Tennessee legislation · 114th General Assembly
Tennessee HB2564: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 29; Title 36; Title 37; Title 39 and Title 40, relative to victims.
Status: Chaptered, April 29, 2026
Fiscal Summary NOT SIGNIFICANT Bill Summary ON MARCH 23, 2026, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 2650, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #1 rewrites the bill to, instead, require a notification of a restorative justice option, which is a voluntary, victim-centered process that may include facilitated communication, conferencing, community repair agreements, or other structured accountability and repair practices, provided through a program listed in the directory as described below, for victims in Davidson and Shelby counties as follows: In applicable cases, the clerk of the court having jurisdiction over criminal cases must use existing resources and forms of communication to provide the standardized notice to a victim in connection with the first court appearance at which the case is pending and the victim is identifiable. A law enforcement agency that takes the report or is otherwise in contact with a victim may provide the standardized notice electronically or in writing when contact information is available. An assigned victim-witness coordinator may provide the standardized notice electronically or in writing and may respond to requests for additional information. This amendment provides that the notification requirements apply in counties for 24 months beginning on November 1, 2026, unless extended by the general assembly. If a directory has not yet been established by November 1, 2026, then the notification requirements will begin once the directory is available. During the pilot period, a notifying entity must provide a victim with a standardized notice that includes contact information for the directory host so that the victim may request additional information and access the directory, and the statements required by a standardized notice. The standardized notice is required to state all of
What the bill says
From the amended text:
House Judiciary 1 Amendment No. 1 to HB2564 Farmer Signature of Sponsor AMEND S e n ate Bill No. 2650* House Bill No. 2564 by deleting all language after the enacting clause and substituting: SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 40, Chapter 38, Part 1, is amended by adding the following as a new section: 40-38-120. (a) As used in this section: (1) "Directory host" means a private entity that establishes and maintains a directory of victim-centered restorative justice options that are available in the pilot counties; (2) "Pilot county" means any county having a population of over five hundred thousand (500,000), according to the 2020 federal census or any subsequent federal census; (3) "Restorative justice option" means a voluntary, victim-centered process that may include facilitated communication, conferencing, community repair agreements, or other structured accountability and repair practices, provided through a program listed in the directory established pursuant to this section; and (4) "Victim" means the same as defined in § 40-38-203; provided, however, that victim does not include a minor victim or an immediate family member of a minor victim, unless the minor victim was a homicide victim. (b) During the pilot period described in subsection (f), a notifying entity in subsection (d) shall provide a victim with a standardized notice that includes: HA0977 (1) Contact information for the …