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

SB 1597 — AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 38 and Title 68, relative to death certificates.

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

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  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 January 12, 2026. Enacted.

Signed by Governor Bill Lee (Republican) on March 25, 2026.

Prognosis

Likely to advance 90% · high confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

High

How often bills like it became law.

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 2 sponsors

    1 primary, 1 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

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

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 2 recorded votes so far.

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

Vital Records - As enacted, enacts "April's Law of 2026," which authorizes a surviving parent, in addition to another next of kin, to formally disagree with the county medical examiner's determination that the manner of death for the parent's child was suicide and request reconsideration from the state chief medical examiner; allows the other parent of a child of the decedent to request a copy of the decedent's death certificate if the child is under 18. - Amends TCA Title 38 and Title 68.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Comp. became Pub. Ch. 666

  2. Pub. Ch. 666

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

  4. Signed by Governor.

  5. Transmitted to Governor for action.

  6. Signed by H. Speaker

  7. Signed by Senate Speaker

  8. Enrolled and ready for signatures

  9. Comp. SB subst.

  10. Sponsor(s) Added.

  11. Subst. for comp. HB.

  12. Passed H., Ayes 87, Nays 0, PNV 0

  13. H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 3/23/2026

  14. Sponsor(s) Added.

  15. Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 3/19/2026

  16. Rec. for pass; ref to Calendar & Rules Committee

  17. Sponsor(s) Added.

  18. Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to Health Committee

  19. Placed on cal. Health Committee for 3/17/2026

  20. Action Def. in s/c Health Subcommittee to 3/11/2026

  21. Placed on s/c cal Health Subcommittee for 3/11/2026

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

  23. Placed on s/c cal Health Subcommittee for 3/4/2026

  24. Sponsor(s) Added.

  25. Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 1 - SA0500)

  26. Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 30, Nays 1, PNV 1

  27. Engrossed; ready for transmission to House

  28. Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 2/23/2026

  29. Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Calendar Committee

  30. Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 2/17/2026

  31. P2C, ref. to Health Committee

  32. Assigned to s/c Health Subcommittee

  33. Intro., P1C.

  34. Filed for introduction

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

  36. Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  37. Filed for introduction

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 1 co-sponsors · 131 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (1)

Not signed on (131)

131 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 131 →

"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 1597 do?
Vital Records - As enacted, enacts "April's Law of 2026," which authorizes a surviving parent, in addition to another next of kin, to formally disagree with the county medical examiner's determination that the manner of death for the parent's child was suicide and request reconsideration from the state chief medical examiner; allows the other parent of a child of the decedent to request a copy of the decedent's death certificate if the child is under 18. - Amends TCA Title 38 and Title 68.
Who sponsors SB 1597?
SB 1597 is sponsored by Lamar, London (Democrat) and Gardenhire, Todd (Republican).
What is the current status of SB 1597?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced January 12, 2026. Enacted.
Where can I track SB 1597?
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Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

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