Tennessee Senate Bill SB1479

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 12/10/25
• Engrossed: 3/2/26
• Enrolled: 4/1/26
• Passed: 4/14/26
• Chaptered: 4/27/26

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 41-51-301 and Title 55, Chapter 50, Part 3, relative to licenses.

Summary

SB1479 expands Tennessee’s inmate reentry identification provisions beyond photo ID cards to include driver licenses. The bill amends Tennessee Code Annotated § 41-51-301 so that the Department of Correction’s existing responsibilities around helping eligible inmates obtain identification at release now expressly cover driver licenses as well as photo identification licenses. It also adds a new section to Title 55 requiring the Department of Safety to work with the Department of Correction on renewing a driver license when a person is released from incarceration, so long as the person is otherwise eligible and meets documentation requirements. The bill further authorizes the Departments of Safety and Correction to enter into a data-sharing agreement and to adopt rules and policies to implement the new process. A license that has been expired for more than one renewal cycle remains subject to existing law governing renewal requirements. In practical terms, the measure is aimed at making it easier for eligible people leaving incarceration to regain valid driving credentials and related access to transportation, employment, and other reentry needs.

Impact

SB1479 changes state law governing correctional reentry services and driver licensing by explicitly adding driver licenses to the list of credentials that may be facilitated for eligible inmates and by creating a new statutory duty for the Department of Safety to coordinate renewal upon release. It affects Tennessee Code Annotated § 41-51-301 and adds § 55-50-357 to Title 55, Chapter 50, Part 3, while also enabling interagency data sharing and rulemaking to carry out the program.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have received broad, bipartisan support and moved through the process without recorded opposition in the available votes. It was recommended for passage unanimously in the Transportation and Safety Committee and then passed both chambers on the floor with no nays recorded, suggesting general agreement with the reentry and administrative efficiency goals of the measure.

Contention

No major controversy is reflected in the available committee or floor vote record. The only potentially sensitive issues are administrative: how the Department of Safety and Department of Correction will coordinate, what data may be shared, and how eligibility and documentation requirements will be applied. The bill also preserves existing renewal limits for licenses expired beyond one renewal cycle, which may matter for some returning citizens but does not appear to have been a point of recorded dispute.