---
type: "Bill"
title: "Capital Punishment - As enacted, redefines the term \"intellectual disability\" for purposes of determining eligibility for the death penalty; allows certain defendants sentenced to death prior to the effective date of this act to petition the trial court for a determination as to whether the defendant is intellectually disabled. - Amends TCA Title 39 and Title 40."
description: "Capital Punishment - As enacted, redefines the term \"intellectual disability\" for purposes of determining eligibility for the death penalty; allows certain defendants sentenced to death prior to the effective date of this act to petition the trial court for a determination as to whether the defendant is intellectually disabled. - Amends TCA Title 39 and Title 40."
jurisdiction: "us/states/tn"
legislature: "Tennessee General Assembly"
session: "112"
identifier: "SB 1349"
citation: "Tennessee SB 1349 (112)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Capital Punishment"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Gardenhire", "Hawk"]
version_count: 4
action_count: 55
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2021-02-10"
last_action: "2021-05-18"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/d48e3c47-f0d9-4aca-8852-139e22535a2f"
source_url: "http://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/default.aspx?BillNumber=SB1349&GA=112"
source_hash: "eddac9ebd7f335507a6ea29af161b7a7c10dd70da7520e8002679bb1cd8b495d"
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 1349 (112) — Capital Punishment - As enacted, redefines the term "intellectual disability" for purposes of determining eligibility for the death penalty; allows certain defendants sentenced to death prior to the effective date of this act to petition the trial court for a determination as to whether the defendant is intellectually disabled. - Amends TCA Title 39 and Title 40.

## Version chain

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

1. **Amendment HA0341** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/112/Amend/HA0341.pdf)
2. **Amendment HA0348** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/112/Amend/HA0348.pdf)
3. **Amendment SA0326** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/112/Amend/SA0326.pdf)
4. **Current Version** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/112/Bill/SB1349.pdf)

## Votes

- HOUSE CALENDAR & RULES COMMITTEE: H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/26/2021 4/22/2021 (2) — **0–0** (fail) · lower
- HOUSE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SUBCOMMITTEE: Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to Criminal Justice Committee 4/7/2021 (4) — **0–0** (fail) · lower
- SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 7, Nays 1 PNV 0 4/13/2021 Passed — **7–1** (pass) · upper
- HOUSE CRIMINAL JUSTICE COMMITTEE: Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee 4/14/2021 (3) — **0–0** (pass) · lower
- FLOOR VOTE: Third Consideration 4/26/2021 Passed (1) — **29–0** (pass) · upper
- FLOOR VOTE: REGULAR CALENDAR AS AMENDED PASSAGE ON THIRD CONSIDERATION 4/26/2021 Passed (1) — **89–4** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Gardenhire — primary (person)
- Hawk — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2021-02-10** Filed for introduction `introduction, reading-1`
- **2021-02-11** Introduced, Passed on First Consideration `introduction`
- **2021-02-11** Filed for introduction `introduction, reading-1`
- **2021-02-11** Intro., P1C. `introduction`
- **2021-02-22** Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Judiciary Committee
- **2021-02-22** Assigned to s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee `referral-committee`
- **2021-02-22** P2C, ref. to Criminal Justice Committee `referral-committee`
- **2021-03-03** Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/9/2021
- **2021-03-04** Sponsor(s) Added.
- **2021-03-08** Sponsor(s) Added.
- **2021-03-09** Assigned to General Subcommittee of Senate Judiciary Committee `referral-committee`
- **2021-03-10** Sponsor(s) Added.
- **2021-03-10** Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 3/17/2021
- **2021-03-17** Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/23/2021
- **2021-03-17** Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 3/24/2021
- **2021-03-17** Action Def. in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee to 3/24/2021
- **2021-03-23** Action deferred in Senate Judiciary Committee to 3/30/2021
- **2021-03-24** Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/30/2021
- **2021-03-24** Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 3/31/2021
- **2021-03-24** Action Def. in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee to 3/31/2021
- **2021-03-30** Action deferred in Senate Judiciary Committee to 4/6/2021
- **2021-03-31** Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 4/6/2021
- **2021-03-31** Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 4/7/2021
- **2021-03-31** Action Def. in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee to 4/7/2021
- **2021-04-05** Sponsor(s) Added.
- **2021-04-06** Action deferred in Senate Judiciary Committee to 4/7/2021
- **2021-04-06** Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 4/7/2021
- **2021-04-07** Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 4/13/2021
- **2021-04-07** Reset on Final calendar of Senate Judiciary Committee
- **2021-04-07** Placed on cal. Criminal Justice Committee for 4/14/2021
- **2021-04-07** Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to Criminal Justice Committee `referral-committee`
- **2021-04-13** Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 7, Nays 1 PNV 0
- **2021-04-14** Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-04-21** Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 4/22/2021
- **2021-04-22** H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/26/2021
- **2021-04-23** Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 4/26/2021
- **2021-04-26** Companion House Bill substituted
- **2021-04-26** Sponsor(s) Added.
- **2021-04-26** Passed Senate, Ayes 28, Nays 1 `passage`
- **2021-04-26** Amendment withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - SA0326)
- **2021-04-26** Senate substituted House Bill for companion Senate Bill.
- **2021-04-26** Received from House, Passed on First Consideration `introduction`
- **2021-04-26** Engrossed; ready for transmission to Sen.
- **2021-04-26** Passed H., as am., Ayes 89, Nays 4, PNV 1 `passage`
- **2021-04-26** H. adopted am. (Amendment 1 - HA0348) `amendment-passage`
- **2021-04-26** Am. withdrawn. (Amendment 2 - HA0341) `amendment-withdrawal`
- **2021-04-26** Sponsor(s) Added.
- **2021-04-28** Enrolled; ready for sig. of H. Speaker.
- **2021-04-30** Signed by H. Speaker
- **2021-05-03** Signed by Senate Speaker
- **2021-05-04** Transmitted to Governor for his action. `executive-receipt`
- **2021-05-11** Signed by Governor. `executive-signature`
- **2021-05-18** Comp. became Pub. Ch. 399
- **2021-05-18** Effective date(s) 05/11/2021
- **2021-05-18** Pub. Ch. 399

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/d48e3c47-f0d9-4aca-8852-139e22535a2f`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Tennessee legislature records).