Tennessee 114th General Assembly Status: Passed House 6 R cosponsors

HB 1444 — AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 37 and Title 39, relative to cruelty to animals.

Last action — Sponsor(s) Added.

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

This bill has passed the House. Introduced September 16, 2025. It now moves to the second chamber.

Next likely step: consideration and a floor vote in the Senate.

Odds of enactment

Moderate chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a moderate 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

Advancing 38% · moderate confidence

  • Passed House

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 6 sponsors

    1 primary, 5 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (6 R).

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

Summary

Criminal Offenses - As introduced, increases the penalty for aggravated cruelty to animals from a Class E felony to a Class D felony; adds aggravated cruelty to animals as an offense for which a juvenile may be classified as a serious youthful offender. - Amends TCA Title 37 and Title 39.

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 3/16/2026

  6. Sponsor(s) Added.

  7. Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee

  8. Placed on Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee calendar for 4/20/2026

  9. Placed on Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee calendar for 4/21/2026

  10. Placed on Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee calendar for 4/21/2026

  11. Filed for introduction

  12. Intro., P1C.

  13. P2C, ref. to Judiciary Committee

  14. Assigned to s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee

  15. Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 3/4/2026

  16. Action Def. in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee to 3/11/2026

  17. Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 3/11/2026

  18. Action Def. in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee to 3/18/2026

  19. Sponsor(s) Added.

  20. Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 3/18/2026

  21. Action Def. in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee to 3/25/2026

  22. Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 3/25/2026

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

  24. Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 4/1/2026

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

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

  27. Sponsor(s) Added.

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 5 co-sponsors · 127 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (5)

Not signed on (127)

127 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 127 →

"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

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 1444 do?
Criminal Offenses - As introduced, increases the penalty for aggravated cruelty to animals from a Class E felony to a Class D felony; adds aggravated cruelty to animals as an offense for which a juvenile may be classified as a serious youthful offender. - Amends TCA Title 37 and Title 39.
Who sponsors HB 1444?
HB 1444 is sponsored by Gillespie, John (Republican), Atchley, Fred (Republican), Crawford, John (Republican), Baum, Charlie (Republican), Hale, Michael (Republican), and Garrett, Johnny (Republican).
What is the current status of HB 1444?
This bill has passed the House. Introduced September 16, 2025. It now moves to the second chamber.
Where can I track HB 1444?
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Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

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