HB 1951 Tennessee House · 114th Regular Session (2025-2026)

Criminal Offenses - As enacted, enacts the "Grace Anne Sparks Coercive Suicide Prevention Law of 2026." - Amends TCA Title 39.

HB 1951 creates a new Class D felony offense called "coercive suicide" for AI owners whose systems advise or encourage a user to commit suicide after the user has communicated suicidal intent. It specifically targets AI systems (including chatbots and generative AI) that generate content like text or images, requiring owners to know or reasonably foresee the risk and negligently allow access. The law applies only to AI entities, not human interactions, and takes effect July 1, 2026. This is a policy change focused on holding AI developers accountable for dangerous system outputs, not general suicide prevention.
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Feb 2, 2026 Last action May 27, 2026
Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
27
Key actions
13
Committee
18
Apr 15, 2026
Lower · Passed
Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/15/2026
lower
Apr 15, 2026
Committee
Rec for pass by s/c ref. to Finance, Ways, and Means Committee
lower
Apr 15, 2026
Lower · Passed
Placed on cal. Finance, Ways, and Means Committee for 4/15/2026
lower
Apr 15, 2026
Lower · Passed
Rec. for pass; ref to Calendar & Rules Committee
lower
Apr 15, 2026
Lower · Passed
Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 4/16/2026
lower
Apr 8, 2026
Lower · Passed
Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/14/2026
lower
Mar 11, 2026
Lower · Passed
Action Def. in s/c Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee to 3/18/2026
lower
Mar 11, 2026
Lower · Passed
Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 3/18/2026
lower
Mar 4, 2026
Lower · Passed
Action Def. in s/c Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee to 3/11/2026
lower
Mar 4, 2026
Lower · Passed
Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 3/11/2026
lower
Feb 25, 2026
Lower · Passed
Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 3/4/2026
lower
Feb 18, 2026
Lower · Passed
Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Finance, Ways, and Means Committee
lower
Feb 18, 2026
Committee
Assigned to s/c Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee
lower
Feb 11, 2026
Committee
Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to Judiciary Committee
lower
Feb 11, 2026
Lower · Passed
Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 2/18/2026
lower
Feb 4, 2026
Committee
P2C, ref. to Judiciary Committee
lower
Feb 4, 2026
Committee
Assigned to s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee
lower
Feb 4, 2026
Lower · Passed
Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 2/11/2026
lower
Feb 2, 2026
Introduced
Intro., P1C.
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Ryan Williams
Ryan Williams
RRepublican
TN
42