This bill creates within the Tennessee bureau of investigation (TBI) a registry of persons who have been convicted of the offense of domestic assault. The TBI must maintain this registry based upon information supplied to TBI by the court clerks pursuant to this bill, and information available to the TBI from the department of correction and local law enforcement agencies. The TBI must make the registry available for public inquiry on the internet.
This bill requires the registry to consist of the person's name, date of birth, conviction date, county or counties of convictions, and a current photograph of the person. If available after reasonable inquiry, the court clerk must provide the TBI with a copy of the person's driver license, or other state or federal identification, and such other identifying data as the TBI determines is necessary to properly identify the convicted person and exclude innocent persons. However, the registry available for public inquiry must not include the person's address, social security number, driver license number, or any other state or federal identification number.
When a person is convicted of, or pleads guilty to, the offense of domestic assault, this bill requires the court to require the defendant to register under this bill if the victim consents to the defendant being required to register. However, the court must not require the defendant to register under this bill if the victim does not consent or if the victim is unavailable. If a court orders a defendant to register under this bill, then the court clerk must forward to the TBI a certified copy of the qualifying conviction and the date of birth of the defendant. The court clerk must forward the information to the TBI within 60 days of the date of the conviction.
In addition to any other punishment that may be imposed for a conviction of the offense of domestic assault, this bill provides that a person required to register under this bill must be assessed a registration fee of $150, which must be paid to the court clerk imposing the sentence, who must then (i) retain $50 for the administration of this bill, which must be reserved for the purposes authorized by this bill at the end of each fiscal year; and (ii) remit $100 to the TBI for the administration of this bill, which must be reserved for the purposes authorized by this bill at the end of each fiscal year.
This bill requires the TBI to remove from the registry the name and other identifying information of persons required to register under this bill as follows:
(1) One year after the date of the first conviction if the defendant has no prior convictions for the offense of domestic assault;
(2) Two years after the date of the most recent conviction if the defendant has a previous conviction for the offense of domestic assault;
(3) Five years after the date of the most recent conviction if the defendant has two previous convictions for the offense of domestic assault;
(4) Ten years after the date of the most recent conviction if the defendant has four or more previous convictions for the offense of domestic assault; or
(5) Within five days of the TBI's receipt of a written request from a victim of the offense to remove the defendant from the registry.
APPLICABILITY
This bill clarifies that it only applies to persons convicted of the offense of domestic assault for offenses committed on or after January 1, 2025.