Tennessee Bill to Change Self Defense Law Sent to Governor Bill Lee

 Tennessee Capitol 

The Tennessee reform of use of deadly force bill,  SB1847/HB1802 is about to be or has been sent to Governor Bill Lee. The case is instructive about the intricacies of a bill becoming a law.

The Tennessee Legislature passed SB1847 on April 23, the last day of the legislative session. SB1847 includes the right to use deadly force to protect property under certain limited circumstances. In this correspondent’s reading of the law, the legal ability to use deadly force under the bill is not very wide or broad. In the previous law, residents could use force to protect or recover property, but not deadly force.

The new language allows residents to use deadly force to prevent “the other’s imminent commission of arson, burglary, robbery, aggravated robbery, or aggravated cruelty to animals; “if the resident reasonably believes the property cannot otherwise be protected and the use of lesser force would expose the resident or a third party to “a risk of death, serious bodily injury, or grave sexual abuse.”

The initial versions of the law were more radical. They allowed the use of deadly force to prevent trespassing.  They prohibited a person from using deadly force if the suspect was facing away from them. Both instances were radical changes in the use of deadly force law in Tennessee. In the final debates leading to the passage of the bill, both the trespass and “facing away” parts of the bill were removed in the last amendment before both houses passed the bill.

In legislatures across the United States, it is common to have a post-vote process to send the bill to the governor to be signed. An administrator or bureau checks the bill to be sure the language is what was voted on. Then the house and senate leadership sign declarations the bill language is correct. These are checks to insure the legitimacy of the bill. After the legislative leadership signs off on the bill, the bill is sent to the governor for signature. States vary significantly in how long a governor has to sign a bill, and what happens if the governor vetoes the bill, or refuses to sign it.

SB1147 passed with significant super-majorities in both houses. The final votes on the amended bill were: 62-24 in the house, 3 present and not voting; 23-5 in the Senate. The bill final votes occurred on April 23, the last day of the session. The bill was not enrolled (checked and made ready for signatures) until April 30, a week later. The Speaker of the Senate signed the enrolled bill on April 30. The Speaker of the House did not sign the enrolled bill until May 7, 2026.

In Tennessee the bill is automatically sent to the Governor after the signatures.  In Tennessee, the governor has 10 days, excluding Sundays, to veto or sign the bill. If the governor does not veto or sign the bill during the 10 days, it becomes law.  The 10 day clock does not start until the bill is officially received by the governor.

Analysis: The rules for sending the bill to the governor can be used to play legislative games, depending on whether the leaders of the legislature want to see the bill vetoed, want to discredit the governor, or want to insure the bill is made into law. This correspondent has seen legislatures accelerate the process so the governor receives a bill one or two days after the vote. Legislators have been known to delay the process to allow the governor to veto the bill without the concern of a veto override in some states. Sometimes the timing is a matter of convenience, to allow the Governor to arrange a bill signing ceremony, for example.

The two week span to send SB1147 to Governor Bill Lee is a mild cause for concern. It may mean the legislative leaders are not worried about a veto. The Tennessee legislature can override a veto with simple majorities in both houses. It would appear to be an easy thing to do, with the super-majorities which voted for SB1147. Ballotpedia shows of four vetos done in Tennessee from 2010 to 2020, only one was overridden by the legislature.

If Governor Lee officially receives SB1147 on May 8th, he has until May 20 to sign, veto, or allow the bill to become law without his signature.

©2026 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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