Environmental & Healthcare Legislative Watch50 States · D.C. · U.S. Congress
From official state and federal legislative records. Informational only, not legal advice.
Now law
This is now an official law, recorded in the state's law books.
The governor signed it. Nothing left to watch.
In plain words
AI summaryWritten by AI from the bill text. Check the official text before relying on it.
Fiscal Summary OTHER FISCAL IMPACT Due to multiple unknown factors, any mandatory and permissive impacts on local government expenditures cannot be determined with reasonable certainty. Article II, Section 24 of the Tennessee Constitution provides that: no law of general application shall impose increased expenditure requirements on cities or counties unless the General Assembly shall provide that the state share in the cost. Bill Summary This bill allows a jailer to refuse to accept into the jail an arrestee if the arrestee requires medical attention and has been arrested for a misdemeanor that does not constitute a crime against a person. If the jailer refuses to accept an arrestee pursuant to this provision, the arresting agency must have the arrestee evaluated by a healthcare provider. If the provider releases the arrestee and specifies that the arrestee no longer requires medical attention or is medically able to be confined to a jail, then the jailer must accept the arrestee into the jail. Further, this bill clarifies that a jailer refusing an arrestee pursuant to these provisions is not in contempt of court. ON MARCH 19, 2026, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 1815, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #1 rewrites the bill, to instead, authorize a sheriff, jail administrator, or deputy jailer to refuse or delay acceptance into the jail an arrestee if the arrestee has not received medical treatment for obvious serious physical injuries or conditions of an emergency nature. Upon refusal or delay, the sheriff, jail administrator, or deputy jailer must document the factual basis for the determination, and it is the responsibility of the arresting law enforcement agency to obtain medical attention for the arrestee prior to delivery to the jail. This amendment requires, upon medical release by the healthcare
