Criminal Procedure

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details on enforcement mechanisms by local government entities.

Tennessee Act on Criminal Monitoring Devices

This act requires defendants who are not considered indigent to pay for monitoring devices as part of pretrial release or probation conditions.

What This Bill Does

• Requires defendants ordered to wear a monitoring device during pretrial release to pay all fees related to the device if they are not determined by the court to be indigent.
• Specifies that failure to make payments within five days after the due date can lead to termination of device monitoring and may require a show cause hearing.
• Requires defendants ordered to wear a monitoring device as part of probation conditions to pay all fees related to the device if they are not determined by the court to be indigent.

Who It Names or Affects

• Defendants ordered to wear a monitoring device as part of pretrial release conditions.
• Defendants ordered to wear a monitoring device as part of probation conditions.
• Providers who supply the monitoring devices.

Terms To Know

Indigent

A person determined by the court to be unable to pay for necessary expenses due to financial hardship.

Show Cause Hearing

A hearing where a defendant must explain why they should not have their bond revoked or face incarceration due to nonpayment of monitoring device fees.

Limits and Unknowns

• The act does not specify what happens if alternative funding sources are unavailable.
• It is unclear how the law will be enforced and monitored by local government entities.
• There is no information on how this act affects defendants who are determined to be indigent.

Official Summary Text

ON APRIL 6, 2026, THE SENATE PASSED SENATE BILL 254.

ON APRIL 8, 2026, THE HOUSE REQUESTED THAT THE SENATE RETURN SENATE BILL 254.

ON APRIL 9, 2026, THE SENATE RETURNED SENATE BILL 254 TO THE HOUSE.

ON APRIL 23, 2026, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #2, AND PASSED SENATE BILL 254, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #2 rewrites the bill to, instead, require that a defendant who is ordered to wear a transdermal monitoring device or alternative device, including other alternative alcohol or drug monitoring device, or global positioning monitoring device (col
lectively "device"), as a condition of pretrial release, and who has not been determined by the court to be indigent, to pay all fees associated with the installation, monitoring, maintenance, and operation of the device.

PRE-TRIAL RELEASE

This amendment provides that a defendant's failure to make a payment within five days after the due date constitutes nonpayment and may result in termination of device monitoring. If a defendant fails to pay the costs associated with operating the defen
dant's device, then the qualified electronic monitoring provider or the government agency providing such services (collectively "provider"), must notify the court and the defendant in writing within five days of the arrearage. The court must, within 10 d
ay
s of receiving the notice, set a show cause hearing to be held within 30 days. The clerk of the court must notify the defendant and the provider of the date and time of such hearing. The provider may not discontinue the defendant's monitoring before the
such hearing has been held.

At the show cause hearing, this amendment authorizes the court to take any of the following actions:

•

Schedule a bond hearing to determine whether to revoke the defendant's bond and incarcerate the defendant.

•

Allow the defendant to immediately bring the payments current and continue the defendant's pretrial release.

•

Determine whether alternative funding sources are available to pay the costs associated with operating the defendant's device and, if alternative funding sources are available, order such sources to pay the arrearages and future costs associated with op
erating the defendant's device.

Unless a local government entity has established a fund for the purpose of paying the costs associated with a defendant's device, this amendment
provides that "alternative funding sources" do not include the local sheriff's department or other local government entities.

After a show cause hearing has been held, or if a show cause hearing has not been held within the 30-day timeframe, then this amendment provides that a provider is not required to continue to provide monitoring services if the provider is not being compe
nsated in accordance with the court's order for the costs associated with operating the defendant's device.

PROBATION

This amendment requires a defendant who is ordered to wear a device as a condition of probation, and who has not been determined by the court to be indigent, to pay all fees associated with the installation, monitoring, maintenance, and operation of the
device.

This amendment provides that a defendant's failure to make a payment within five days after the due date constitutes nonpayment. If a defendant fails to pay the costs associated with operating the defendant's device, then the provider must provide writt
en notice of the arrearage to the supervising probation officer or supervising agency and the defendant. Such notice must be provided within three business days of the arrearage.

If the defendant does not pay the arrearage within five days of the issuance of the notice, then this amendment authorizes the provider to suspend or terminate monitoring services for the defendant after providing notice of the pending suspension or term
ination to the supervising probation officer. If monitoring services are suspended or terminated due to nonpayment, then the supervising probation officer may take any action authorized by law for violation of a condition of probation.

This amendment provides that a provider is not required to provide monitoring services without compensation, and this amendment's provisions under the summary heading "PROBATION" does not require a provider to subsidize monitoring services ordered by the
court.

ON APRIL 23, 2026, THE SENATE CONCURRED IN HOUSE AMENDMENT #2.

Current Bill Text

SENATE BILL 254
By Gardenhire

HOUSE BILL 489
By Doggett
HB0489
001802
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 38;
Title 39; Title 40 and Title 55, relative to criminal
law.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 40-36-105(2), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting:
(2) Conduct statewide public education concerning the purposes and goals of
this chapter and submit a report by February 1 of each year, to the committee of the
house of representatives with jurisdiction over subject matters pertaining to criminal
justice, judiciary committee of the senate, and fiscal review committee regarding the
effectiveness of diversion of offenders from state correctional institutions;
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.