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

SB 1937 — AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 37; Title 38; Title 39 and Title 40, relative to abuse of children.

Last action — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 1003

  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 21, 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 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 R · 1 D) — 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.

In plain language

The bill amends child abuse laws and adds members to a commission for child welfare.

This legislation updates Tennessee's child abuse laws by revising definitions and adding members to the Second Look Commission. It allows courts to require custodians to provide documentation of a child's preventive care and allows the Department of Children's Services to check on children when abuse or neglect allegations arise.

What this means for you
  • Workers: Workers in child services may have additional responsibilities for monitoring compliance and child wellbeing.
  • Families: Families may experience increased scrutiny regarding compliance with pediatric care for children.

Summary

Children - As enacted, adds the commissioner of mental health and substance abuse services, and one at large member with experience advocating for children, to the Tennessee second look commission; revises certain severe and aggravated child abuse offenses to include offenses involving strangulation; authorizes a court to order a child's custodian to submit certain documentation of compliance with preventative pediatric care consistent with the periodicity schedule of the American Academy of Pediatrics in certain situations; authorizes the department of children's services to initiate a visit to ascertain the wellbeing of a child if such documentation contains allegations of abuse or neglect. - Amends TCA Title 37; Title 38; Title 39 and Title 40.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Filed for introduction

  2. Intro., P1C.

  3. P2C, ref. to Judiciary Committee - Government Operations for Review

  4. Assigned to s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee

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

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

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

  8. Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Government Operations Committee

  9. Placed on cal. Government Operations Committee for 4/6/2026

  10. Rec. for pass; ref to Finance, Ways, and Means Committee

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

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

  13. Placed behind the budget

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  21. H. adopted am. (Amendment 1 - HA0992)

  22. Sponsor(s) Added.

  23. Passed H., as am., Ayes 86, Nays 2, PNV 0

  24. Engrossed; ready for transmission to Sen.

  25. Received from House, Passed on First Consideration

  26. Senate substituted House Bill for companion Senate Bill.

  27. Amendment withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - SA0910)

  28. Passed Senate, Ayes 30, Nays 0

  29. Enrolled; ready for sig. of H. Speaker.

  30. Signed by H. Speaker

  31. Signed by Senate Speaker

  32. Transmitted to Governor for his action.

  33. Signed by Governor.

  34. Pub. Ch. 1003

  35. Effective date(s) 05/19/2026, 07/01/2026, 01/01/2027

  36. Filed for introduction

  37. Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

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

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

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

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

  42. Action deferred in Senate Judiciary Committee to 3/25/2026

  43. Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/25/2026

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

  45. Sponsor(s) Added.

  46. Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 4/22/2026

  47. Companion House Bill substituted

  48. Sponsor(s) Added.

  49. Comp. became Pub. Ch. 1003

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 civil-rights
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 1937 do?
Children - As enacted, adds the commissioner of mental health and substance abuse services, and one at large member with experience advocating for children, to the Tennessee second look commission; revises certain severe and aggravated child abuse offenses to include offenses involving strangulation; authorizes a court to order a child's custodian to submit certain documentation of compliance with preventative pediatric care consistent with the periodicity schedule of the American Academy of Pediatrics in certain situations; authorizes the department of children's services to initiate a visit to ascertain the wellbeing of a child if such documentation contains allegations of abuse or neglect. - Amends TCA Title 37; Title 38; Title 39 and Title 40.
Who sponsors SB 1937?
SB 1937 is sponsored by Jackson, Ed (Republican), Gardenhire, Todd (Republican), and Akbari, Raumesh (Democrat).
What is the current status of SB 1937?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced January 21, 2026. Enacted.
Where can I track SB 1937?
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