---
type: "Bill"
title: "Expunction - As enacted, requires a judge to notify, if practicable, a defendant at the time of sentencing if the conviction is for an expungeable offense and the time period after which a petition to expunge may be filed; requires the administrative office of the courts to provide judges handling criminal matters with reference document containing certain information. - Amends TCA Title 40, Chapter 32 and Title 40, Chapter 35, Part 3."
description: "Expunction - As enacted, requires a judge to notify, if practicable, a defendant at the time of sentencing if the conviction is for an expungeable offense and the time period after which a petition to expunge may be filed; requires the administrative office of the courts to provide judges handling criminal matters with reference document containing certain information. - Amends TCA Title 40, Chapter 32 and Title 40, Chapter 35, Part 3."
jurisdiction: "us/states/tn"
legislature: "Tennessee General Assembly"
session: "112"
identifier: "SB 965"
citation: "Tennessee SB 965 (112)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Expunction"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Gilmore", "Hardaway"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 48
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2021-02-10"
last_action: "2021-05-18"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/fbdac3d0-091f-433a-bc7b-18b0f2ff3b5d"
source_url: "http://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/default.aspx?BillNumber=SB0965&GA=112"
source_hash: "2319e482cfd5ab263a86a8cfae97d0019ce7ecaf7d4ea07ca835a2f068e591ce"
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 SB 965 (112) — Expunction - As enacted, requires a judge to notify, if practicable, a defendant at the time of sentencing if the conviction is for an expungeable offense and the time period after which a petition to expunge may be filed; requires the administrative office of the courts to provide judges handling criminal matters with reference document containing certain information. - Amends TCA Title 40, Chapter 32 and Title 40, Chapter 35, Part 3.

## Version chain

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

1. **Amendment HA0390** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/112/Amend/HA0390.pdf)
2. **Amendment SA0369** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/112/Amend/SA0369.pdf)
3. **Current Version** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/112/Bill/SB0965.pdf)

## Votes

- HOUSE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SUBCOMMITTEE: Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to Criminal Justice Committee 4/14/2021 (4) — **0–0** (fail) · lower
- SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 9, Nays 0 PNV 0 4/20/2021 Passed (2) — **9–0** (pass) · upper
- FLOOR VOTE: REGULAR CALENDAR PASSAGE ON THIRD CONSIDERATION 4/29/2021 Passed (1) — **78–10** (pass) · lower
- FLOOR VOTE: as Amended Third Consideration 4/29/2021 Passed (1) — **31–0** (pass) · upper
- HOUSE CRIMINAL JUSTICE COMMITTEE: Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee 4/21/2021 (3) — **0–0** (pass) · lower
- HOUSE CALENDAR & RULES COMMITTEE: H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/29/2021 4/26/2021 (2) — **0–0** (fail) · lower

## Sponsors

- Gilmore — primary (person)
- Hardaway — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2021-02-10** Filed for introduction `introduction, reading-1`
- **2021-02-11** Introduced, Passed on First Consideration `introduction`
- **2021-02-11** Filed for introduction `introduction, reading-1`
- **2021-02-22** Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Judiciary Committee
- **2021-02-22** Intro., P1C. `introduction`
- **2021-02-24** Assigned to s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee `referral-committee`
- **2021-02-24** P2C, ref. to Criminal Justice Committee `referral-committee`
- **2021-03-03** Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 3/10/2021
- **2021-03-10** Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 3/17/2021
- **2021-03-10** Action Def. in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee to 3/17/2021
- **2021-03-17** Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 3/24/2021
- **2021-03-17** Action Def. in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee to 3/24/2021
- **2021-03-24** Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 3/31/2021
- **2021-03-24** Action Def. in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee to 3/31/2021
- **2021-03-31** Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 4/7/2021
- **2021-03-31** Action Def. in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee to 4/7/2021
- **2021-03-31** Sponsor(s) Added.
- **2021-04-07** Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 4/13/2021
- **2021-04-07** Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 4/14/2021
- **2021-04-07** Action Def. in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee to 4/14/2021
- **2021-04-13** Action deferred in Senate Judiciary Committee to 4/14/2021
- **2021-04-14** Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 4/20/2021
- **2021-04-14** Action deferred in Senate Judiciary Committee to 4/20/2021
- **2021-04-14** Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 4/14/2021
- **2021-04-14** Placed on cal. Criminal Justice Committee for 4/21/2021
- **2021-04-14** Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to Criminal Justice Committee `referral-committee`
- **2021-04-20** Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 9, Nays 0 PNV 0
- **2021-04-21** Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-04-26** H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/29/2021
- **2021-04-26** Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 4/26/2021
- **2021-04-27** Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 4/29/2021
- **2021-04-29** Passed H., Ayes 78, Nays 10, PNV 0 `passage`
- **2021-04-29** Am. withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - HA0390) `amendment-withdrawal`
- **2021-04-29** Subst. for comp. HB.
- **2021-04-29** Sponsor(s) Added.
- **2021-04-29** Engrossed; ready for transmission to House
- **2021-04-29** Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 31, Nays 0 `passage`
- **2021-04-29** Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 1 - SA0369)
- **2021-04-29** Comp. SB subst.
- **2021-04-29** Sponsor(s) Added.
- **2021-05-03** Signed by Senate Speaker
- **2021-05-03** Enrolled and ready for signatures
- **2021-05-05** Transmitted to Governor for action.
- **2021-05-05** Signed by H. Speaker
- **2021-05-11** Signed by Governor. `executive-signature`
- **2021-05-18** Effective date(s) 07/01/2021
- **2021-05-18** Pub. Ch. 358
- **2021-05-18** Comp. became Pub. Ch. 358

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/fbdac3d0-091f-433a-bc7b-18b0f2ff3b5d`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Tennessee legislature records).