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.
! E li.-3):
: -__r;\;r.µ.!..,_ /:tfj •
State f/Jennessee
PUBLIC CHAPTER NO. 815
SENATE BILL NO. 2650
By Roberts, Oliver
Substituted for: House Bill No. 2564
By Freeman, Davis, Towns, Pearson, Love
AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 29; Title 36; Title 37; Title 39 and Title 40,
relative to victims.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 40, Chapter 38, Part 1, is amended by adding
the following as a new section:
40-38-120.
(a) As used in this section:
(1) "Directory host" means a private entity that establishes and maintains a
directory of victim-centered restorative justice options that are available in the pilot
counties;
(2) "Pilot county" means any county having a population of over five hundred
thousand (500,000), according to the 2020 federal census or any subsequent federal
census;
(3) "Restorative justice option" means a voluntary, victim-centered process
that may include facilitated communication, conferencing, community repair
agreements, or other structured accountability and repair practices, provided through
a program listed in the directory established pursuant to this section; and
(4) "Victim" means the same as defined in § 40-38-203; provided, however,
that victim does not include a minor victim or an immediate family member of a minor
victim, unless the minor victim was a homicide victim.
(b) During the pilot period described in subsection {f), a notifying entity in subsection
(d) shall provide a victim with a standardized notice that includes:
(1) Contact information for the directory host so that the victim may request
additional information and access the directory; and
(2) The statements required by subsection (c).
(c) The standardized notice shall state:
(1) Victim-centered restorative justice options may be available in some
cases;
(2) Participation is voluntary and the victim is not required to pursue a
restorative justice option;
(3) The decision whether to participate does not limit any rights or remedies
available to the victim;
SB 2650
(4) The district attorney general is not required to offer, approve, or delay
prosecution based on a victim's request for information or participation in any
restorative justice option listed in the directory;
(5) A decision by any person not to participate shall not be the basis for an
adverse inference in charging decisions, plea negotiations, sentencing
recommendations, or conditions of release; and
(6) Participation may have legal implications for any participant.
(d) Notification of restorative justice options in a pilot county must be provided to a
victim as follows:
(1) In applicable cases, the clerk of the court having jurisdiction over criminal
cases shall use existing resources and forms of communication to provide the
standardized notice to a victim in connection with the first court appearance at which
the case is pending and the victim is identifiable;
(2) A law enforcement agency that takes the report or is otherwise in contact
with a victim may provide the standardized notice electronically or in writing when
contact information is available; and
(3) An assigned victim-witness coordinator may provide the standardized
notice electronically or in writing and may respond to requests for additional
information.
(e) Providing the standardized notice satisfies the requirement in subsection (d). A
notifying entity identified in subsection (d) is not required to determine eligibility,
appropriateness, program availability, or to make a referral. A single notification to the victim
satisfies this section.
(f) The notification requirements in this section apply in pilot counties for twenty-four
(24) months beginning on November 1, 2026, unless extended by the general assembly. If a
directory has not yet been established by November 1, 2026, the notification requirements in
subsection (d) will begin once the directory is available.
(g) A directory that is provided to victims pursuant to this section must, at a minimum,
include for each listed restorative justice option:
(1) Contact methods;
(2) Counties served and service modality, including whether service is
provided in-person or virtually;
(3) A statement that availability may vary by county and program capacity;
(4) A statement that each restorative justice option included in the directory is
currently operating in each pilot county;
(5) A statement that each restorative justice option has established eligibility
criteria, screening practices, informed-consent standards, trauma-informed practices,
safety planning procedures, and any other protocols that the directory host deems
necessary for listing a restorative justice option; and
(6) A method for submitting feedback or complaints to the directory host.
(h) The di'rectory is informational, and a listing in the directory does not constitute
endorsement by this state, a court, a district attorney general, a law enforcement agency, the
directory host, the notifying entities described in subsection (d}, or any other state or local
entity.
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 37, Chapter 1, Part 1, is amended by adding
the following as a new section:
37;;.1-193.
(a) In the following cases, a juvenile court clerk in a county that is part of a pilot
project under § 40-38-120 must provide notification of a restorative justice option to a victim,
as defined in§ 40-38-120, during the pilot period identified in§ 40-38-120:
2
SB 2650
(1) A case in which the juvenile is eligible for adjudication as a serious youthful
offender pursuant to § 37-1-131 (g); and
(2) A case in which the juvenile is eligible for transfer to criminal court
pursuant to§ 37-1-134 or§ 37-1-191.
(b) Notification of a restorative justice option by the juvenile court clerk pursuant to
subsection (a) does not relieve a criminal court clerk of the duty to notify a victim of a
restorative justice option under§ 40-38-120.
(c) The juvenile court clerk must provide the notification of a restorative justice option
required by this section using existing resources and forms of communication.
SECTION 3. This act takes effect July 1, 2026, the public welfare requiring it.
3
SENATE BILL NO. 2650
PASSED: April 6, 2026
~'--
RANDY 1\11:NALLY
SPEAKER OF THE ~ENATE
•
CAMERONSEXTON,SPEAKER
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APPROVED this .23-rtl day of '12r:I( 2026
BILL LEE, GOVERNOREvery fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.