---
type: "Bill"
title: "Correction, Dept. of - As enacted, enacts the \"Debra Johnson Act,\" which authorizes the department to contribute state funds toward the funeral and burial expenses of a correctional employee killed in the line of duty. - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 3, Part 6."
description: "Correction, Dept. of - As enacted, enacts the \"Debra Johnson Act,\" which authorizes the department to contribute state funds toward the funeral and burial expenses of a correctional employee killed in the line of duty. - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 3, Part 6."
jurisdiction: "us/states/tn"
legislature: "Tennessee General Assembly"
session: "111"
identifier: "HB 1615"
citation: "Tennessee HB 1615 (111)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Correction", "Dept. of"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Dickerson", "Hulsey"]
version_count: 7
action_count: 53
vote_count: 11
first_action: "2020-01-08"
last_action: "2020-07-22"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/26ec07ec-bc67-4322-bdb9-1ceadc372af2"
source_url: "http://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/default.aspx?BillNumber=HB1615&GA=111"
source_hash: "a23fef9ed5f6af15b33c03e2446be688a1b6f5ee95c9fd543fd5cbf7e77493b1"
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 1615 (111) — Correction, Dept. of - As enacted, enacts the "Debra Johnson Act," which authorizes the department to contribute state funds toward the funeral and burial expenses of a correctional employee killed in the line of duty. - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 3, Part 6.

## Version chain

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

1. **Amendment HA0554** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/111/Amend/HA0554.pdf)
2. **Amendment HA1009** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/111/Amend/HA1009.pdf)
3. **Amendment HA1027** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/111/Amend/HA1027.pdf)
4. **Amendment SA0475** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/111/Amend/SA0475.pdf)
5. **Amendment SA0481** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/111/Amend/SA0481.pdf)
6. **Amendment SA0577** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/111/Amend/SA0577.pdf)
7. **Current Version** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/111/Bill/HB1615.pdf)

## Votes

- FLOOR VOTE: REGULAR CALENDAR AS AMENDED PASSAGE ON THIRD CONSIDERATION 6/18/2020 Passed (1) — **87–0** (pass) · lower
- HOUSE FINANCE, WAYS, AND MEANS COMMITTEE: Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee 6/16/2020 (5) — **0–0** (pass) · lower
- FLOOR VOTE: as Amended Third Consideration 3/9/2020 Passed (2) — **30–2** (pass) · upper
- FLOOR VOTE: REGULAR CALENDAR MOTION TO CONSIDER AMENDMENT # 3 BY HULSEY PASSAGE ON THIRD CONSIDERATION 6/18/2020 Passed (3) — **89–0** (pass) · lower
- FLOOR VOTE: REGULAR CALENDAR MOTION TO ADOPT AMENDMENT # 3 BY HULSEY PASSAGE ON THIRD CONSIDERATION 6/18/2020 Passed (2) — **87–0** (pass) · lower
- FLOOR VOTE: Concur in House Amend# 3 6/19/2020 Passed (1) — **29–0** (pass) · upper
- HOUSE CALENDAR & RULES COMMITTEE: H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 6/18/2020 6/17/2020 (4) — **0–0** (fail) · lower
- HOUSE FINANCE, WAYS, AND MEANS SUBCOMMITTEE: Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to Finance, Ways, and Means Committee 6/16/2020 (6) — **0–0** (fail) · lower
- SENATE STATE & LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE: Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 5, Nays 2 PNV 0 2/4/2020 Passed (3) — **5–2** (pass) · upper
- HOUSE STATE COMMITTEE: Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Finance, Ways, and Means Committee 2/25/2020 (7) — **0–0** (pass) · lower
- HOUSE CORRECTIONS SUBCOMMITTEE: Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to State Committee 2/12/2020 (8) — **0–0** (fail) · lower

## Sponsors

- Dickerson — primary (person)
- Hulsey — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2020-01-08** Filed for introduction `reading-1, introduction`
- **2020-01-14** Filed for introduction `reading-1, introduction`
- **2020-01-14** Introduced, Passed on First Consideration `introduction`
- **2020-01-15** Intro., P1C. `introduction`
- **2020-01-16** P2C, ref. to State Committee `referral-committee`
- **2020-01-16** Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate State and Local Government Committee
- **2020-01-21** Assigned to s/c Corrections Subcommittee `referral-committee`
- **2020-01-22** Placed on Senate State and Local Government Committee calendar for 1/28/2020
- **2020-01-28** Placed on Senate State and Local Government Committee calendar for 2/4/2020
- **2020-01-28** Action deferred in Senate State and Local Government Committee to 2/4/2020
- **2020-01-29** Placed on s/c cal Corrections Subcommittee for 2/5/2020
- **2020-02-04** Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 5, Nays 2 PNV 0
- **2020-02-05** Placed on s/c cal Corrections Subcommittee for 2/12/2020
- **2020-02-05** Meeting Canceled. Action Def. in s/c Corrections Subcommittee to 2/12/2020
- **2020-02-11** Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 2/13/2020
- **2020-02-12** Placed on cal. State Committee for 2/18/2020
- **2020-02-12** Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to State Committee `referral-committee`
- **2020-02-13** Senate Reset on calendar for 2/20/2020
- **2020-02-13** Amendment tabled (Amendment 2 - SA0481) `amendment-deferral`
- **2020-02-13** Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 1 - SA0475)
- **2020-02-18** Action def. in State Committee to 2/25/2020
- **2020-02-19** Placed on cal. State Committee for 2/25/2020
- **2020-02-20** Reset on Senate Regular Calendar for 3/5/2020
- **2020-02-25** Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Finance, Ways, and Means Committee `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2020-02-26** Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 3/4/2020
- **2020-02-26** Assigned to s/c Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee `referral-committee`
- **2020-03-04** Placed behind the budget
- **2020-03-05** Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 3/9/2020
- **2020-03-09** Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 30, Nays 2 `passage`
- **2020-03-09** Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 3 - SA0577)
- **2020-03-10** Engrossed; ready for transmission to House
- **2020-03-12** Rcvd. from S., held on H. desk.
- **2020-06-10** Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 6/15/2020
- **2020-06-16** Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 6/16/2020
- **2020-06-16** Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2020-06-16** Placed on cal. Finance, Ways, and Means Committee for 6/16/2020
- **2020-06-16** Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to Finance, Ways, and Means Committee `referral-committee`
- **2020-06-17** H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 6/18/2020
- **2020-06-18** Comp. SB subst.
- **2020-06-18** Passed H., as am., Ayes 87, Nays 0, PNV 0 `passage`
- **2020-06-18** H. adopted am. (Amendment 3 - HA1027) `amendment-passage`
- **2020-06-18** Am. withdrawn. (Amendment 2 - HA1009) `amendment-withdrawal`
- **2020-06-18** Am. withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - HA0554) `amendment-withdrawal`
- **2020-06-18** Subst. for comp. HB.
- **2020-06-19** Senate concurred in House amendment #3
- **2020-06-23** Signed by Senate Speaker
- **2020-06-23** Enrolled and ready for signatures
- **2020-06-30** Signed by H. Speaker
- **2020-07-06** Transmitted to Governor for action.
- **2020-07-15** Signed by Governor. `executive-signature`
- **2020-07-22** Comp. became Pub. Ch. 779
- **2020-07-22** Pub. Ch. 779
- **2020-07-22** Effective date(s) 07/15/2020

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/26ec07ec-bc67-4322-bdb9-1ceadc372af2`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Tennessee legislature records).