Tennessee House Bill HB0099

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/13/25
• Refer: 1/16/25
• Refer: 3/12/25
• Refer: 4/8/25
• Refer: 4/17/25
• Engrossed: 4/21/25
• Enrolled: 4/25/25
• Passed: 5/21/25
• Chaptered: 5/27/25

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 39-13-605 and Title 40, Chapter 39, Part 2, relative to unlawful photography.

Summary

HB0099 expands Tennessee’s unlawful photography law to cover a broader range of nonconsensual, privacy-invading images. The bill makes it an offense to knowingly photograph a person without effective consent, including minors without parental or guardian consent, when the person has a reasonable expectation of privacy and the image is taken for sexual gratification, to embarrass or harass, or captures intimate areas or sexual activity. It also clarifies that a reasonable expectation of privacy can exist regardless of location when the manner of photography is offensive or embarrassing and reveals body areas not otherwise visible to ordinary observation. The bill also revises the penalty structure for unlawful photography. It classifies certain violations as Class E, Class D, or Class C felonies depending on the circumstances, including whether the victim is under 13, whether a minor under 13 was used to facilitate the offense, or whether the defendant occupied a position of trust or supervisory authority over the victim. In addition, the bill requires sexual offender registration for violations under the specified subdivisions and updates the sexual offender registry statute to include these offenses effective July 1, 2025.

Impact

HB0099 amends Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-13-605 and Title 40, Chapter 39, Part 2 by broadening the unlawful photography offense, adding a more detailed definition of privacy expectations, increasing or specifying felony classifications for aggravated conduct, and mandating sex offender registration for covered offenses. It affects individuals who take or disseminate nonconsensual intimate images, especially where minors are involved or where the offender has a position of trust, and it changes how such convictions are treated under Tennessee’s sexual offender registration system.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have had strong bipartisan or at least broad legislative support, with unanimous or near-unanimous committee and floor votes at each stage shown in the record. The lack of recorded opposition in committee and on the floor suggests the measure was generally viewed as a protective criminal justice update aimed at addressing invasive photography and image-based abuse.

Contention

No major contention is reflected in the available committee or voting history, as every recorded vote was unanimous. The main policy choices embedded in the bill are the expanded definition of unlawful photography, the inclusion of dissemination and threats to disseminate, the treatment of minors and persons in positions of trust more severely, and the automatic sex offender registration requirement; however, the record provided does not show any specific objections or debate over those provisions.