HB 2279

Except in the case of a Class A felony offense, this bill requires a criminal offense to be punished one classification higher than otherwise provided by law if all of the following criteria is met:  The offense is committed by an agent of a foreign adversary or a foreign terrorist organization while acting knowingly at the direction of, on behalf of, or under the influence of the foreign adversary or foreign terrorist organization or a proxy of the foreign adversary or foreign terrorist organization.  The offense is committed with the intent to (i) coerce a person to act on behalf of a foreign adversary or foreign terrorist organization; (ii) coerce a person to leave the United States or cause another person to leave the United States; (iii) cause a person to forebear from engaging in constitutionally protected conduct; or (iv) retaliate against a person for engaging in constitutionally protected conduct.  The offense is not protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. As used in this bill, foreign adversaries and foreign terrorist organizations are determined according to federal law. At present, the following are designated as foreign adversaries:  The People's Republic of China, including the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macau Special Administrative Region (China).  Republic of Cuba (Cuba).  Islamic Republic of Iran (Iran).  Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea).  Russian Federation (Russia).  Venezuelan politician Nicolás Maduro (Maduro Regime). RULINGS OR DECISIONS BASED ON FOREIGN LAW This bill provides that a ruling or decision of a state court, arbitration panel, tribunal, or administrative agency that is based in whole or in part on a foreign law is void and unenforceable in this state if it would deny a party a liberty, right, or privilege guaranteed by the Constitution of Tennessee or the United States Constitution. Likewise, a contract or contractual provision that is based in whole or in part on a foreign law is void and unenforceable in this state if it would deny a party a l ib erty, right, or privilege guaranteed by the Constitution of Tennessee or the United States Constitution. This bill creates a Class D felony offense for intentionally engaging in the prevention, detection, investigation, monitoring, surveilling, or prosecution of an offense under the law or rule of a foreign adversary or foreign terrorist organization in viol ation of the laws of this state or the United States without the knowledge and approval of a state or federal law enforcement agency that is authorized to give such approval. However, the offense classification is raised to a Class C felony if, at the ti me the offense was committed, the person was acting as an agent of a foreign adversary government or an agent of a foreign terrorist organization. TRAINING PROGRAM On or before July 1, 2027, this bill authorizes the Tennessee bureau of investigation (TBI) to provide or adopt a training program for transnational-repression recognition and response and make the training program available for use by all law enforcemen t agencies in this state. The TBI may obtain a training program for transnational repression recognition and response from another state or federal governmental unit, or from a non-governmental entity that specializes in such training. The training may be updated to address emerging threats and specific information on tactics used by specific foreign governments. As used in this bill, "transnational repression"" means an act emanating from or attributable to a foreign adversary or foreign terrorist organization that meets all of the following criteria:  Is committed by an agent of that foreign adversary or foreign terrorist organization.  Is committed with the intent to harass, intimidate, censor, or otherwise extend the foreign adversary's or foreign terrorist organization's ability to influence, control, or impose the foreign adversary's or foreign terrorist organization's preferences on the behavior of individuals outside of the foreign adversary's territorial jurisdiction, if applicable.  Is committed either (i) directly by means of physical contact, threats, or electronic targeting or (ii) indirectly by means such as actual or credible threats of collective punishment or harassment of other individuals under the regime's effective control, financial coercion, abuse of administrative processes, selective prosecution of laws of general application, or the use or direction of social media and telecommunications entities. PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN This bill authorizes the TBI to develop and implement a public awareness campaign to inform members of the public about how to identify and report instances of transnational repression, as well as tools and remedies that are available for victims of tran snational repression. If implemented, the public awareness campaign must include all of the following:  A centralized and easy to find website for reporting purposes that is advertised widely to the public.  Reporting mechanisms available in multiple languages, including in the languages of communities that are frequently the victims of transnational repression.  Annual reporting on the number of complaints received and outcomes, as well as instances of foreign interference in the reporting process. The TBI must provide such reports to the governor and the general assembly in unredacted form. The TBI must make such reports available to the public, but may provide the publicly available reports in redacted form to protect ongoing criminal investigations and the identities of victims. STATE AGENCIES This bill requires each state agency to include information on transnational repression in agency policies and procedures and provide for direct complaints of transnational repression to be made to a representative of the agency. ON MARCH 26, 2026, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 2279, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #1 makes the following changes:  Removes the specific reference to Sharia law in the definition of ""foreign law.""  Removes the authorization for the Tennessee bureau of investigation to provide or adopt a training program for transnational-repression recognition and response .  Changes the effective date from effective upon becoming a law to July 1, 2026."