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Back to HB 2374
Tennessee General Assembly· HB 2374Transmitted to Governor for his action.

Bail, Bail Bonds - As enacted, removes the requirement to place a defendant on a state or federal list or database as a fugitive from justice for failure to appear, unless it is on a felony; authorizes a court to relieve, the official text

Shown verbatim: the complete text as captured from the official PDF posted by the Tennessee General Assembly, fetched 2026-09-25. Page and line markers are part of the official record; nothing is edited or removed. This is the chaptered version. The official bill page.
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                         ~tate of ~ennessee

                          PUBLIC CHAPTER NO. 1026

                                                  HOUSE BILL NO. 2374

                                       By Representatives Doggett, Lafferty

                                       Substituted for: Senate Bill No. 2161

                                                      By Senator Haile

          AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39 and Title 40, relative to bail.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:

          SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 40-11-139(d)(1), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting:

                    (1) If a court issues a bench warrant or a capias due to a defendant's failure to
          appear on a felony that is violent or sexual in nature as determined by the court, then the
          defendant shall be placed on any available state or federal list or database as a fugitive
          from justice, including the National Crime Information Center.

          SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 40-11-139(d)(3), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting:

                    (3) The court may relieve the surety of liability for an undertaking if the defendant
          has not been placed on the available state or federal list or database within five (5)
          business days of the entering agency's receipt of the bench warrant or capias.

          SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.
         HOUSE BILL NO. 2374

PASSED:  April 23. 2026

                         CAMEROtl"'SEXTON,SPEAKER
                         HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                                                    RANDY MC
                                       SPEAKER OF THE SE

1.9~ APPROVED this day of n(\c, .._,,  2026

     ~VA.

BILL LEE, GOVERNOR
Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.