Tennessee 114th General Assembly Status: Enacted 12 R cosponsors

SB 1915 — AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4, Chapter 1 and Title 4, Chapter 58, relative to public benefits.

Last action — Effective date(s) 05/22/2026, 07/01/2026

  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 January 15, 2026. Enacted.

Signed by Governor Bill Lee (Republican) on April 30, 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 66% · moderate confidence

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 12 sponsors

    1 primary, 11 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (12 R).

  • Mixed recorded votes

    3 passed, 1 failed in 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.

In plain language

The bill requires local governments to verify citizenship for public benefit applicants.

This legislation mandates that local governments check if applicants for public benefits are U.S. citizens or lawfully present. It also allows investigations into violations of these verification requirements and establishes reporting protocols.

Summary

Immigration - As enacted, adds local governments to the entities that must verify that each applicant for public benefits is a United States citizen or lawfully present in the United States; authorizes certain investigations of violations of requirements for verification of citizenship or presence for public benefits; requires certain reporting related to such verification for benefits; makes other related changes. - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 1 and Title 4, Chapter 58.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Filed for introduction

  2. Intro., P1C.

  3. Sponsor(s) Added.

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

  5. Assigned to s/c Departments & Agencies Subcommittee

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

  7. Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to State & Local Government Committee

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  17. Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Finance, Ways, and Means Committee

  18. Assigned to s/c Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee

  19. Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/8/2026

  20. Action Def. in s/c Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee to Next Calendar

  21. Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/14/2026

  22. Placed behind the budget

  23. Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/15/2026

  24. Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/15/2026

  25. Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to Finance, Ways, and Means Committee

  26. Placed on cal. Finance, Ways, and Means Committee for 4/15/2026

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

  28. Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 4/16/2026

  29. H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/20/2026

  30. Comp. SB subst.

  31. Sponsor(s) Added.

  32. Comp. became Pub. Ch. 1106

  33. Filed for introduction

  34. Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

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

  36. Sponsor(s) Added.

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

  38. Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 6, Nays 3 PNV 0

  39. Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 3/30/2026

  40. Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 1 - SA0739)

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

  42. Sponsor(s) Added.

  43. Engrossed; ready for transmission to House

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

  45. Subst. for comp. HB.

  46. H. adopted am. (Amendment 1 - HA0929)

  47. Failed to adopt, Ayes 22, Nays 70, PNV 0

  48. Passed H., as am., Ayes 73, Nays 21, PNV 0

  49. Placed on Senate Message Calendar for 4/22/2026

  50. Concurred, Ayes 24, Nays 6 (Amendment 1 - HA0929)

  51. Sponsor(s) Added.

  52. Enrolled and ready for signatures

  53. Signed by Senate Speaker

  54. Signed by H. Speaker

  55. Transmitted to Governor for action.

  56. Signed by Governor.

  57. Pub. Ch. 1106

  58. Effective date(s) 05/22/2026, 07/01/2026

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 11 co-sponsors · 121 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (11)

Not signed on (121)

121 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 121 →

"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 immigration
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 1915 do?
Immigration - As enacted, adds local governments to the entities that must verify that each applicant for public benefits is a United States citizen or lawfully present in the United States; authorizes certain investigations of violations of requirements for verification of citizenship or presence for public benefits; requires certain reporting related to such verification for benefits; makes other related changes. - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 1 and Title 4, Chapter 58.
Who sponsors SB 1915?
SB 1915 is sponsored by Jackson, Ed (Republican), Rose, Paul (Republican), Bailey, Paul (Republican), Bowling, Janice (Republican), Hensley, Joey (Republican), Stevens, John (Republican), Taylor, Brent (Republican), Watson, Bo (Republican), White, Dawn (Republican), Crowe, Rusty (Republican), Gardenhire, Todd (Republican), and Hatcher, Tom (Republican).
What is the current status of SB 1915?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced January 15, 2026. Enacted.
Where can I track SB 1915?
Track SB 1915 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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