republic-os/legislation/us/states/tn/111/hb-966.md

---
type: "Bill"
title: "Death - As enacted, authorizes the development and use of a commemorative certificate of nonviable birth. - Amends TCA Title 63 and Title 68."
description: "Death - As enacted, authorizes the development and use of a commemorative certificate of nonviable birth. - Amends TCA Title 63 and Title 68."
jurisdiction: "us/states/tn"
legislature: "Tennessee General Assembly"
session: "111"
identifier: "HB 966"
citation: "Tennessee HB 966 (111)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Death"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Bell", "Cochran"]
version_count: 4
action_count: 41
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2019-02-05"
last_action: "2019-04-24"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/e4e2ecdd-1d08-4905-876f-3d0b1eb688c5"
source_url: "http://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/default.aspx?BillNumber=HB0966&GA=111"
source_hash: "3856bf6c0c7fc971f420791d758a21632402bd98fbc6cb076818c8c1c7d4037f"
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 966 (111) — Death - As enacted, authorizes the development and use of a commemorative certificate of nonviable birth. - Amends TCA Title 63 and Title 68.

## Version chain

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

1. **Amendment HA0185** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/111/Amend/HA0185.pdf)
2. **Amendment HA0186** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/111/Amend/HA0186.pdf)
3. **Amendment SA0108** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/111/Amend/SA0108.pdf)
4. **Current Version** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/111/Bill/HB0966.pdf)

## Votes

- FLOOR VOTE: as Amended Third Consideration 3/21/2019 Passed (1) — **29–0** (pass) · upper
- HOUSE HEALTH COMMITTEE: Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee 3/26/2019 (3) — **0–0** (pass) · lower
- FLOOR VOTE: REGULAR CALENDAR PASSAGE ON THIRD CONSIDERATION 4/1/2019 Passed (1) — **83–5** (pass) · lower
- SENATE HEALTH AND WELFARE COMMITTEE: Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 7, Nays 0 PNV 0 3/13/2019 Passed (2) — **7–0** (pass) · upper
- HOUSE CALENDAR & RULES COMMITTEE: H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/1/2019 3/28/2019 (2) — **0–0** (fail) · lower
- HOUSE PUBLIC HEALTH SUBCOMMITTEE: Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to Health Committee 3/13/2019 (4) — **0–0** (fail) · lower

## Sponsors

- Bell — primary (person)
- Cochran — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2019-02-05** Filed for introduction `reading-1, introduction`
- **2019-02-06** Intro., P1C. `introduction`
- **2019-02-07** P2C, ref. to Health Committee `referral-committee`
- **2019-02-07** Introduced, Passed on First Consideration `introduction`
- **2019-02-07** Filed for introduction `reading-1, introduction`
- **2019-02-11** Assigned to s/c Public Health Subcommittee `referral-committee`
- **2019-02-11** Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Health and Welfare Committee
- **2019-02-20** Placed on s/c cal Public Health Subcommittee for 2/27/2019
- **2019-02-20** Placed on Senate Health and Welfare Committee calendar for 2/27/2019
- **2019-02-27** Action Def. in s/c Public Health Subcommittee to 3/13/2019
- **2019-02-27** Placed on Senate Health and Welfare Committee calendar for 3/6/2019
- **2019-02-27** Action deferred in Senate Health and Welfare Committee to 3/6/2019
- **2019-03-06** Placed on s/c cal Public Health Subcommittee for 3/13/2019
- **2019-03-06** Placed on Senate Health and Welfare Committee calendar for 3/13/2019
- **2019-03-06** Action deferred in Senate Health and Welfare Committee to 3/13/2019
- **2019-03-13** Placed on cal. Health Committee for 3/19/2019
- **2019-03-13** Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to Health Committee `referral-committee`
- **2019-03-13** Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 7, Nays 0 PNV 0
- **2019-03-19** Action def. in Health Committee to 3/26/2019
- **2019-03-19** Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 3/21/2019
- **2019-03-20** Placed on cal. Health Committee for 3/26/2019
- **2019-03-21** Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 29, Nays 0, PNV 4 `passage`
- **2019-03-21** Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 1 - SA0108)
- **2019-03-22** Engrossed; ready for transmission to House
- **2019-03-25** Rcvd. from S., held on H. desk.
- **2019-03-26** Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2019-03-27** Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 3/28/2019
- **2019-03-28** H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/1/2019
- **2019-04-01** Comp. SB subst.
- **2019-04-01** Passed H., Ayes 83, Nays 5, PNV 3 `passage`
- **2019-04-01** Am. withdrawn. (Amendment 2 - HA0186) `amendment-withdrawal`
- **2019-04-01** Am. withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - HA0185) `amendment-withdrawal`
- **2019-04-01** Subst. for comp. HB.
- **2019-04-04** Enrolled and ready for signatures
- **2019-04-08** Signed by Senate Speaker
- **2019-04-09** Signed by H. Speaker
- **2019-04-10** Transmitted to Governor for action.
- **2019-04-18** Signed by Governor. `executive-signature`
- **2019-04-24** Comp. became Pub. Ch. 156
- **2019-04-24** Pub. Ch. 156
- **2019-04-24** Effective date(s) 04/18/2019

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/e4e2ecdd-1d08-4905-876f-3d0b1eb688c5`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Tennessee legislature records).