Tennessee 114th General Assembly Status: Passed House Bipartisan · 27 R · 3 D cosponsors

HB 1542 — AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39, relative to theft.

Last action — Taken off notice for cal in s/c Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee of Finance, Ways, and Means Committee

  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 January 13, 2026. 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.

Upgrade to see the exact probability and what's driving it.

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

Prognosis

Advancing 54% · moderate confidence

  • Passed House

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 31 sponsors

    1 primary, 30 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (27 R · 3 D) — cross-party backing.

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, prohibits the use of a telecommunication device, with intent to deprive the owner of property, to fraudulently obtain or exercise control over the property of another without the owner's effective consent, which is punishable as theft, but in no event less than a Class E felony. - Amends TCA 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. Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/16/2026

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

  6. Sponsor(s) Added.

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

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

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

  10. Filed for introduction

  11. Intro., P1C.

  12. P2C, ref. to Judiciary Committee

  13. Assigned to s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee

  14. Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 2/11/2026

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

  16. Sponsor(s) Added.

  17. Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 2/18/2026

  18. Action def. in Judiciary Committee to Next Available Calendar

  19. Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 3/4/2026

  20. Sponsor(s) Added.

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

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

  23. Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 3/11/2026

  24. Placed behind the budget

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

  26. Taken off notice for cal in s/c Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee of Finance, Ways, and Means Committee

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

1 sponsors · 30 co-sponsors · 102 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (30)

Not signed on (102)

102 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 102 →

"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 1542 do?
Criminal Offenses - As introduced, prohibits the use of a telecommunication device, with intent to deprive the owner of property, to fraudulently obtain or exercise control over the property of another without the owner's effective consent, which is punishable as theft, but in no event less than a Class E felony. - Amends TCA Title 39.
Who sponsors HB 1542?
HB 1542 is sponsored by Martin G, Scarbrough, Rick (Republican), Baum, Charlie (Republican), Stinnett, Tom (Republican), Gant, Ron M. (Republican), Reneau, Michele (Republican), Littleton, Mary (Republican), Howell, Dan (Republican), Carringer, Michele (Republican), Capley, Kip (Republican), Atchley, Fred (Republican), Gillespie, John (Republican), Marsh, Pat (Republican), Todd, Chris (Republican), Hill, Timothy (Republican), Mitchell, Bo (Democrat), Dixie, Vincent (Democrat), Hemmer, Caleb (Democrat), Eldridge, Rick (Republican), Hale, Michael (Republican), Warner, Todd (Republican), Darby, Tandy (Republican), Rudd, Tim (Republican), Farmer, Andrew (Republican), Hawk, David B. (Republican), Cochran, Mark (Republican), Garrett, Johnny (Republican), Powers, Dennis (Republican), Bricken, Rush (Republican), Sherrell, Paul (Republican), and Slater, William (Republican).
What is the current status of HB 1542?
This bill has passed the House. Introduced January 13, 2026. It now moves to the second chamber.
Where can I track HB 1542?
Track HB 1542 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

Make your voice heard on HB 1542

Find the representatives who decide this bill and tell them where you stand — for yourself, or mobilize your whole list in one click with One Click Politics advocacy software.

Find my representatives → Run a campaign

Stay ahead of HB 1542

Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

One Click Politics tracks every bill in Congress and all 50 states.

Track this bill →