---
type: "Bill"
title: "Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation - As enacted, authorizes the responding law enforcement officer or the district attorney general's office to extend criminal immunity to persons who are experiencing a subsequent drug overdose and who are seeking medical assistance. - Amends TCA Section 63-1-156."
description: "Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation - As enacted, authorizes the responding law enforcement officer or the district attorney general's office to extend criminal immunity to persons who are experiencing a subsequent drug overdose and who are seeking medical assistance. - Amends TCA Section 63-1-156."
jurisdiction: "us/states/tn"
legislature: "Tennessee General Assembly"
session: "113"
identifier: "SB 256"
citation: "Tennessee SB 256 (113)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Johnson"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 22
vote_count: 3
first_action: "2023-01-19"
last_action: "2023-03-23"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/da387e0e-3e6b-48ca-b19c-0e872a1e0a70"
source_url: "http://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/default.aspx?BillNumber=SB0256&GA=113"
source_hash: "b528e7b68fad242691011296cf7aa78dede9b413e41eba5ce1fa6b4833a9a5d0"
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 256 (113) — Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation - As enacted, authorizes the responding law enforcement officer or the district attorney general's office to extend criminal immunity to persons who are experiencing a subsequent drug overdose and who are seeking medical assistance. - Amends TCA Section 63-1-156.

## Version chain

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

1. **Amendment HA0030** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/113/Amend/HA0030.pdf)
2. **Amendment SA0020** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/113/Amend/SA0020.pdf)
3. **Current Version** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/113/Bill/SB0256.pdf)

## Votes

- FLOOR VOTE: REGULAR CALENDAR PASSAGE ON THIRD CONSIDERATION 2/27/2023 Passed (1) — **91–1** (pass) · lower
- SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 8, Nays 0 PNV 0 2/14/2023 Passed — **8–0** (pass) · upper
- FLOOR VOTE: as Amended Third Consideration 2/23/2023 Passed (1) — **33–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Johnson — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2023-01-19** Filed for introduction `filing`
- **2023-01-20** Introduced, Passed on First Consideration `introduction`
- **2023-01-21** Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Judiciary Committee `passage`
- **2023-02-06** Sponsor(s) Added. `sponsorship`
- **2023-02-08** Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 2/14/2023
- **2023-02-14** Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 8, Nays 0 PNV 0
- **2023-02-21** Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 2/23/2023
- **2023-02-23** Engrossed; ready for transmission to House `receipt`
- **2023-02-23** Sponsor(s) Added. `sponsorship`
- **2023-02-23** Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 33, Nays 0 `passage`
- **2023-02-23** Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 1 - SA0020)
- **2023-02-27** Passed H., Ayes 91, Nays 1, PNV 1 `passage`
- **2023-02-27** Am. withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - HA0030) `amendment-withdrawal`
- **2023-02-27** Subst. for comp. HB. `substitution`
- **2023-02-27** Rcvd. from S., held on H. desk.
- **2023-02-28** Enrolled and ready for signatures `enrolled`
- **2023-03-01** Signed by Senate Speaker `passage`
- **2023-03-02** Signed by H. Speaker `passage`
- **2023-03-06** Transmitted to Governor for action. `executive-receipt`
- **2023-03-14** Signed by Governor. `executive-signature`
- **2023-03-23** Effective date(s) 07/01/2023
- **2023-03-23** Pub. Ch. 41

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/da387e0e-3e6b-48ca-b19c-0e872a1e0a70`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Tennessee legislature records).