Correctional Programs

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4; Title 10 and Title 41, relative to body cameras.

Crime Labor

Active

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

Sponsor: Hatcher, Atchley
Last action: 2026-04-20
Official status: Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 11, Nays 0 PNV 0
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Body Camera Study for Correctional Officers

This bill requires the Tennessee Department of Correction to study and report on the costs of equipping correctional officers and prison contractor employees with body cameras at Trousdale Turner Correctional Facility.

What This Bill Does

Requires the department of correction to study the cost of giving body cameras to correctional officers and prison contractor employees who work at Trousdale Turner Correctional Facility.
Specifies that the study must cover the costs for equipping these workers with body cameras.
Requires the department to report its findings to certain legislative committees by July 1, 2026.

Who It Names or Affects

The Tennessee Department of Correction
Correctional officers and prison contractor employees at Trousdale Turner Correctional Facility

Terms To Know

Trousdale Turner Correctional Facility: A specific adult correctional facility in Tennessee.
Prison contractors: Companies that provide prison services to the state under contract.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not specify what actions will be taken based on the study's findings.
It is unclear if similar studies will be conducted for other correctional facilities in Tennessee.

Amendments

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

HA0916

Amendment 1-0 to HB1718

Plain English: The amendment requires correctional officers at specific types of facilities to wear body cameras while on duty and mandates that footage be reviewed, stored, and transmitted according to specified guidelines.

Correctional officers must use body cameras during their shifts except for breaks when they may interact with inmates.
Prison contractors are responsible for providing the necessary equipment and maintaining it.
The department of correction is required to review footage within 72 hours and transmit relevant recordings to district attorneys or other authorities as needed.

Some details about how body camera data will be handled in specific security risk situations are not fully explained.

HA1149

Amendment 2-0 to HB1718

Plain English: The amendment adds new requirements for body cameras in correctional facilities and sets rules for their use by prison contractors and review by the department of corrections.

Requires each correctional officer to wear a body camera while on duty at specific types of correctional facilities, with the camera recording continuously during interactions with inmates or when such interactions are anticipated.
Specifies that prison contractors must cover costs related to body cameras and ensure footage is reviewed by designated employees within five business days for potential disciplinary actions or legal issues.
Establishes a process for transmitting relevant body camera recordings to district attorneys and prosecuting authorities, as well as maintaining records securely for at least one year.
Confidentiality of body camera recordings is maintained except when necessary for civil actions or criminal prosecutions.

The amendment text does not specify the exact penalties for non-compliance with these new requirements.

SA0815

Amendment 1-0 to SB1820

Correctional officers must use body cameras during their shifts except for breaks when they may interact with inmates.
Prison contractors are responsible for providing the necessary equipment and maintaining it.
The department of correction must review recordings within 72 hours and transmit relevant footage to prosecutors if needed.

Some parts of the amendment text were truncated, so some details may be missing or unclear.

SA1075

Amendment 2-0 to SB1820

Plain English: The amendment requires correctional officers at specific facilities to wear body cameras while on duty and interacting with inmates, mandates prison contractors to cover costs related to body cameras, and restricts access to body camera footage.

Correctional officers must use body cameras when on duty and in contact or anticipating contact with inmates.
Prison contractors are responsible for the cost of providing body cameras and maintaining data storage.
Body camera recordings must be reviewed by designated employees within five business days and transmitted to relevant authorities if necessary.

The amendment text does not specify all details about how body camera footage will be stored or maintained beyond the required one-year period.
It is unclear what happens after July 1, 2027, when this part of the law is set to be repealed.

Bill History

2026-04-20 Tennessee General Assembly
Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 11, Nays 0 PNV 0
2026-04-16 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee calendar for 4/20/2026
2026-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee calendar for 4/21/2026
2026-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly
H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/16/2026
2026-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 4/14/2026
2026-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly
Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee
2026-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. Finance, Ways, and Means Committee for 4/14/2026
2026-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly
Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to Finance, Ways, and Means Committee
2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/14/2026
2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly
Action Def. in s/c Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee to 4/15/2026
2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/8/2026
2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly
Assigned to s/c Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee
2026-03-31 Tennessee General Assembly
Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Finance, Ways, and Means Committee
2026-03-31 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. State & Local Government Committee for 3/31/2026
2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly
Action def. in State & Local Government Committee to 3/31/2026
2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-03-23 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. State & Local Government Committee for 3/24/2026
2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly
Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to State & Local Government Committee
2026-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly
Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee Ayes 9, Nays 0 PNV 0
2026-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on s/c cal Public Service Subcommittee for 3/18/2026
2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate State and Local Government Committee calendar for 3/17/2026
2026-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly
Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate State and Local Government Committee
2026-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly
Assigned to s/c Public Service Subcommittee
2026-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly
P2C, ref. to State & Local Government Committee
2026-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-01-21 Tennessee General Assembly
Introduced, Passed on First Consideration
2026-01-21 Tennessee General Assembly
Intro., P1C.
2026-01-20 Tennessee General Assembly
Filed for introduction
2026-01-20 Tennessee General Assembly
Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

Abstract summarizes the bill.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HOUSE BILL 1718
By Atchley

SENATE BILL 1820
By Hatcher
SB1820
010985
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4;
Title 10 and Title 41, relative to body cameras.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 41, Chapter 24, is amended by adding
the following new section:
(a) The department shall study the cost of equipping correctional officers and
employees of prison contractors with body cameras who work in an adult correctional
facility located:
(1) On public property that houses, in whole or in part, inmates under the
custody of the department for which correction services are provided to such
inmates by a prison contractor; and
(2) In a county that has a metropolitan form of government with a
population of not less than eleven thousand six hundred (11,600) and not more
than eleven thousand six hundred sixteen (11,616), according to the 2020 federal
census or a subsequent federal census.
(b) The department shall report its findings to the chair of the senate state and
local government committee and the chair of the committee of the house of
representatives with jurisdiction over corrections not later than July 1, 2026. The report
may be submitted electronically.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.