---
type: "Bill"
title: "Obscenity and Pornography - As enacted, makes it a Class E felony for a book publisher, distributor, or seller to knowingly sell or distribute obscene matter to a public school serving any of the grades K-12; adds additional fines for a violation. - Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 9."
description: "Obscenity and Pornography - As enacted, makes it a Class E felony for a book publisher, distributor, or seller to knowingly sell or distribute obscene matter to a public school serving any of the grades K-12; adds additional fines for a violation. - Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 9."
jurisdiction: "us/states/tn"
legislature: "Tennessee General Assembly"
session: "113"
identifier: "SB 1059"
citation: "Tennessee SB 1059 (113)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Obscenity and Pornography"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Hensley"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 27
vote_count: 3
first_action: "2023-01-31"
last_action: "2023-05-04"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/2de08f5a-7a7b-4062-aca8-da214b1cc015"
source_url: "http://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/default.aspx?BillNumber=SB1059&GA=113"
source_hash: "0037a838284fa0b9b7bfc83a95da5f5dac78e6327e78314c688857c7d79290e2"
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 1059 (113) — Obscenity and Pornography - As enacted, makes it a Class E felony for a book publisher, distributor, or seller to knowingly sell or distribute obscene matter to a public school serving any of the grades K-12; adds additional fines for a violation. - Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 9.

## Version chain

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

1. **Amendment HA0333** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/113/Amend/HA0333.pdf)
2. **Amendment SA0264** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/113/Amend/SA0264.pdf)
3. **Current Version** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/113/Bill/SB1059.pdf)

## Votes

- FLOOR VOTE: as Amended Third Consideration 4/10/2023 Passed (1) — **24–4** (pass) · upper
- FLOOR VOTE: REGULAR CALENDAR PASSAGE ON THIRD CONSIDERATION 4/17/2023 Passed (1) — **71–22** (pass) · lower
- SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 7, Nays 2 PNV 0 3/22/2023 Passed (2) — **7–2** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Hensley — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2023-01-31** Filed for introduction `filing`
- **2023-02-02** Introduced, Passed on First Consideration `introduction`
- **2023-02-06** Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Judiciary Committee `passage`
- **2023-03-07** Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/13/2023
- **2023-03-13** Action deferred in Senate Judiciary Committee to 3/14/2023
- **2023-03-14** Action deferred in Senate Judiciary Committee to 3/21/2023
- **2023-03-14** Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/14/2023
- **2023-03-15** Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/21/2023
- **2023-03-21** Action deferred in Senate Judiciary Committee to 3/22/2023
- **2023-03-22** Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 7, Nays 2 PNV 0
- **2023-03-22** Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/22/2023
- **2023-04-06** Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 4/10/2023
- **2023-04-10** Sponsor(s) Added. `sponsorship`
- **2023-04-10** Engrossed; ready for transmission to House `receipt`
- **2023-04-10** Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 24, Nays 4, PNV 1 `passage`
- **2023-04-10** Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 1 - SA0264)
- **2023-04-13** Rcvd. from S., held on H. desk.
- **2023-04-17** Passed H., Ayes 71, Nays 22, PNV 1 `passage`
- **2023-04-17** Am. withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - HA0333) `amendment-withdrawal`
- **2023-04-17** Subst. for comp. HB. `substitution`
- **2023-04-18** Enrolled and ready for signatures `enrolled`
- **2023-04-19** Signed by Senate Speaker `passage`
- **2023-04-20** Transmitted to Governor for action. `executive-receipt`
- **2023-04-20** Signed by H. Speaker `passage`
- **2023-04-28** Signed by Governor. `executive-signature`
- **2023-05-04** Effective date(s) 07/01/2023
- **2023-05-04** Pub. Ch. 278

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/2de08f5a-7a7b-4062-aca8-da214b1cc015`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Tennessee legislature records).