July 1st, 2016 Effective Legislation
Budget
· Budget / Makes the largest investment in K-12 education without a tax increase in Tennessee’s history. It builds up state reserves, puts Tennessee on the path to catch up on long-deferred maintenance of buildings, reinvests in the state workforce and focuses one-time dollars on reducing the state’s ongoing costs. It includes no new debt and all capital projects are funded with cash. The budget reduces the Hall Income Tax from six percent to five percent, with anticipation of at least a one percent reduction each year until total elimination by January 1, 2022. It also provides for property tax relief by increasing the value level for low-income elderly Tennesseans and removes the income qualifier for 100 percent disabled veterans. (Majority Leader Mark Norris) Public Chapter 758
DUI
· DUI / Carjacking / Strengthens penalties for multiple DUI offenders and carjackers -elevates a DUI offense for those convicted 6 or more times from a class E felony to a class C felony - requires prior convictions for alcohol-related vehicle offenses, including those committed out-of-state, to be counted as prior convictions - requires any person convicted of carjacking to serve 75% of the sentence imposed - reduces the simple possession or casual exchange of marijuana to a misdemeanor rather than a felony (Chairman Randy McNally) Public Chapter 758
· DUI / Conviction History / Requires immediate sharing of an impaired driver’s DUI arrest and conviction history with law enforcement, the courts and the National Crime Information Centers requires immediate sharing of an impaired driver’s DUI arrest and conviction history with law enforcement, the courts and the National Crime Information Centers to ensure multiple offenders - makes the information accessible by law enforcement officers in their squad cars to check the criminal background of arrestees (NCIC) (Majority Leader Mark Norris) Public Chapter 1075
· DUI / Fingerprints / Calls for timely transmission of fingerprints taken for vehicular impairment offenses (Majority Leader Mark Norris) Public Chapter 718
· DUI / Ignition Interlock Devices / Requires a judge to order an ignition interlock device for all convicted DUI offenders unless the judge provides a finding of fact to not order the device - offenders must have the ignition interlock devices in their car and operating for 365 consecutive days or the offender must start over until the time is served consecutively - if there has been any tampering with the device in the last 120 days of the sentence, the period for which the interlock system is required will be extended by another 120 days (Senator John Stevens) Public Chapter 888
· DUI / Interlock Assistance / Authorizes the use of the state’s Interlock Assistance Fund for transdermal monitoring devices or other alternative alcohol or drug monitoring devices when a court determines that an offender is unable to pay for it (Senator Doug Overbey) Public Chapter 993
· DUI / Transdermal Monitoring / Gives judges discretion to order monitoring for 1st time DUI offenders - any device a judge believes necessary to ensure that the offender complies with probation conditions and a clinical assessment to cover drugs (Senator Doug Overbey) Public Chapter 653
· DUI Memorial Signing Program / Creates a Driving Under the Influence (DUI) memorial signing program to erect and maintain memorial signs on the non-interstate highways commemorating residents who died as a result of DUI related incident (Senator Kerry Roberts) Public Chapter 1039
· DUI / Disclosure / Requires law enforcement agencies to have a procedure describing when personnel may disclose to the public the use of drugs or alcohol by a driver as a contributing factor in a motor vehicle accident (Senator Kerry Roberts) Public Chapter 756
Abortion
· Abortion / Consent / Clarifies consent is required for medical experiments or research of aborted fetus (Senator Joey Hensley) Public Chapter 986
Human Sex Trafficking
· Human Sex Trafficking / Penalties / Increases penalties for traffickers who promote another for prostitution to a class E felony and requires the offender to register as a sex offender - clarifies the offense of promoting prostitution so victims are not unduly punished – helps to ensure DCS can provide services to minor victims (Senator Doug Overbey) Public Chapter 979
Child Abuse / Child Sexual Abuse / Sex Offenders
· Rape of a Child / Adds aggravated rape of a child and rape of a child as offenses for which aggravated sexual battery is a lesser included offense (Senator Paul Bailey) Public Chapter 671
· Statute of Limitations / Aggravated Statutory Rape / Extends the statute of limitations for aggravated statutory rape to 15 years after the victim turns 18 years of age (Senator Todd Gardenhire) Public Chapter 958
