Tennessee 114th General Assembly Status: Enacted 8 R cosponsors

HB 0076 — AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39, Chapter 14, Part 2, relative to criminal offenses committed against animals.

Last action — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 428

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. ✓
    Passed House
  4. ✓
    Passed Senate
  5. ✓
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced January 08, 2025. Enacted.

Signed by Governor Bill Lee (Republican) on April 29, 2025.

Odds of enactment

High chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a high chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Likely to advance 82% · moderate confidence

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 8 sponsors

    1 primary, 7 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (8 R).

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 2 recorded votes so far.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Summary

Animal Cruelty and Abuse - As enacted, prohibits the abandonment of an animal in a person's custody and provides that it is not a defense to prosecution that the person abandoned the animal at or near an animal shelter, veterinary clinic, or other place of shelter if the person did not make reasonable arrangements for the care of the animal. - Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 14, Part 2.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Filed for introduction

  2. Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  3. Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Judiciary Committee

  4. Sponsor(s) Added.

  5. Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/24/2025

  6. Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/25/2025

  7. Action deferred in Senate Judiciary Committee to 4/1/2025

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

  9. Action deferred in Senate Judiciary Committee to 4/1/2025

  10. Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 4/1/2025

  11. Action deferred in Senate Judiciary Committee to 4/2/2025

  12. Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 4/2/2025

  13. Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Calendar Committee

  14. Placed on Senate Consent Calendar 2 for 4/7/2025

  15. Passed Senate, Ayes 31, Nays 0

  16. Engrossed; ready for transmission to House

  17. Sponsor(s) Added.

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

  19. Subst. for comp. HB.

  20. Passed H., Ayes 92, Nays 0, PNV 2

  21. Enrolled and ready for signatures

  22. Signed by Senate Speaker

  23. Signed by H. Speaker

  24. Transmitted to Governor for action.

  25. Signed by Governor.

  26. Pub. Ch. 428

  27. Effective date(s) 07/01/2025

  28. Filed for introduction

  29. Intro., P1C.

  30. P2C held on desk, pending appointment of Standing Committees

  31. Ref. to Judiciary Committee

  32. Assigned to s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee

  33. Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 2/12/2025

  34. Sponsor(s) Added.

  35. Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to Judiciary Committee

  36. Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 2/19/2025

  37. Rec. for pass; ref to Finance, Ways, and Means Committee

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

  39. Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 2/26/2025

  40. Sponsor(s) Added.

  41. Placed behind the budget

  42. Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/14/2025

  43. Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/17/2025

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

  45. Rec. for pass; ref to Calendar & Rules Committee

  46. Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 4/17/2025

  47. H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/21/2025

  48. Comp. SB subst.

  49. Sponsor(s) Added.

  50. Comp. became Pub. Ch. 428

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 7 co-sponsors · 125 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (7)

Not signed on (125)

125 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 125 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

Subjects

public-safety
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does HB 0076 do?
Animal Cruelty and Abuse - As enacted, prohibits the abandonment of an animal in a person's custody and provides that it is not a defense to prosecution that the person abandoned the animal at or near an animal shelter, veterinary clinic, or other place of shelter if the person did not make reasonable arrangements for the care of the animal. - Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 14, Part 2.
Who sponsors HB 0076?
HB 0076 is sponsored by Stevens, Robert (Republican), Terry, Bryan (Republican), McCalmon, Jake (Republican), Gillespie, John (Republican), Bricken, Rush (Republican), Crawford, John (Republican), Helton-Haynes, Esther (Republican), and Hawk, David B. (Republican).
What is the current status of HB 0076?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced January 08, 2025. Enacted.
Where can I track HB 0076?
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Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

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