Tennessee 114th General Assembly Status: Enacted 10 R cosponsors

HB 1971 — AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 1, Chapter 3 and Title 49, relative to causes of action.

Last action — Effective date(s) 04/07/2026

  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 22, 2026. Enacted.

Signed by Governor Bill Lee (Republican) on April 06, 2026.

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.

  • 11 sponsors

    1 primary, 10 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (10 R).

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 3 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

Remedies and Special Proceedings - As enacted, removes the right of a cause of action for any affected person who seeks declaratory and injunctive relief in any action brought regarding the legality or constitutionality of a state governmental action; authorizes such an action against a political subdivision of this state; does not limit any other cause of action or waiver of sovereign immunity to vindicate rights under the Tennessee Constitution or the United States Constitution. - Amends TCA Title 1, Chapter 3 and Title 49.

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 2/17/2026

  5. Failed in Senate Judiciary Committee

  6. Sponsor(s) Added.

  7. Sponsor(s) Added.

  8. Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/23/2026

  9. Action deferred in Senate Judiciary Committee to 3/24/2026

  10. Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/24/2026

  11. Sponsor(s) Added.

  12. Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 6, Nays 2 PNV 1

  13. Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 4/2/2026

  14. Companion House Bill substituted

  15. Sponsor(s) Added.

  16. Comp. became Pub. Ch. 664

  17. Filed for introduction

  18. Intro., P1C.

  19. P2C, ref. to Judiciary Committee

  20. Assigned to s/c Civil Justice Subcommittee

  21. Placed on s/c cal Civil Justice Subcommittee for 2/11/2026

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

  23. Sponsor(s) Added.

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

  25. Action def. in Judiciary Committee to 3/11/2026

  26. Sponsor(s) withdrawn.

  27. Sponsor(s) withdrawn.

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

  29. Sponsor(s) withdrawn.

  30. Action def. in Judiciary Committee to 3/18/2026

  31. Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 3/18/2026

  32. Action def. in Judiciary Committee to 3/25/2026

  33. Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 3/23/2026

  34. Sponsor(s) Added.

  35. Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee

  36. Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 3/26/2026

  37. H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 3/30/2026

  38. H. adopted am. (Amendment 1 - HA0861)

  39. Sponsor(s) Added.

  40. Passed H., as am., Ayes 56, Nays 38, PNV 1

  41. Engrossed; ready for transmission to Sen.

  42. Received from House, Passed on First Consideration

  43. Senate substituted House Bill for companion Senate Bill.

  44. Amendment withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - SA0923)

  45. Passed Senate, Ayes 18, Nays 13

  46. Enrolled; ready for sig. of H. Speaker.

  47. Signed by H. Speaker

  48. Signed by Senate Speaker

  49. Transmitted to Governor for his action.

  50. Signed by Governor.

  51. Pub. Ch. 664

  52. Effective date(s) 04/07/2026

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 10 co-sponsors · 122 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (10)

Not signed on (122)

122 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 122 →

"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

civil-rights
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 1971 do?
Remedies and Special Proceedings - As enacted, removes the right of a cause of action for any affected person who seeks declaratory and injunctive relief in any action brought regarding the legality or constitutionality of a state governmental action; authorizes such an action against a political subdivision of this state; does not limit any other cause of action or waiver of sovereign immunity to vindicate rights under the Tennessee Constitution or the United States Constitution. - Amends TCA Title 1, Chapter 3 and Title 49.
Who sponsors HB 1971?
HB 1971 is sponsored by Hicks G, Farmer, Andrew (Republican), Sexton, Cameron (Republican), Lamberth, William (Republican), Faison, Jeremy (Republican), Atchley, Fred (Republican), Cochran, Mark (Republican), Travis, Ron (Republican), Moody, Debra (Republican), Bricken, Rush (Republican), and Wright, Dave (Republican).
What is the current status of HB 1971?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced January 22, 2026. Enacted.
Where can I track HB 1971?
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