chapter 1, Part 1 and Title 68, Chapter 11, Part 2, relative to voluntary surrendering of an infant.

Children Healthcare Labor
Active

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

Sponsor
Massey, Butler
Last action
2026-05-27
Official status
Effective date(s) 05/22/2026
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

Children

Present law generally authorizes certain facilities to receive possession of a newborn infant left on the facility premises, with a facility employee, or a member of the professional medical community, or in a newborn safety device.

What This Bill Does

  • Present law generally authorizes certain facilities to receive possession of a newborn infant left on the facility premises, with a facility employee, or a member of the professional medical community, or in a newborn safety device.
  • Present law defines "facility" as a hospital, a birthing center, a community health clinic, an out-patient walk-in clinic, a fire department that is staffed 24 hours a day, a law enforcement facility that is staffed twenty-four 24 hours a day, an emergency medical services f ac ility, an emergency communications center, or a nursing home.
  • This bill expands such definition to include an ambulance station that has staff scheduled 24 hours a day.
  • Further, this bill clarifies that with regard to emergency communications centers, f acilities, and nursing homes, such establishments need only have staff scheduled 24 hours a day, instead of being staffed 24 hours a day.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Amendments

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

Amendment 1-0 to HB1844

Plain English: House Health 1 Amendment No.

  • House Health 1 Amendment No.
  • 1 to HB1844 Terry Signature of Sponsor AMEND Senate Bill No.
  • 1773* House Bill No.
  • 1844 HA0568 013053 - 1 - by deleting all language after the enacting clause and substituting: SECTION 1.
Amendment 1-0 to SB1773

Plain English: Senate Judiciary 1 Amendment No.

  • Senate Judiciary 1 Amendment No.
  • 1 to SB1773 Gardenhire Signature of Sponsor AMEND Senate Bill No.
  • 1773* House Bill No.
  • 1844 SA0482 013053 - 1 - by deleting all language after the enacting clause and substituting: SECTION 1.

Bill History

  1. 2026-05-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    Effective date(s) 05/22/2026

  2. 2026-05-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    Pub. Ch. 1092

  3. 2026-05-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. became Pub. Ch. 1092

  4. 2026-05-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Governor.

  5. 2026-05-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Transmitted to Governor for action.

  6. 2026-05-07 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by H. Speaker

  7. 2026-04-30 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Senate Speaker

  8. 2026-04-29 Tennessee General Assembly

    Enrolled and ready for signatures

  9. 2026-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed H., Ayes 92, Nays 0, PNV 1

  10. 2026-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Am. withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - HA0568)

  11. 2026-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Subst. for comp. HB.

  12. 2026-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. SB subst.

  13. 2026-04-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/20/2026

  14. 2026-04-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 4/16/2026

  15. 2026-04-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass; ref to Calendar & Rules Committee

  16. 2026-04-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Finance, Ways, and Means Committee for 4/15/2026

  17. 2026-04-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec for adopt by s/c ref. to Finance, Ways, and Means Committee

  18. 2026-04-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/15/2026

  19. 2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/14/2026

  20. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed behind the budget

  21. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 3/18/2026

  22. 2026-02-26 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  23. 2026-02-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  24. 2026-02-23 Tennessee General Assembly

    Engrossed; ready for transmission to House

  25. 2026-02-23 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 31, Nays 0

  26. 2026-02-23 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 1 - SA0482)

  27. 2026-02-20 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  28. 2026-02-20 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 2/23/2026

  29. 2026-02-17 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  30. 2026-02-17 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  31. 2026-02-17 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  32. 2026-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  33. 2026-02-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 2/17/2026

  34. 2026-02-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Health Committee for 2/17/2026

  35. 2026-02-11 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  36. 2026-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Health Subcommittee for 2/11/2026

  37. 2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Health Subcommittee

  38. 2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to Health Committee

  39. 2026-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Judiciary Committee

  40. 2026-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  41. 2026-01-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  42. 2026-01-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  43. 2026-01-20 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

Present law generally authorizes certain facilities to receive possession of a newborn infant left on the facility premises, with a facility employee, or a member of the professional medical community, or in a newborn safety device. Present law defines
"facility" as a hospital, a birthing center, a community health clinic, an out-patient walk-in clinic, a fire department that is staffed 24 hours a day, a law enforcement facility that is staffed twenty-four 24 hours a day, an emergency medical services f
ac
ility, an emergency communications center, or a nursing home. This bill expands such definition to include an ambulance station that has staff scheduled 24 hours a day. Further, this bill clarifies that with regard to emergency communications centers, f
acilities, and nursing homes, such establishments need only have staff scheduled 24 hours a day, instead of being staffed 24 hours a day.

IMMUNITY

Present law provides that a facility, facility employee, and member of the professional medical community is generally immune from criminal or civil liability for damages as a result of actions taken pursuant to the procedure for surrendering custody of
unwanted infants. However, present law provides that such facilities and individuals are still subject to an existing standard of care for medical treatment and any cause of action based upon a violation of such standard of care. This bill broadens the
im
munity provided to such facilities and individuals by removing the standard of care provision.

ON FEBRUARY 23, 2026, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 1773, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 makes the following changes:



Authorizes a
newborn safety device

to be located in an area that is conspicuous and visible to staff of the ambulance station.



Requires a newborn safety device to
continuously
be
monitored by a facility employee or member of the professional medical community at the facility.



Adds that i
f a facility employee or member of the professional medical community at the facility accepts physical custody of a newborn infant, then such employee or member is required to immediately arrange for the newborn infant to be taken to the nearest hospital emergency room and must have implied consent to any and all appropriate medical treatment. The hospital must immediately notify the department of children's services that the surrendered newborn infant is at the hospital. Upon notification, the department immediately assumes care, custody, and control of the newborn infant.



Adds that i
f a facility employee or member of the professional medical community at the facility physically retrieves a newborn infant from a newborn safety device that meets the requirements, then such employee or member must immediately call for emergency services, arrange for the newborn infant to be taken to the nearest hospital emergency room, and have implied consent to any and all appropriate medical treatment. The hospital must immediately notify the department of children's services that the surrendered newborn infant is at the hospital. Upon notification, the department immediately assumes care, custody, and control of the newborn infant.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
HOUSE BILL 1844
By Butler

SENATE BILL 1773
By Massey
SB1773
011492
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 36,
Chapter 1, Part 1 and Title 68, Chapter 11, Part 2,
relative to voluntary surrendering of an infant.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 68-11-255(a)(2), is amended by
inserting the language ", ambulance station that has staff scheduled twenty-four (24) hours a
day," immediately after "a fire department that is staffed twenty-four (24) hours a day".
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 68-11-255, is amended by deleting
"is staffed" wherever it appears in subdivisions (a)(1), (a)(2), and (a)(5) and substituting "has
staff scheduled".
SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 68-11-255(a)(4)(C), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting:
(C) Approved by and located inside a participating hospital, fire station,
ambulance station, police station, emergency communications center, or nursing home
that:
(i) Is licensed or otherwise legally operating in this state; and
(ii) Has staff scheduled continuously on a twenty-four-hour basis every
day by a licensed emergency medical services provider; and
SECTION 4. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 68-11-255(h), is amended by
deleting the second sentence.
SECTION 5. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.