· Statutory Rape / Increases penalty for statutory rape by an authority figure from a class C felony to a class B felony if the victim is 13 to 18 years of age and if there is more than a 4 year difference (Majority Leader Mark Norris) Public Chapter 1086
· Sexual Contact by an Authority Figure / Expands the requirements for the offense of sexual contact by an authority figure – closes a loophole and expands the offense to cover all minors under the age of 18 (Senator Janice Bowling) Public Chapter 1038
· Severe Child Abuse / Statute of Limitations / Extends the statute of limitations to 10 years after the child reaches 18 years of age for aggravated child abuse, child neglect and endangerment to allow the child to face their abuser as an adult (Senator Mark Green) Public Chapter 1032
· Child Abuse / Gives equal protection to all Tennessee children from abuse, neglect and endangerment by repealing religious exemption defense (Senator Richard Briggs) Public Chapter 951
· Domestic Assault / Child Abuse / Statute of Limitations / Adds child abuse, neglect and endangerment, as well as domestic assault, to the list of offenses in Tennessee for which pretrial diversion is not permitted (Chairman Ken Yager) Public Chapter 586
· Sex Offenders / Unlawful Photographing / Allows a judge to add those who unlawfully photograph a person for sexual gratification to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s (TBI) Sex Offender Registry for up to 10 years (Senator Jim Tracy) Public Chapter 941
Drugs / Opioid Abuse
· Butane Hash Oil (BHO) / Shatter / Defines the dangerous and more potent form of marijuana and creates a Class E felony for knowingly manufacturing it (Senator Doug Overbey) Public Chapter 1014
· Marijuana Oils and Concentrates / Clarifies that marijuana concentrates and oils are defined as marijuana and are under the state’s Tennessee Drug Control Act to keep Tennessee’s statute up-to-date with the recent increase in different and dangerous forms of the drug (Senator Mae Beavers) Public Chapter 873
Crime
· Juvenile Crime / Reporting / Gives the Department of Children’s Services direction in collecting information required under a 2007 law so that adequate data on juvenile probation, recidivism, system penetration information and evidenced-based services information can shed more light on how to keep young offenders from moving into a cycle of crime (Majority Leader Mark Norris) Public Chapter 1005
· Autopsies / Provides that a district attorney can request an autopsy (Senator Doug Overbey) Public Chapter 799
· Evading Arrest / Penalties / Sets tougher penalties for evading arrest - makes it a class E felony unless the evasion creates a risk of death or injury to innocent bystanders, law enforcement officers or 3rd parties in which case it would be class D felony (Chairman Jim Tracy) Public Chapter 633
· Vandalism / State of Emergency / Broadens the sentencing enhancement for committing theft during a declared state of emergency to include class C felony vandalism offenses (Senator Frank Niceley) Public Chapter 934
Courts / Court Process
· Pre-Trial Diversion / Allows judges to impose a condition on pretrial diversion of jail time not to exceed 30 days as “shock incarceration” (Chairman Jack Johnson) Public Chapter 1026
· Child Support / Custody / Allows for a case involving child support or custody provisions to be transferred between counties if the requesting party has served the non-requesting party with the filing seeking transfer and non-requesting party has not filed an objection within 15 days (Senator Doug Overbey) Public Chapter 668
· Uniformed Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets / Sets the framework for how provisions can be made by persons, while living, for alternative access to digital assets such as Facebook, Linked-In and email accounts (Majority Leader Mark Norris) Public Chapter 570
· Parental Termination / Public Records / Provides cases involving the termination of parental rights the same level of confidentiality as cases filed in juvenile court (Senator Doug Overbey) Public Chapter 659
· Public Pensions / Divorce / Authorizes all public pension and retirement plans to allocate a portion of the member’s benefits to the his or her former spouse (Senator Doug Overbey) Public Chapter 931
· Waiver of Preliminary Hearing / Grant the state the right to make timely objections to a defendant’s waiver of a preliminary hearing to the satisfaction of a judge (Chairman Ken Yager) Public Chapter 329
K-12 Education
· Testing Transparency / Allows teachers, parents and students the ability to obtain 70 % or more of the question from standardized test in grades 8 and 10 – 11th graders can retake ACT or SAT free of charge (Senator Ferrell Haile) Public Chapter 844
· Student Privacy / Vendors of education software and internet services must protect K-12 student’s privacy while handling data (Senator Steve Dickerson) Public Chapter 757
