---
type: "Bill"
title: "Witnesses - As enacted, establishes procedures for the use of certified facility dogs during witness testimony and other court proceedings; establishes standards for certified facility dogs. - Amends TCA Title 24; Title 36; Title 37 and Title 40."
description: "Witnesses - As enacted, establishes procedures for the use of certified facility dogs during witness testimony and other court proceedings; establishes standards for certified facility dogs. - Amends TCA Title 24; Title 36; Title 37 and Title 40."
jurisdiction: "us/states/tn"
legislature: "Tennessee General Assembly"
session: "114"
identifier: "SB 391"
citation: "Tennessee SB 391 (114)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Witnesses"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Hatcher"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 18
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2025-01-28"
last_action: "2025-04-30"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/855f43b6-3146-4e1f-a460-5546684dcf39"
source_url: "https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/Default?BillNumber=SB0391&ga=114"
source_hash: "06cf8bb90e222bdcff4e6c82aa0c1e00530157e65eb0d890311d19bafdb195fc"
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 391 (114) — Witnesses - As enacted, establishes procedures for the use of certified facility dogs during witness testimony and other court proceedings; establishes standards for certified facility dogs. - Amends TCA Title 24; Title 36; Title 37 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/SB0391.pdf)

## Votes

- FLOOR VOTE: Motion to Adopt 3/17/2025 Passed (1) — **32–0** (pass) · upper
- SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Calendar Committee 3/11/2025 Passed (2) — **9–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Hatcher — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2025-01-28** Filed for introduction `filing`
- **2025-02-10** Introduced, Passed on First Consideration `introduction`
- **2025-02-12** Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Judiciary Committee `referral-committee`
- **2025-03-05** Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/11/2025
- **2025-03-11** Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Calendar Committee
- **2025-03-14** Placed on Senate Consent Calendar 2 for 3/17/2025
- **2025-03-17** Engrossed; ready for transmission to House `receipt`
- **2025-03-17** Passed Senate, Ayes 32, Nays 0 `passage`
- **2025-03-20** Rcvd. from S., held on H. desk.
- **2025-03-31** Passed H., Ayes 93, Nays 0, PNV 2 `passage`
- **2025-03-31** Subst. for comp. HB. `substitution`
- **2025-04-01** Enrolled and ready for signatures `enrolled`
- **2025-04-02** Signed by H. Speaker `passage`
- **2025-04-02** Signed by Senate Speaker `passage`
- **2025-04-03** Transmitted to Governor for action. `executive-receipt`
- **2025-04-11** Signed by Governor. `executive-signature`
- **2025-04-30** Effective date(s) 04/11/2025
- **2025-04-30** Pub. Ch. 167

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/855f43b6-3146-4e1f-a460-5546684dcf39`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Tennessee legislature records).