Tennessee legislation · 114th General Assembly

Tennessee HB1951: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39, relative to criminal offenses.

Status: Chaptered, May 27, 2026

Fiscal Summary STATE GOVERNMENTEXPENDITURESIncarceration$7,000 Bill Summary This bill creates a Class D felony offense of coercive suicide for a person who (i) intentionally, in any manner, advises or encourages another person to commit or attempt to commit suicide for the purpose of inciting, persuading, or aiding the other person to commit or attempt to commit suicide within an imminent period of time, and (ii) knows that the other person has communicated an intent to commit suicide. This bill also creates a Class D felony offense of coercive suicide for a person or entity if such person or entity owns an artificial intelligence system and the artificial intelligence system meets all of the following criteria:  Advises or encourages a person to commit or attempt to commit suicide by inciting, persuading, or aiding the person to commit or attempt to commit suicide within an imminent period of time.  Such person has communicated an intent to commit suicide to the artificial intelligence system.  The person or entity who owns such artificial intelligence system knew or reasonably should have known that the artificial intelligence system could take the action as described above and negligently permitted the artificial intelligence system to be accessible to the person who committed or attempted to commit suicide. This bill applies to offenses committed on or after July 1, 2026. ON MARCH 9, 2026, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 1815, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #1 removes the Class D felony offense of coercive suicide, as established in the bill, for a person or entity who owns an artificial intelligence system and such system meets all of the following criteria:  Advises or encourages a person to commit or attempt to commit suicide by inciting, persuading, or aiding the person t