· STEM Schools / Simplifies the transfer of students, and the BEP funding that follows them, to regional Science Technology Engineering Mathematics (STEM) Schools (Senator Becky Massey) Public Chapter 882
· Dyslexia / Calls for universal dyslexia screening for students and a Dyslexia Advisory Council (Chairman Dolores Gresham) Public Chapter 1058
Student Safety
· School Buses / Strengthens penalties against school bus drivers who use a cellphone or other electronic device while transporting students (Senator Becky Massey) Public Chapter 1036
· Defibrillators / Ensures school personnel have training in how to use automatic external defibrillators (Senator Doug Overbey) Public Chapter 677
· Suicide Prevention / Addresses suicide among young people by requiring LEA employees to attend training that already takes place for teachers and principals (Senator Kerry Roberts) Public Chapter 623
· Bullying / Requires school policy include referral for counseling, expanding current reporting requirements and encourages LEAs to review their policy prohibiting harassment, intimidation, bullying or cyberbullying (Chairman Bill Ketron) Public Chapter 783
Higher Education
· FOCUS Act / Creates the Focus on College and University Success (FOCUS) Act to provide a sharpened focus on the governance of Tennessee’s 13 community colleges and 27 colleges of applied technology (TCATs), while granting four-year state universities additional autonomy (Majority Leader Mark Norris) Public Chapter 869
· From 2015 Legislative Session -- Community College / Reconnect Grants / Launches a pilot program to help adults complete their degree in Tennessee’s community colleges and provides last-dollar scholarship assistance to adults who want to return to community college and complete their associate’s degree in applied science colleges, 27 colleges of applied technology or other eligible institutions offering an associate degree program (Majority Leader Mark Norris) Public Chapter 363
· From 2015 Legislative Session - University of Memphis / Adds the University of Memphis to the provisions of state law that applies to Austin Peay State University to give in-state tuition to residents who live in neighboring counties outside the state which are adjacent to Shelby County (Majority Leader Mark Norris) Public Chapter 447
Taxes
· Professional Privilege Tax / Requires the Department of Revenue to properly notify those owing a professional privilege tax (Senator John Stevens) Public Chapter 1010
Jobs / Commerce
· Rural Economic Opportunity Act / Spurs economic development in some of the state’s most economically distressed counties by restructuring the county tier system used for determining job tax credits – Budget provides $10 million for the Rural Economic Opportunity Propelling Rural Economic Progress (PREP) program fund which is a grant to aid rural counties in building sites and infrastructure to incentivize business to develop in their region (Majority Leader Mark Norris) Public Chapter 1019
· Autonomous Vehicles / Defines autonomous vehicles and technology to help recruit research, testing and manufacture of the vehicles in Tennessee (Senator Mark Green) Public Chapter 927
Business / Workers
· Asbestos Bankruptcy Claims Transparency Act / Protects those who have been injured by making sure that people who are actually sick go to the front of the line to recover damages for their injuries – also sets up a way for injured claimants to get their lawsuits through the court system efficiently, but makes sure that there is no double dipping on claims paid from the Trust Fund (Senator John Stevens) Public Chapter 635
· Worker’s Compensation / Improves worker’s compensation reforms adopted in 2013 - changes the injury notification requirement for workplace injuries from 30 days to 15 days to encourage workers to more timely notify their employer if they have been injured on the job - provides additional protections for workers by authorizing a worker’s compensation judge to award medical and/or disability benefits that have been wrongly denied during an expedited compensation hearing - encourages more employers to participate in the Tennessee Drug Free Workplace Act - allows the Division of Worker’s Compensation to hire attorneys as ombudsman to help navigate the system (Majority Leader Mark Norris) Public Chapter 1056
· Unemployment Claims / Requires the Department of Labor and Workforce Development to audit all claims to ensure that those receiving benefits are applying to a minimum of three places of employment per week or visiting a qualifying career center(Senator Mark Green) Public Chapter 1063
Consumers
· Cybersecurity / Tightens up state law regarding breach notification requirements to protect consumers (Chairman Bill Ketron) Public Chapter 692
· Identity Theft / Prohibits registers of deeds from disclosing personal information to help guard against identity theft (Chairman Jack Johnson) Public Chapter 914