Courts

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SENATE BILL 1117
By Lamar

SB1117
002630
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AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 16
and Title 18, relative to reports related to the
operation of courts.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 18, Chapter 1, Part 1, is amended by
adding the following as a new section:
(a) The clerk of each court exercising criminal jurisdiction shall compile a
monthly report of all fines and fees assessed by the court in the previous month. The
clerk shall submit the report to the administrative office of the courts on or before the
fifteenth day of each month for the period covering the preceding calendar month.
(b) The report submitted pursuant to subsection (a) must include:
(1) The court that assessed the fines and fees;
(2) The case number;
(3) The date the fines and fees were assessed;
(4) The amount of the assessment;
(5) Whether the assessment is a fine or fee, or both;
(6) The code citation for the principal crime for which the defendant was
convicted or found in violation;
(7) The due date for an assessment that does not have a payment plan;
(8) Whether the assessment, at the time of conviction, included a
payment plan;
(9) The total length of the payment plan in months, if a payment plan is
included;

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(10) Whether the assessment has been paid in full;
(11) Whether the assessment has a remaining balance that is not due;
(12) Whether the assessment has a past due balance and by how many
days;
(13) The amount of the interest or penalty for failure to pay as due;
(14) Whether the initial assessment has been reduced, restructured, or
forgiven completely; and
(15) The demographic information of the defendant, including indigent
status.
(c) As used in this section:
(1) "Fee":
(A) Means financial obligations assessed by a court exercising
criminal jurisdiction; and
(B) Includes court costs and other charges used to fund the
criminal justice system and other government services; and
(2) "Fine":
(A) Means punitive financial sanctions assessed by a court
exercising criminal jurisdiction; and
(B) Includes:
(i) Financial penalties for traffic and other code violations,
misdemeanors, and felonies; and
(ii) Financial obligations assessed as condition of
probation or parole.
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 16, Chapter 3, Part 8, is amended by
adding the following as a new section:

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(a) The administrative office of the courts shall create and maintain a statewide
database and searchable public website that compiles the reports received by the office
pursuant to SECTION 1.
(b) The administrative director shall provide a summary of the reports received
pursuant to SECTION 1 within thirty (30) days of the end of each fiscal year to the
governor, the speaker of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, and
the attorney general and reporter.
(c) The administrative director may include in the summary submitted pursuant
to subsection (b) recommendations to improve statutes, rules, and policies to better
ensure the imposition, collection, and expenditure of criminal fines and fees are reported
and done in a manner that is fair to citizens, particularly those who are economically
disadvantaged and most vulnerable to excessive fines and fees.
SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.