District Attorneys

Plain English Breakdown

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

District Attorneys

Present law requires each district attorney general to provide an annual report by March 1 of each year to the governor, speaker of the house of representatives, speaker of the senate, chair of the criminal justice committee of the house of representativ es, chair of the judiciary committee of the senate, and district attorneys general conference, and make such report available to the public upon request.

What This Bill Does

• Present law requires each district attorney general to provide an annual report by March 1 of each year to the governor, speaker of the house of representatives, speaker of the senate, chair of the criminal justice committee of the house of representativ es, chair of the judiciary committee of the senate, and district attorneys general conference, and make such report available to the public upon request.
• The report must contain, at a minimum, for the previous year, all of the following aggregate, non-pe rs onally identifying information, categorized by offense:  Arrests made and offenses referred.
•  The number of indictments filed.
•  The number of cases transferred to another law enforcement entity.

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.

Official Summary Text

Present law requires each district attorney general to provide an annual report by March 1 of each year to the governor, speaker of the house of representatives, speaker of the senate, chair of the criminal justice committee of the house of representativ
es, chair of the judiciary committee of the senate, and district attorneys general conference, and make such report available to the public upon request. The report must contain, at a minimum, for the previous year, all of the following aggregate, non-pe
rs
onally identifying information, categorized by offense:



Arrests made and offenses referred.


The number of indictments filed.


The number of cases transferred to another law enforcement entity.


The number of cases in which an indictment was sought for an individual and the indictment was for an offense other than the offense for which the individual was originally arrested.


The number of each disposition entered by a court.

This bill removes that such information is required in the report, and requires, instead, that all of the following information is included in the report:



The number of indictments filed.


The number of cases transferred to a district attorney general pro tem, who, generally, is appointed by a court to act as a district attorney general when such is unavailable.


The number of each disposition entered by a criminal or circuit court in that district attorney general's judicial district.

This bill does not require a district attorney general to use any designated system, whether physical or digital, to maintain the data to be reported. A district attorney general may collect the required data in the way that best fits the design of the d
istrict attorney general's local criminal justice systems.

This bill requires the clerk of every court having jurisdiction over misdemeanor and felony cases to provide each district attorney general and the district attorneys general conference direct, and unlimited access, to the clerk's case management or repor
ting system for the purposes of complying with the duty to collect, analyze, and report data on the information required. The clerk must cooperate with each district attorney general and the district attorneys general conference and provide all data and
in
formation upon request. This bill requires the same of the clerks for the district attorneys general conference to compile a statewide report summarizing the information provided by each district attorney general, as required by present law.

PERSONS NOT LAWFULLY PRESENT IN U.S. CHARGED OR CONVICTED IN TENNESSEE

Present law requires the district attorneys general conference to collect and analyze data from law enforcement agencies on the number of persons not lawfully present in the United States charged or convicted of a criminal offense in this state during the
previous year. However, the requirement is repealed July 1, 2032. This bill removes the repeal.

This bill further requires the clerk of every court having jurisdiction over misdemeanor and felony cases to provide the district attorneys general conference direct, and unlimited access, to the clerk's case management or reporting system for the purpos
es of complying with the duty to collect and analyze such data. The clerk must cooperate with the district attorneys general conference and provide all data and information upon request.

ON APRIL 20, 2026, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 2466, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 rewrites the bill to, instead, require the clerks of all courts exercising criminal jurisdiction within this state to provide to the district attorneys general conference such data and information as is reasonably necessary to enable the con
ference to comply with the reporting requirements imposed by present law. Such clerks must also provide the same to the district attorney general in the clerk's judicial district to enable such district attorney general to comply with the reporting requi
re
ments imposed by present law. A clerk may satisfy such requirements by any of the following methods:



Providing the required data in Microsoft Excel format or other tabulated spreadsheet format suitable for compilation and analysis.



Providing secure, read-only electronic access through a portal or other technological means sufficient to permit authorized personnel to compile the required data.



Authorizing the clerk's case management system or software provider to furnish the required data directly, including, but not limited to, data generated through the Tennessee court information system (TnCIS) or a successor system.

This amendment generally requires the district attorneys general conference to reimburse any reasonable and necessary costs incurred by a clerk in complying with the above. However, the reimbursement must not include compensation for additional personne
l hired by the clerk for the purpose of complying with the requirement.

This amendment clarifies that the above requirement does not require a clerk to create data that is not otherwise maintained in the ordinary course of business, but only to provide access to or extraction of existing data.

ON APRIL 23, 2026, THE SENATE SUBSTITUTED HOUSE BILL 2466 FOR SENATE BILL 2462, ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1, AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 2466, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 changes the effective date of this bill from upon becoming a law to
July 1, 2026
, for the provisions requiring such clerks to
provide the district attorney general in the clerk's judicial district such data and information as is reasonably necessary to enable the district attorney general to comply with the reporting requirements imposed by
present law.

Current Bill Text

HOUSE BILL 2466
By Rudder

SENATE BILL 2462
By Bailey
SB2462
011323
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4 and
Title 8, relative to district attorneys general.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 8-7-115, is amended by deleting the
section and substituting:
(a) Each district attorney general shall provide an annual report by March 1 of
each year to the governor, speaker of the house of representatives, speaker of the
senate, chair of the committee of the house of representatives with jurisdiction over
subject matters pertaining to district attorneys general, chair of the judiciary committee of
the senate, and district attorneys general conference and make such report available to
the public upon request. The report must contain, at a minimum, for the previous year,
the following aggregate, non-personally identifying information, categorized by offense:
(1) The number of indictments filed;
(2) The number of cases transferred for pro tem prosecution under § 8-7-
106; and
(3) The number of each disposition entered by a criminal or circuit court
in that district attorney general's judicial district, including dismissals, pretrial
diversions, plea agreements, trial outcomes, and sentences imposed.
(b) This section does not require a district attorney general to use any
designated system, whether physical or digital, to maintain the data to be reported. A
district attorney general may collect the required data in the way that best fits the design
of the district attorney general's local criminal justice systems.

- 2 - 011323

(c) It is the duty of the clerk of every court having jurisdiction over misdemeanor
and felony cases to provide each district attorney general and the district attorneys
general conference direct and unlimited access to the clerk's case management or
reporting system for the purposes of complying with the duty to collect, analyze, and
report data on the information required by subdivisions (a)(1)-(3). The clerk shall
cooperate with each district attorney general and the district attorneys general
conference and provide all data and information upon request.
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 4-1-425(f), is amended by deleting
the subsection and substituting instead the following:
(f) It is the duty of the clerk of every court having jurisdiction over misdemeanor
and felony cases to provide the district attorneys general conference direct and unlimited
access to the clerk's case management or reporting system for the purposes of
complying with the duty to collect and analyze data as required by this section. The
clerk shall cooperate with the district attorneys general conference and provide all data
and information upon request.
SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 8-7-314, is amended by
redesignating the current section as subsection (a) and adding the following new subsection:
(b) It is the duty of the clerk of every court having jurisdiction over misdemeanor
and felony cases to provide the district attorneys general conference direct and unlimited
access to the clerk's case management or reporting system for the purposes of
complying with the duty to compile a statewide report as required by subsection (a). The
clerk shall cooperate with the district attorneys general conference and provide all data
and information upon request.
SECTION 4. This act takes effect July 1, 2026, at 12:01 a.m., the public welfare
requiring it.