---
type: "Bill"
title: "Child Abuse - As enacted, adds the commission of trafficking for commercial sex act to the definitions of child sexual abuse and severe child abuse; redefines \"caregiver\" for the purposes of the laws governing the placement and custody of juveniles. - Amends TCA Title 37, Chapter 1, Part 1 and Title 37, Chapter 1, Part 6."
description: "Child Abuse - As enacted, adds the commission of trafficking for commercial sex act to the definitions of child sexual abuse and severe child abuse; redefines \"caregiver\" for the purposes of the laws governing the placement and custody of juveniles. - Amends TCA Title 37, Chapter 1, Part 1 and Title 37, Chapter 1, Part 6."
jurisdiction: "us/states/tn"
legislature: "Tennessee General Assembly"
session: "110"
identifier: "HB 615"
citation: "Tennessee HB 615 (110)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Child Abuse"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Coley", "Ketron"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 42
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2017-02-07"
last_action: "2017-05-19"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/897f749f-100f-424c-8383-4dbf66aeb6f7"
source_url: "http://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/default.aspx?BillNumber=HB0615&GA=110"
source_hash: "3b60b1ec51e363839600866b3c991c3c4445bf685f748ee38c36a4b26f5d4032"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-tn"]
---

# Tennessee HB 615 (110) — Child Abuse - As enacted, adds the commission of trafficking for commercial sex act to the definitions of child sexual abuse and severe child abuse; redefines "caregiver" for the purposes of the laws governing the placement and custody of juveniles. - Amends TCA Title 37, Chapter 1, Part 1 and Title 37, Chapter 1, Part 6.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Current Version** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/110/Bill/HB0615.pdf)

## Votes

- CRIMINAL JUSTICE SUBCOMMITTEE: Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to Criminal Justice Committee 3/21/2017 (4) — **0–0** (pass) · lower
- CRIMINAL JUSTICE COMMITTEE: Rec. for pass; ref to Calendar & Rules Committee 3/29/2017 — **0–0** (pass) · lower
- FLOOR VOTE: CONCUR IN SENATE AMENDMENT # 1 4/24/2017 Passed (1) — **91–0** (pass) · lower
- FLOOR VOTE: THIRD CONSIDERATION AMENDED 4/17/2017 Passed (1) — **32–0** (pass) · upper
- CALENDAR & RULES COMMITTEE: H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/10/2017 4/6/2017 (3) — **0–0** (fail) · lower
- FLOOR VOTE: PASSAGE ON THIRD CONSIDERATION 4/10/2017 Passed (2) — **95–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Coley — primary (person)
- Ketron — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2017-02-07** Filed for intro. `introduction, reading-1`
- **2017-02-07** Filed for introduction `introduction, reading-1`
- **2017-02-08** Intro., P1C. `introduction`
- **2017-02-08** Introduced, Passed on First Consideration `introduction`
- **2017-02-09** P2C, ref. to Criminal Justice Committee `referral-committee`
- **2017-02-09** Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Judiciary Committee
- **2017-02-17** Assigned to s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee `referral-committee`
- **2017-03-08** Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/14/2017
- **2017-03-10** Sponsor(s) Added.
- **2017-03-14** Action deferred in Senate Judiciary Committee to 3/28/2017
- **2017-03-15** Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 3/21/2017
- **2017-03-21** Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to Criminal Justice Committee `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2017-03-22** Placed on cal. Criminal Justice Committee for 3/29/2017
- **2017-03-22** Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/28/2017
- **2017-03-28** Action deferred in Senate Judiciary Committee to 4/4/2017
- **2017-03-29** Rec. for pass; ref to Calendar & Rules Committee `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2017-03-30** Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 4/4/2017
- **2017-04-04** Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 9, Nays 0 PNV 0
- **2017-04-05** Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 4/6/2017
- **2017-04-06** Sponsor(s) Added.
- **2017-04-06** H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/10/2017
- **2017-04-10** Passed H., Ayes 95, Nays 0, PNV 0 `passage`
- **2017-04-10** Sponsor(s) Added.
- **2017-04-11** Engrossed; ready for transmission to Sen.
- **2017-04-13** Received from House, Passed on First Consideration `introduction`
- **2017-04-13** Placed on Senate Regular Calendar calendar for 4/17/2017
- **2017-04-17** Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 32, Nays 0 `passage`
- **2017-04-17** Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 1 - SA0311)
- **2017-04-17** Senate substituted House Bill for companion Senate Bill.
- **2017-04-17** Sponsor(s) Added.
- **2017-04-17** Companion House Bill substituted
- **2017-04-20** H. Placed on Message Calendar for 4/24/2017
- **2017-04-24** Sponsor(s) Added.
- **2017-04-24** H. concurred in S. am. no. 1 Ayes 91, Nays 0 PNV 0 HB0615
- **2017-04-25** Enrolled; ready for sig. of H. Speaker.
- **2017-04-26** Transmitted to Governor for his action. `executive-receipt`
- **2017-04-26** Signed by Senate Speaker
- **2017-04-26** Signed by H. Speaker
- **2017-05-04** Signed by Governor. `executive-signature`
- **2017-05-19** Pub. Ch. 292
- **2017-05-19** Effective date(s) 07/01/2017
- **2017-05-19** Comp. became Pub. Ch. 292

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/897f749f-100f-424c-8383-4dbf66aeb6f7`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Tennessee legislature records).