---
type: "Bill"
title: "Sentencing - As enacted, adds aggravating circumstances for a jury to consider when determining the sentence of a defendant convicted of certain offenses. - Amends TCA Title 39 and Title 40."
description: "Sentencing - As enacted, adds aggravating circumstances for a jury to consider when determining the sentence of a defendant convicted of certain offenses. - Amends TCA Title 39 and Title 40."
jurisdiction: "us/states/tn"
legislature: "Tennessee General Assembly"
session: "114"
identifier: "SB 1659"
citation: "Tennessee SB 1659 (114)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Sentencing"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Gardenhire"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 24
vote_count: 3
first_action: "2026-01-14"
last_action: "2026-04-27"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/404db7be-0dc5-4a5c-8448-49f5a6ed3f77"
source_url: "https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/Default?BillNumber=SB1659&ga=114"
source_hash: "d007509282460d76e8885a425189f34b2328e39e9841ee0ca2f5c4f7ddc2797d"
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 1659 (114) — Sentencing - As enacted, adds aggravating circumstances for a jury to consider when determining the sentence of a defendant convicted of certain offenses. - Amends TCA Title 39 and Title 40.

## Version chain

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

1. **Current Version** (committee substitute) — [source](https://capitol.tn.gov/Bills/114/Bill/SB1659.pdf)

## Votes

- FLOOR VOTE: Motion to Adopt 3/23/2026 Passed (1) — **29–0** (pass) · upper
- FLOOR VOTE: REGULAR CALENDAR PASSAGE ON THIRD CONSIDERATION 3/30/2026 Passed (1) — **77–4** (pass) · lower
- SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Calendar Committee 3/17/2026 Passed — **9–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Gardenhire — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2026-01-14** Filed for introduction `filing`
- **2026-01-15** Introduced, Passed on First Consideration `introduction`
- **2026-01-21** Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Judiciary Committee `referral-committee`
- **2026-03-04** Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/9/2026
- **2026-03-09** Action deferred in Senate Judiciary Committee to 3/17/2026
- **2026-03-11** Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/16/2026
- **2026-03-16** Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/17/2026
- **2026-03-16** Action deferred in Senate Judiciary Committee to 3/17/2026
- **2026-03-17** Sponsor(s) Added. `sponsorship`
- **2026-03-17** Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Calendar Committee
- **2026-03-20** Placed on Senate Consent Calendar 2 for 3/23/2026
- **2026-03-23** Engrossed; ready for transmission to House `receipt`
- **2026-03-23** Sponsor(s) Added. `sponsorship`
- **2026-03-23** Passed Senate, Ayes 29, Nays 0 `passage`
- **2026-03-26** Rcvd. from S., held on H. desk.
- **2026-03-30** Passed H., Ayes 77, Nays 4, PNV 8 `passage`
- **2026-03-30** Subst. for comp. HB. `substitution`
- **2026-04-01** Signed by Senate Speaker `passage`
- **2026-04-01** Enrolled and ready for signatures `enrolled`
- **2026-04-02** Transmitted to Governor for action. `executive-receipt`
- **2026-04-02** Signed by H. Speaker `passage`
- **2026-04-14** Signed by Governor. `executive-signature`
- **2026-04-27** Effective date(s) 07/01/2026
- **2026-04-27** Pub. Ch. 693

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/404db7be-0dc5-4a5c-8448-49f5a6ed3f77`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Tennessee legislature records).