---
type: "Bill"
title: "Criminal Offenses - As enacted, replaces the required element for self-defense that the person \"not be engaged in unlawful activity\" with the required element that the person \"not be engaged in conduct that would constitute a felony or Class A misdemeanor\"; declares, for purposes of determining if a person has a duty to retreat before threatening or using force in self-defense, that a person is not considered to be engaged in conduct that would constitute a felony or Class A misdemeanor or in a place where the person does not have a right to be if the person is engaged in the activity or in a place due to the person's status as a victim of human trafficking. - Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 11, Part 6."
description: "Criminal Offenses - As enacted, replaces the required element for self-defense that the person \"not be engaged in unlawful activity\" with the required element that the person \"not be engaged in conduct that would constitute a felony or Class A misdemeanor\"; declares, for purposes of determining if a person has a duty to retreat before threatening or using force in self-defense, that a person is not considered to be engaged in conduct that would constitute a felony or Class A misdemeanor or in a place where the person does not have a right to be if the person is engaged in the activity or in a place due to the person's status as a victim of human trafficking. - Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 11, Part 6."
jurisdiction: "us/states/tn"
legislature: "Tennessee General Assembly"
session: "112"
identifier: "HB 17"
citation: "Tennessee HB 17 (112)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Criminal Offenses"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Bowling", "Lamar"]
version_count: 2
action_count: 40
vote_count: 7
first_action: "2020-12-02"
last_action: "2021-04-21"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/34d2a7cd-7e95-4e15-85bd-382662b20eb0"
source_url: "http://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/default.aspx?BillNumber=HB0017&GA=112"
source_hash: "35ff0e1eab361acae65515f6046894e3101a46c23b7dd5dec01d4841af030052"
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 17 (112) — Criminal Offenses - As enacted, replaces the required element for self-defense that the person "not be engaged in unlawful activity" with the required element that the person "not be engaged in conduct that would constitute a felony or Class A misdemeanor"; declares, for purposes of determining if a person has a duty to retreat before threatening or using force in self-defense, that a person is not considered to be engaged in conduct that would constitute a felony or Class A misdemeanor or in a place where the person does not have a right to be if the person is engaged in the activity or in a place due to the person's status as a victim of human trafficking. - Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 11, Part 6.

## Version chain

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

1. **Amendment HA0040** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/112/Amend/HA0040.pdf)
2. **Current Version** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/112/Bill/HB0017.pdf)

## Votes

- SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Calendar Committee 3/9/2021 Passed (3) — **9–0** (pass) · upper
- HOUSE CRIMINAL JUSTICE COMMITTEE: Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee 3/10/2021 (3) — **0–0** (pass) · lower
- FLOOR VOTE: REGULAR CALENDAR AS AMENDED PASSAGE ON THIRD CONSIDERATION 3/22/2021 Passed (1) — **94–0** (pass) · lower
- HOUSE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SUBCOMMITTEE: Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to Criminal Justice Committee 3/3/2021 (4) — **0–0** (pass) · lower
- FLOOR VOTE: Motion to Adopt 3/15/2021 Passed (2) — **30–0** (pass) · upper
- FLOOR VOTE: Motion to Concur House Amendment # 1 3/29/2021 Passed (1) — **29–0** (pass) · upper
- HOUSE CALENDAR & RULES COMMITTEE: H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 3/22/2021 3/18/2021 (2) — **0–0** (fail) · lower

## Sponsors

- Bowling — primary (person)
- Lamar — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2020-12-02** Filed for introduction `introduction, reading-1`
- **2021-01-12** Intro., P1C. `introduction`
- **2021-01-13** Ref. to Criminal Justice Committee `referral-committee`
- **2021-01-13** P2C held on desk.
- **2021-01-15** Filed for introduction `introduction, reading-1`
- **2021-01-27** Assigned to s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee `referral-committee`
- **2021-02-08** Introduced, Passed on First Consideration `introduction`
- **2021-02-10** Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 2/17/2021
- **2021-02-10** Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Judiciary Committee
- **2021-02-17** Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 2/24/2021
- **2021-02-17** Meeting Canceled
- **2021-02-24** Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 3/3/2021
- **2021-02-24** Action Def. in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee to 3/3/2021
- **2021-03-03** Placed on cal. Criminal Justice Committee for 3/10/2021
- **2021-03-03** Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to Criminal Justice Committee `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-03-03** Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/9/2021
- **2021-03-04** Sponsor(s) Added.
- **2021-03-09** Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Calendar Committee
- **2021-03-10** Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-03-11** Placed on Senate Consent Calendar 2 for 3/15/2021
- **2021-03-15** Engrossed; ready for transmission to House
- **2021-03-15** Passed Senate, Ayes 30, Nays 0, PNV 2 `passage`
- **2021-03-17** Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 3/18/2021
- **2021-03-18** H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 3/22/2021
- **2021-03-18** Rcvd. from S., held on H. desk.
- **2021-03-22** Comp. SB subst.
- **2021-03-22** Sponsor(s) Added.
- **2021-03-22** Passed H., as am., Ayes 94, Nays 0, PNV 0 `passage`
- **2021-03-22** H. adopted am. (Amendment 1 - HA0040) `amendment-passage`
- **2021-03-22** Subst. for comp. HB.
- **2021-03-25** Placed on Senate Message Calendar for 3/29/2021
- **2021-03-29** Senate concurred in House amendment
- **2021-03-31** Enrolled and ready for signatures
- **2021-04-01** Signed by Senate Speaker
- **2021-04-05** Signed by H. Speaker
- **2021-04-06** Transmitted to Governor for action.
- **2021-04-13** Signed by Governor. `executive-signature`
- **2021-04-21** Comp. became Pub. Ch. 115
- **2021-04-21** Effective date(s) 07/01/2021
- **2021-04-21** Pub. Ch. 115

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/34d2a7cd-7e95-4e15-85bd-382662b20eb0`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Tennessee legislature records).