Tennessee House Bill HB2368

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/2/26
• Refer: 3/11/26
• Refer: 3/25/26
• Refer: 4/1/26
• Engrossed: 4/6/26
• Enrolled: 4/14/26
• Passed: 5/1/26

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 8; Title 10; Title 33; Title 36; Title 37; Title 38; Title 39; Title 40; Title 41; Title 49; Title 50; Title 55 and Title 70, relative to criminal justice.

Summary

HB2368 is a narrow criminal justice bill that amends Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 39-16-202(a)(1), by reducing a numerical threshold from five to three. The bill’s caption indicates it touches multiple titles of the Tennessee Code related to criminal justice, but the operative text contains only this single change. Based on the cited code section, the measure appears to adjust the elements or applicability of an offense in the obstruction/escape-related criminal code, though the bill text itself does not elaborate further. The bill takes effect immediately upon becoming law, reflecting a legislative intent for prompt implementation. In practical terms, it would alter the legal standard in the referenced criminal statute and could affect how prosecutors, defense counsel, and courts apply that provision going forward. Because the amendment is limited to one statutory subsection, its legal impact is targeted rather than broad, but it still changes the threshold for conduct covered by the law.

Impact

HB2368 would amend Tennessee criminal law by changing a numeric threshold in Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-16-202(a)(1) from five to three. That change would directly affect the scope or triggering condition of the underlying offense in that statute, thereby altering enforcement and prosecution under the criminal code. The bill does not create a new offense or repeal existing law; it modifies an existing statutory standard and takes effect immediately upon enactment.

Sentiment

The available voting history suggests the bill was generally well received and moved through the process with strong support. It received unanimous or near-unanimous committee recommendations and passed the House floor by a wide margin, with only a small number of dissenting votes on third consideration. There is no committee transcript available showing extended debate or opposition, which suggests the measure was not especially controversial in committee or on the floor.

Contention

No specific points of contention are documented in the provided materials, and there are no committee transcripts to indicate the basis for any opposition. The only visible disagreement is reflected in the small number of no votes on the House floor, but the record does not identify which members opposed the bill or why. Given the bill’s narrow scope, any concerns likely centered on the policy effect of lowering the statutory threshold in the referenced criminal offense rather than on broader criminal justice reform.