Present law specifies various criminal offenses for which a court or magistrate may, or is required to, order a criminal defendant to wear a global positioning monitoring system (GPMS) as a condition of bail. This bill adds a requirement that a court or magistrate order a defendant who is charged with any of the following offenses to wear a GPMS device as a condition of bail, unless the court or magistrate finds the offender no longer poses a threat to the alleged victim or public safety: (1) An offense, during the course of which the defendant is alleged to have carried, possessed, or used a firearm or dangerous weapon; (2) An offense, during the course of which a person was killed or suffered serious bodily injury; (3) An offense, during the course of which the defendant is alleged to have used force against the person of another; (4) Domestic assault; (5) Burglary of a freight or passenger car, automobile, truck, trailer, boat, airplane, or other motor vehicle; (6) Reckless driving; (7) Drag racing; or (8) A second or subsequent act of burglary or theft. This bill requires the clerk of each court that orders the use of a GPMS as a bail condition following an arrest for an offense listed in (1) – (8) to report the number of defendants currently subject to such an order and the offenses for which the defendant is awaiting trial on a monthly basis to the administrative office of the courts. This bill requires the administrative office of the courts to compile an annual report from the reports it receives from clerks of court and submit the report to certain committees of the general assembly. Under present law, if a court or magistrate finds probable cause to believe that one or more of the circumstances listed below in (1) – (3) did occur, then unless the court or magistrate finds the offender no longer poses a threat to the alleged victim or public safety and makes such a finding in a written order, the court or magistrate is required to order that a defendant who is charged with the offense of aggravated assault, in which the alleged victim of the offense is a domestic abuse victim, to wear and pay the costs associate with monitoring a GPMS and, if consented to by the victim, pay the cost of providing the victim with a receptor that notifies the victim if the alleged offender comes within a certain distance of the victim as a condition of bail. The circumstances to which such requirements apply are the presence of probable cause to believe the respondent: (1) Caused serious bodily injury to the alleged domestic abuse victim; (2) Strangled or attempted to strangle the alleged domestic abuse victim; or (3) Used or displayed a deadly weapon. This bill adds that the probable cause to believe that one or more of the circumstances or offenses listed in (1) – (8) also triggers the requirement for GPMS and provision of a receptor for the victim, unless the court or magistrate finds the offender no longer poses a threat to the alleged victim or public safety and makes such a finding in a written order. This bill requires that when a magistrate orders a defendant released pending trial, the magistrate must include in the magistrate's order a written record of the factors considered in determining whether to release the defendant on recognizance, upon unsecured bond, with conditions of release, or following the deposit of bail. Under present law, a person who engages in unlawful sexual penetration of a victim knowing that the person is infected with HIV commits the Class A felony offense of aggravated rape. This bill expands the offense to include any disease that is transmitted primarily through sexual practices and is identified in rules and regulations of the department of health as a sexually transmitted disease. Under present law, prior to imposing as a condition of bail providing the victim with a receptor that notifies the victim if the alleged offender comes within a certain distance of the victim, the magistrate is required to provide the victim with certain information concerning the GPMS process. Present law requires an arresting officer to supply substantially similar information to the victim. This bill replaces the requirement that the magistrate provide such information with a requirement that a magistrate who prohibits the defendant from going to or near certain locations as a condition of release at the victim's request, must seal any record of the victim's home address or other exact location provided to the magistrate by the victim. If a magistrate or other judicial official requires a defendant to be subject to GPMS as a condition of release, then this bill prohibits the sheriff's department from releasing the defendant until a qualified contract service provider has installed the GPMS and begun monitoring the defendant's compliance with the conditions of release. This bill requires a law enforcement officer in a marked law enforcement vehicle to do the following in order to initiate a traffic stop: (1) Activate the vehicle's blue lights at the time the officer begins to follow the motor vehicle for the purpose of initiating a traffic stop; and (2) Notify the law enforcement agency's dispatcher that the officer is initiating a traffic stop. This bill requires a law enforcement officer to follow the written policies of the law enforcement agency during any traffic stop. Under present law, criminal offenses involving theft are graded based on the value of the property or services taken. This bill requires that a theft offense be punished one classification higher than otherwise provided if the violation was committed against the property of a first responder or law enforcement officer while the first responder or law enforcement officer is engaged in official duties.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 40-11-152(b)(2), 40-11-152, 40-11-115(a), 40-11-115, 39-13-502(a)(4), 39-13-502, 40-11-152(d), 40-11-152(l), 39-14-105