Tennessee 114th General Assembly Status: Enacted 1 R cosponsors

SB 2178 — AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39, Chapter 13, relative to criminal offenses.

Last action — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 959

  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 72% · moderate confidence

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 1 sponsor

    1 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (1 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

The bill increases penalties for patronizing prostitution under certain conditions.

This legislation raises the penalty for patronizing prostitution from a misdemeanor to a felony in specific cases. It addresses situations currently categorized as trafficking for a commercial sex act.

Summary

Criminal Offenses - As enacted, increases the penalty for patronizing prostitution from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class B or Class A felony under certain circumstances that are currently punished as trafficking for a commercial sex act. - Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 13.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Filed for introduction

  2. Intro., P1C.

  3. P2C, ref. to Judiciary Committee

  4. Assigned to s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee

  5. Sponsor change.

  6. Sponsor(s) withdrawn.

  7. Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 3/11/2026

  8. Action Def. in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee to 3/18/2026

  9. Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 3/18/2026

  10. Action Def. in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee to 3/25/2026

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

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

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

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

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

  16. H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/13/2026

  17. H. adopted am. (Amendment 1 - HA0989)

  18. Sponsor(s) Added.

  19. Passed H., as am., Ayes 96, Nays 0, PNV 0

  20. Engrossed; ready for transmission to Sen.

  21. Received from House, Passed on First Consideration

  22. Senate substituted House Bill for companion Senate Bill.

  23. Amendment withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - SA0928)

  24. Passed Senate, Ayes 31, Nays 0

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

  26. Signed by H. Speaker

  27. Signed by Senate Speaker

  28. Transmitted to Governor for his action.

  29. Signed by Governor.

  30. Pub. Ch. 959

  31. Effective date(s) 07/01/2026

  32. Filed for introduction

  33. Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

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

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

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

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

  38. Reset on Final calendar of 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. Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 8, Nays 0 PNV 1

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

  44. Companion House Bill substituted

  45. Comp. became Pub. Ch. 959

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 132 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (132)

132 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 132 →

"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 2178 do?
Criminal Offenses - As enacted, increases the penalty for patronizing prostitution from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class B or Class A felony under certain circumstances that are currently punished as trafficking for a commercial sex act. - Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 13.
Who sponsors SB 2178?
SB 2178 is sponsored by Yager, Ken (Republican).
What is the current status of SB 2178?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced January 21, 2026. Enacted.
Where can I track SB 2178?
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