Tennessee 114th General Assembly Status: Enacted 3 R cosponsors

SB 0837 — AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 1, relative to certain conditions of personhood.

Last action — Effective date(s) 04/23/2026

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

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced February 04, 2025. Enacted.

Signed by Governor Bill Lee (Republican) on April 09, 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 76% · moderate confidence

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 3 sponsors

    1 primary, 2 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (3 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

Statutes and Codification - As enacted, clarifies that a "person," as used in Tennessee Code Annotated, does not include artificial intelligence, a computer algorithm, a software program, computer hardware, or any type of machine. - Amends TCA Title 1.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Filed for introduction

  2. Intro., P1C.

  3. P2C, ref. to Judiciary Committee

  4. Assigned to s/c Civil Justice Subcommittee

  5. Placed on s/c cal Civil Justice Subcommittee for 3/4/2026

  6. Action Def. in s/c Civil Justice Subcommittee to 3/11/2026

  7. Placed on s/c cal Civil Justice Subcommittee for 3/11/2026

  8. Action Def. in s/c Civil Justice Subcommittee to Next Available Calendar

  9. Placed on s/c cal Civil Justice Subcommittee for 3/18/2026

  10. Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to Judiciary Committee

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

  12. Action def. in Judiciary Committee to 4/1/2026

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

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

  15. Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 4/2/2026

  16. Sponsor(s) Added.

  17. H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/8/2026

  18. Sponsor(s) Added.

  19. Comp. SB subst.

  20. Comp. became Pub. Ch. 781

  21. Filed for introduction

  22. Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

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

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

  25. Assigned to General Subcommittee of Senate Judiciary Committee

  26. Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/16/2026

  27. Action deferred in Senate Judiciary Committee to 3/17/2026

  28. Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/17/2026

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

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

  31. Sponsor(s) Added.

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

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

  34. Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 8, Nays 1 PNV 0

  35. Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 4/6/2026

  36. Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 1 - SA0922)

  37. Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 26, Nays 6

  38. Sponsor(s) Added.

  39. Engrossed; ready for transmission to House

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

  41. Subst. for comp. HB.

  42. Am. withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - HA0979)

  43. Passed H., Ayes 93, Nays 2, PNV 0

  44. Enrolled and ready for signatures

  45. Signed by Senate Speaker

  46. Signed by H. Speaker

  47. Transmitted to Governor for action.

  48. Signed by Governor.

  49. Pub. Ch. 781

  50. Effective date(s) 04/23/2026

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 2 co-sponsors · 130 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (2)

Not signed on (130)

130 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 130 →

"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 technology
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 SB 0837 do?
Statutes and Codification - As enacted, clarifies that a "person," as used in Tennessee Code Annotated, does not include artificial intelligence, a computer algorithm, a software program, computer hardware, or any type of machine. - Amends TCA Title 1.
Who sponsors SB 0837?
SB 0837 is sponsored by Pody, Mark (Republican), Gardenhire, Todd (Republican), and Bowling, Janice (Republican).
What is the current status of SB 0837?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced February 04, 2025. Enacted.
Where can I track SB 0837?
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