Tennessee 114th General Assembly Status: Enacted Bipartisan · 2 D · 1 R cosponsors

SB 1159 — AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 41, Chapter 51, relative to correctional institutions and inmates.

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 03, 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 92% · high confidence

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 3 sponsors

    1 primary, 2 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (2 D · 1 R) — cross-party backing.

  • 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

Correction, Dept. of - As enacted, requires the department to conduct a study concerning subjects related to access of family members to incarcerated persons for visitation; requires the department to report its findings to each member of the general assembly and to provide a copy of the report to the legislative librarian by no later than January 31, 2027. - Amends TCA Title 41, Chapter 51.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Filed for introduction

  2. Intro., P1C.

  3. P2C, ref. to State & Local Government Committee

  4. Assigned to s/c Departments & Agencies Subcommittee

  5. Placed on s/c cal Departments & Agencies Subcommittee for 3/11/2025

  6. Action Def. in s/c Departments & Agencies Subcommittee to 3/18/2025

  7. Placed on s/c cal Departments & Agencies Subcommittee for 3/18/2025

  8. Taken off notice for cal in s/c Departments & Agencies Subcommittee of State & Local Government Committee

  9. Placed on s/c cal Departments & Agencies Subcommittee for 2/17/2026

  10. Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to State & Local Government Committee

  11. Placed on cal. State & Local Government Committee for 3/4/2026

  12. Action def. in State & Local Government Committee to 3/11/2026

  13. Placed on cal. State & Local Government Committee for 3/11/2026

  14. Action def. in State & Local Government Committee to 3/18/2026

  15. Placed on cal. State & Local Government Committee for 3/18/2026

  16. Action def. in State & Local Government Committee to 3/24/2026

  17. Placed on cal. State & Local Government Committee for 3/24/2026

  18. Action def. in State & Local Government Committee to 3/31/2026

  19. Placed on cal. State & Local Government Committee for 3/31/2026

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

  21. Sponsor(s) Added.

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

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

  24. Comp. SB subst.

  25. Sponsor(s) Added.

  26. Comp. became Pub. Ch. 783

  27. Filed for introduction

  28. Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  29. Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate State and Local Government Committee

  30. Placed on Senate State and Local Government Committee calendar for 3/10/2026

  31. Action deferred in Senate State and Local Government Committee to 3/17/2026

  32. Placed on Senate State and Local Government Committee calendar for 3/17/2026

  33. Action deferred in Senate State and Local Government Committee to 3/24/2026

  34. Placed on Senate State and Local Government Committee calendar for 3/24/2026

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

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

  37. Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 1 - SA0866)

  38. Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 33, Nays 0

  39. Sponsor(s) Added.

  40. Engrossed; ready for transmission to House

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

  42. Subst. for comp. HB.

  43. Am. withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - HA1008)

  44. Passed H., Ayes 92, Nays 2, PNV 1

  45. Enrolled and ready for signatures

  46. Signed by Senate Speaker

  47. Signed by H. Speaker

  48. Transmitted to Governor for action.

  49. Signed by Governor.

  50. Pub. Ch. 783

  51. 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

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 1159 do?
Correction, Dept. of - As enacted, requires the department to conduct a study concerning subjects related to access of family members to incarcerated persons for visitation; requires the department to report its findings to each member of the general assembly and to provide a copy of the report to the legislative librarian by no later than January 31, 2027. - Amends TCA Title 41, Chapter 51.
Who sponsors SB 1159?
SB 1159 is sponsored by Akbari, Raumesh (Democrat), Bowling, Janice (Republican), and Lamar, London (Democrat).
What is the current status of SB 1159?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced February 03, 2025. Enacted.
Where can I track SB 1159?
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Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

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