---
type: "Bill"
title: "Adoption - As enacted, changes the time period during which the Tennessee putative father registry must have been consulted prior to the filing of a petition to terminate parental rights from 10 days to 10 working days; requires the appointment of a guardian ad litem in an adoption involving a mentally disabled child when the child is 14 years of age or older at any time before the granting of the petition rather than at any age. - Amends TCA Title 36 and Title 37."
description: "Adoption - As enacted, changes the time period during which the Tennessee putative father registry must have been consulted prior to the filing of a petition to terminate parental rights from 10 days to 10 working days; requires the appointment of a guardian ad litem in an adoption involving a mentally disabled child when the child is 14 years of age or older at any time before the granting of the petition rather than at any age. - Amends TCA Title 36 and Title 37."
jurisdiction: "us/states/tn"
legislature: "Tennessee General Assembly"
session: "113"
identifier: "HB 855"
citation: "Tennessee HB 855 (113)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Adoption"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Leatherwood"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 23
vote_count: 5
first_action: "2023-01-30"
last_action: "2023-05-18"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/8509c022-70a2-49e9-b560-be11226081d1"
source_url: "http://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/default.aspx?BillNumber=HB0855&GA=113"
source_hash: "5715620a0836a90d8d40fee6298c778e16369cfa10671faa2cb0c9e88983b3da"
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 855 (113) — Adoption - As enacted, changes the time period during which the Tennessee putative father registry must have been consulted prior to the filing of a petition to terminate parental rights from 10 days to 10 working days; requires the appointment of a guardian ad litem in an adoption involving a mentally disabled child when the child is 14 years of age or older at any time before the granting of the petition rather than at any age. - Amends TCA Title 36 and Title 37.

## Version chain

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

1. **Current Version** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/113/Bill/HB0855.pdf)

## Votes

- FLOOR VOTE: REGULAR CALENDAR PASSAGE ON THIRD CONSIDERATION 3/20/2023 Passed (1) — **97–0** (pass) · lower
- FLOOR VOTE: Third Consideration 4/17/2023 Passed (1) — **27–3** (pass) · upper
- HOUSE CHILDREN & FAMILY AFFAIRS SUBCOMMITTEE: Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to Civil Justice Committee 3/7/2023 (4) — **0–0** (pass) · lower
- HOUSE CIVIL JUSTICE COMMITTEE: Rec. for pass; ref to Calendar & Rules Committee 3/15/2023 (3) — **0–0** (pass) · lower
- HOUSE CALENDAR & RULES COMMITTEE: H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 3/20/2023 3/16/2023 (2) — **0–0** (fail) · lower

## Sponsors

- Leatherwood — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2023-01-30** Filed for introduction `filing`
- **2023-02-01** Intro., P1C. `introduction`
- **2023-02-02** P2C, ref. to Civil Justice Committee `referral-committee`
- **2023-02-07** Assigned to s/c Children & Family Affairs Subcommittee `referral-committee`
- **2023-03-01** Placed on s/c cal Children & Family Affairs Subcommittee for 3/7/2023
- **2023-03-07** Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to Civil Justice Committee `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2023-03-08** Placed on cal. Civil Justice Committee for 3/15/2023
- **2023-03-15** Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 3/16/2023
- **2023-03-15** Rec. for pass; ref to Calendar & Rules Committee `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2023-03-16** H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 3/20/2023
- **2023-03-20** Passed H., Ayes 97, Nays 0, PNV 0 `passage`
- **2023-03-20** Sponsor(s) Added. `sponsorship`
- **2023-03-21** Engrossed; ready for transmission to Sen. `receipt`
- **2023-03-23** Received from House, Passed on First Consideration `introduction`
- **2023-04-17** Passed Senate, Ayes 27, Nays 3, PNV 1 `passage`
- **2023-04-17** Senate substituted House Bill for companion Senate Bill. `substitution`
- **2023-04-18** Enrolled; ready for sig. of H. Speaker. `enrolled`
- **2023-04-21** Signed by H. Speaker `passage`
- **2023-04-26** Signed by Senate Speaker `passage`
- **2023-04-28** Transmitted to Governor for his action. `executive-receipt`
- **2023-05-05** Signed by Governor. `executive-signature`
- **2023-05-18** Effective date(s) 05/05/2023
- **2023-05-18** Pub. Ch. 363

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/8509c022-70a2-49e9-b560-be11226081d1`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Tennessee legislature records).