Bail, Bail Bonds

Plain English Breakdown

The candidate explanation included terms like 'probable cause' which are not directly relevant to the main provisions of the bill as per the official summary.

Global Positioning Monitoring for Certain Offenses

This bill requires courts to order defendants accused of certain offenses to wear a GPS monitoring device as a condition of bail unless they no longer pose a threat to the victim or public safety.

What This Bill Does

• Requires courts and magistrates to order defendants charged with specific crimes, such as carrying weapons during an offense, domestic assault, burglary of vehicles, reckless driving, drag racing, and repeat theft or burglary offenses, to wear GPS monitoring devices if they are released on bail.
• Specifies that the court must find the defendant no longer poses a threat to the victim or public safety before it can decide not to order GPS monitoring.
• Requires clerks in each court to report monthly how many defendants are wearing GPS monitors and what crimes they were charged with.
• Directs the administrative office of the courts to compile an annual report on the number of defendants using GPS devices, including totals for each county, and submit it by July 1st each year.

Who It Names or Affects

• Defendants accused of specific offenses listed in the bill who are released on bail.
• Courts and magistrates responsible for setting bail conditions.
• Clerks of courts required to report monthly data.
• The administrative office of the courts tasked with compiling annual reports.

Terms To Know

Global Positioning Monitoring

A system that uses GPS technology to track a person's location and movements.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify what happens if a defendant cannot afford the GPS monitoring device.
• It is unclear how this will affect defendants who are charged with offenses but not yet convicted.

Official Summary Text

Following the arrest of a defendant fo
r any of the following offenses, this bill requires the court or magistrate to order the defendant to wear a global positioning monitoring system device as a condition of bail, unless the court or magistrate finds the offender no longer posses a threat to

the alleged victim or public safety:



An offense, during the course of
which (i) t
he defendant carrie
d
, possessed, or used a firearm or dangerous weapon
; (ii) a
person was killed or suffered serious bodily injury
; or (iii) t
he defendant used force against the person of another



Domestic assault



Burglary of a freight or passenger car, automobile, truck, trailer, boat, airplane, or other motor vehicle



Reckless driving



Drag Racing



A second or subsequent offense
constituting
burglary or theft
offenses

Thi
s bill requires the clerk of each court that orders the use of
global positioning monitoring pursuant to
this bill 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. The administrative office of the courts
must
compile an annual report of the number of defendants subject to such an order, including totals for each county, to be submitted to the criminal justice commit
tee of the house of representatives and the judiciary committee of the senate by July 1 of each year.

Current Bill Text

SENATE BILL 388
By Taylor

HOUSE BILL 358
By Hardaway

HB0358
000011
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39;
Title 40; Title 55; Chapter 969 of the Public Acts of
2024 and Chapter 1033 of the Public Acts of 2024,
relative to global positioning monitoring.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 40, Chapter 11, Part 1, is amended by
adding the following new section:
(a) Following the arrest of a person for an offense listed in subsection (b), the
court or magistrate shall order the defendant to wear a global positioning monitoring
system device as a condition of bail as set forth in § 40-11-152(b)(2), unless the court or
magistrate finds the offender no longer poses a threat to the alleged victim or public
safety.
(b) This section applies to a defendant arrested for:
(1) An offense, during the course of which:
(A) The defendant carried, possessed, or used a firearm or
dangerous weapon;
(B) A person was killed or suffered serious bodily injury; or
(C) The defendant used force against the person of another;
(2) Domestic assault, under § 39-13-111;
(3) Burglary of a freight or passenger car, automobile, truck, trailer, boat,
airplane, or other motor vehicle, under § 39-13-1002(a)(4);
(4) Reckless driving, under § 55-10-205;
(5) Drag racing, under § 55-10-502; or

- 2 - 000011

(6) A second or subsequent offense under title 39, chapter 13, part 10 or
title 39, chapter 14, part 1.
(c) The clerk of each court that orders the use of global positioning monitoring
pursuant to subsection (a) shall 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. The administrative office of the courts
shall compile an annual report of the number of defendants subject to such an order,
including totals for each county, to be submitted to the criminal justice committee of the
house of representatives and the judiciary committee of the senate by July 1 of each
year.
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 40-11-152(b)(2), is amended by
deleting the language:
Pursuant to § 40-11-150(n), if the court or magistrate finds probable cause to
believe that one (1) or more of the circumstances in§ 40-11-150(n)(1) 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 shall order a defendant who is charged with the offense of aggravated
assault, as defined in § 39-13-102(a)(1)(A)(i), (a)(1)(A)(iii), or (a)(1)(A)(iv), in which the
alleged victim of the offense is a domestic abuse victim, as defined in § 36-3-601, to do
the following as a condition of bail:
and substituting instead:
Pursuant to § 40-11-150(n) and SECTION 1, if the court or magistrate finds
probable cause to believe that one (1) or more of the circumstances in § 40-11-150(n)(1)
or SECTION 1(b) 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

- 3 - 000011

written order, the court or magistrate shall order the defendant to do the following as a
condition of bail:
SECTION 3. This act takes effect July 1, 2025, the public welfare requiring it.