Tennessee 114th General Assembly Status: Enacted 4 R cosponsors

SB 2025 — AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 16; Title 17 and Title 40, relative to criminal magistrates.

Last action — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 1017

  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 22, 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 78% · moderate confidence

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 4 sponsors

    1 primary, 3 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (4 R).

  • 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

This bill establishes a pilot project for criminal magistrates in high caseload counties.

The bill aims to create a pilot project allowing for the appointment of criminal magistrates in select counties with high judicial caseloads. These magistrates will be appointed by county judges and will help manage the workload in criminal courts.

What this means for you
  • Workers: For those working within the judicial system, this could lead to changes in court operations and case management.

Summary

Judges and Chancellors - As enacted, creates a pilot project to provide for criminal magistrates in the 10 counties in which the criminal courts experience the highest judicial caseload, if authorized by the legislative body of an eligible county; authorizes the judges of the county with criminal jurisdiction to appoint the criminal magistrate, who shall serve at the pleasure of the majority of the judges of the county with criminal jurisdiction. - Amends TCA Title 16; Title 17 and Title 40.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Filed for introduction

  2. Intro., P1C.

  3. P2C, ref. to Judiciary Committee

  4. Assigned to s/c Civil Justice Subcommittee

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

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

  7. Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 3/18/2026

  8. Action def. in Judiciary Committee to 3/25/2026

  9. Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 3/23/2026

  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 4/1/2026

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

  14. Placed on cal. Finance, Ways, and Means Committee for 4/7/2026

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

  16. Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 4/9/2026

  17. H. Placed on Consent Calendar for 4/13/2026

  18. Passed H., Ayes 94, Nays 0, PNV 0

  19. Engrossed; ready for transmission to Sen.

  20. Received from House, Passed on First Consideration

  21. Senate substituted House Bill for companion Senate Bill.

  22. Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 1 - SA1065)

  23. Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 25, Nays 6

  24. H. nonconcurred in S. am. no. 1

  25. Placed on Senate Message Calendar for 4/23/2026

  26. Lift tableing motion

  27. Motion to reconsider adopted. (Amendment 1 - SA1065)

  28. Amendment withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - SA1065)

  29. Passed Senate, Ayes 28, Nays 5

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

  31. Signed by H. Speaker

  32. Signed by Senate Speaker

  33. Transmitted to Governor for his action.

  34. Signed by Governor.

  35. Pub. Ch. 1017

  36. Effective date(s) 05/19/2026

  37. Filed for introduction

  38. Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

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

  40. Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/16/2026

  41. Action deferred in Senate Judiciary Committee to 3/17/2026

  42. Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/17/2026

  43. Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee

  44. Placed on Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee calendar for 3/31/2026

  45. Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Calendar Committee

  46. Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 4/15/2026

  47. Senate Reset on calendar for 4/20/2026

  48. Sponsor(s) Added.

  49. Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 4/20/2026

  50. Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 4/20/2026

  51. Sponsor(s) Added.

  52. Senate Reset on calendar for 4/21/2026

  53. Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 4/21/2026

  54. Companion House Bill substituted

  55. Sponsor(s) Added.

  56. Comp. became Pub. Ch. 1017

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 3 co-sponsors · 129 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (3)

Not signed on (129)

129 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 129 →

"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 2025 do?
Judges and Chancellors - As enacted, creates a pilot project to provide for criminal magistrates in the 10 counties in which the criminal courts experience the highest judicial caseload, if authorized by the legislative body of an eligible county; authorizes the judges of the county with criminal jurisdiction to appoint the criminal magistrate, who shall serve at the pleasure of the majority of the judges of the county with criminal jurisdiction. - Amends TCA Title 16; Title 17 and Title 40.
Who sponsors SB 2025?
SB 2025 is sponsored by Lowe, Adam (Republican), Stevens, John (Republican), Gardenhire, Todd (Republican), and Powers, Bill (Republican).
What is the current status of SB 2025?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced January 22, 2026. Enacted.
Where can I track SB 2025?
Track SB 2025 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

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