- HB 2656 (Truth in Sentencing): Provides certainty to victims of violent crimes that the criminals who victimized them will stay behind bars for the entirety of their sentence. Certain violent offenders will serve 100% of their sentence before release:
- Attempted first degree murder
- Second degree murder
- Vehicular homicide resulting from the driver’s intoxication
- Aggravated vehicular homicide
- Especially aggravated kidnapping
- Especially aggravated robbery
- Carjacking
- Especially aggravated burglary
- It would also require additional violent offenders to serve 100% of their sentences before release; however, these additional offenders may reduce this requirement to 85% of their sentences by satisfactorily completing an educational, vocational, or substance use disorder program. These offenses include:
- Intentional or knowing aggravated assault involving the use or display of a deadly weapon
- Intentional or knowing aggravated assault involving strangulation or attempted strangulation.
- Aggravated assault against a first responder or nurse that results in serious bodily injury to the first responder or nurse
- Aggravated assault against a first responder or nurse that results in the death of the first responder or nurse
- Aggravated assault against a first responder or nurse involving the use of a deadly weapon
- Aggravated assault against a first responder or nurse involving strangulation or attempted strangulation.
- Voluntary manslaughter
- Vehicular homicide creating a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury, the conduct constitutes the offense of drag racing, or within a posted construction zone where the person killed was a Department of Transportation employee or a highway construction worker.
- Reckless homicide
- HB 2147: Patronizing commercial sexual exploitation of a minor or someone with a developmental disability is now a Class A felony.
- HB 2306 (Joe Clyde Daniels Act): Requires the board of parole, in making a parole determination for an offender convicted of a homicide, to consider whether the offender obstructed or continues to obstruct the ability of law enforcement to recover the remains of the victim.
- HB 2573: Requires a person who is convicted of a human trafficking offense to obtain a driver license or photo identification license that bears a designation sufficient to enable a law enforcement officer to identify the bearer of the license as a person who has been convicted of a human trafficking offense.
- Appropriations:
- $16M – 100 new TN Highway Patrol positions
- $179M – Constructs TN Advanced Communications Network for emergency communication statewide
- $4.2M – Increases human trafficking investigation positions
- Correctional facility officer salaries become the highest in the Southeast by raising existing salaries & raising starting salary to $44,500
