Tennessee House Bill HB1911

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/22/26
• Refer: 2/4/26
• Refer: 3/4/26
• Refer: 3/18/26
• Chaptered: 4/24/26
• Passed: 4/24/26

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 10, Chapter 7, relative to public records.

Summary

HB1911 amends Tennessee’s public records law to give a non-citizen individual the right to inspect or obtain a copy of law enforcement records or reports that pertain solely to that person. The bill covers records such as arrest reports, incident reports, crash reports, and citations, so long as the requester submits a written request identifying the record, a valid government-issued photo ID, and a signed affidavit stating that the record sought pertains only to the requester. The bill also makes clear that this access right does not override other confidentiality protections. Records that are otherwise confidential by law, privileged under Rule 16 of the Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure, or protected by the investigative privilege remain exempt from disclosure. Records custodians may still charge reasonable production costs under existing public records fee provisions. The act takes effect July 1, 2026.

Impact

This bill adds a new subsection to Tennessee Code Annotated § 10-7-503, expanding access to certain law enforcement records for non-citizens who are the subject of the records. It creates a specific statutory process for requesting personal police-related records and preserves existing exemptions and privileges, meaning it does not broadly open investigative files or confidential records to public release. The practical effect is to standardize access for affected individuals while leaving custodians’ fee authority and confidentiality rules intact.

Sentiment

The available voting history suggests the bill was generally well received in committee. It advanced out of the House Public Service Subcommittee by a 3-2 vote and then passed the House State & Local Government Committee unanimously, 19-0, indicating broad support at the committee level. No committee transcript is available, so there is no recorded floor discussion to show broader debate, but the votes suggest the measure was not highly controversial among committee members.

Contention

The main point of potential contention is the bill’s extension of records access specifically to non-citizens, which may raise questions about eligibility, identity verification, and whether the requester’s affidavit is sufficient to protect privacy and prevent misuse. Another possible area of concern is the balance between transparency and law enforcement confidentiality, though the bill expressly preserves records that are otherwise confidential, privileged, or investigative in nature. The committee vote pattern shows some initial resistance in subcommittee, but no opposition in the full committee.