Tennessee 114th General Assembly Status: Passed Senate 1 R cosponsors

SB 0859 — AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39, Chapter 11 and Title 40, relative to self-defense.

Last action — Assigned to General Subcommittee of Senate Judiciary Committee

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

This bill has passed the Senate. Introduced February 04, 2025. It now moves to the second chamber.

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

Prognosis

Stalled 28% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Moderate

How often bills like it became law.

  • Passed Senate

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 1 sponsor

    1 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (1 R).

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

Criminal Offenses - As introduced, specifies that a person using force intended or likely to cause death or serious bodily injury from within the person's residence or dwelling is presumed to have acted in self-defense when that force is used against an individual armed with a deadly weapon who is unlawfully present on the person's property and outside of the enclosed structure of the person's residence or dwelling. - Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 11 and Title 40.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Action Def. in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee to 4/7/2026

  2. Reset on Final cal. 4 of Criminal Justice Subcommittee

  3. Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 4/7/2026

  4. Action Def. in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee to the Final Calendar No. 3

  5. Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 4/1/2026

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  13. Taken off notice for cal in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee of Judiciary Committee

  14. Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 2/4/2026

  15. Meeting Canceled

  16. Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 1/28/2026

  17. Action Def. in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee to First Calendar of 2026

  18. Action Def. in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee to 4/2/2025

  19. Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 4/2/2025

  20. Sponsor(s) Added.

  21. Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 3/26/2025

  22. Assigned to General Subcommittee of Senate Judiciary Committee

  23. Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/11/2025

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

  25. Assigned to s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee

  26. Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  27. P2C, ref. to Judiciary Committee

  28. Intro., P1C.

  29. Filed for introduction

  30. Filed for introduction

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 132 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (132)

132 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 132 →

"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 SB 0859 do?
Criminal Offenses - As introduced, specifies that a person using force intended or likely to cause death or serious bodily injury from within the person's residence or dwelling is presumed to have acted in self-defense when that force is used against an individual armed with a deadly weapon who is unlawfully present on the person's property and outside of the enclosed structure of the person's residence or dwelling. - Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 11 and Title 40.
Who sponsors SB 0859?
SB 0859 is sponsored by Taylor, Brent (Republican).
What is the current status of SB 0859?
This bill has passed the Senate. Introduced February 04, 2025. It now moves to the second chamber.
Where can I track SB 0859?
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Last checked for changes 4 months ago · updated continuously

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