Tennessee House Bill HB1639

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/14/26
• Refer: 1/21/26
• Refer: 3/10/26
• Refer: 3/18/26
• Chaptered: 4/29/26
• Passed: 4/29/26

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4, Chapter 29; Title 4, Chapter 3, Part 20 and Section 38-3-114, relative to the office of homeland security.

Summary

HB1639 creates a new Office of Homeland Security within the Tennessee Department of Safety and gives the commissioner authority to appoint its head and commission agents and personnel. The office is assigned broad responsibilities for directing the state’s homeland security activities, including planning and coordinating prevention, protection, and response operations; developing strategies against terrorist threats; assisting federal, state, local, and private-sector partners; supporting investigations; coordinating school security policy and reviewing school security plans; helping secure election infrastructure; and sharing intelligence through a statewide information and intelligence center. The bill also expands and clarifies the authority of homeland security agents under Tennessee law. It authorizes commissioned agents to act as peace officers statewide, make arrests for public offenses, serve process in criminal prosecutions, carry weapons as permitted by law, and receive training comparable to POST requirements. The bill further specifies that cybercrime, ransomware, unauthorized access, threats to critical infrastructure, and threats to public officials fall within the office’s investigative scope, while stating that misinformation or disinformation alone is not a basis for investigation unless tied to a criminal law violation.

Impact

The bill amends Tennessee Code Annotated Title 4 and Section 38-3-114 by formally establishing the Office of Homeland Security in statute and defining its powers, duties, and staffing structure. It also updates the legal authority of homeland security agents, including their peace officer powers, arrest authority, weapons authority, identification requirements, and training standards. In practical terms, the measure affects the Department of Safety, law enforcement agencies, school security planning, election security support, and investigations involving terrorism, cybercrime, critical infrastructure, and public official protection.

Sentiment

The available voting history suggests generally favorable support for the bill. It received a unanimous 6-0 recommendation in the House Departments & Agencies Subcommittee and then a strong 18-2 recommendation in the House State & Local Government Committee. No committee transcript is available, but the vote margins indicate broad agreement that the state should formalize and strengthen homeland security functions.

Contention

The main potential points of contention are the breadth of the new office’s authority and the scope of its investigative powers. The bill allows homeland security agents to investigate terrorism, school threats, critical infrastructure attacks, public official threats, cybercrime, and related offenses, which could raise concerns about overlap with other law enforcement agencies or the reach of a statewide intelligence function. The bill also specifically addresses misinformation and disinformation, limiting investigations to cases tied to criminal conduct, which suggests sensitivity to free-speech and civil-liberties concerns. Despite these issues, the committee votes indicate little visible opposition in the available record.