Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 3, Part 12; Title 40; Title 41, Chapter 4; Title 41, Chapter 8; Title 49, Chapter 11; Title 49, Chapter 8; Title 55, Chapter 50 and Section 62-76-104.

This bill revises various provisions regarding the release or preparation of release of a person from incarceration, such as provisions governing probation and parole, restoration of citizenship, and programming provided by correctional facilities, as follows: (1) Open Parole Hearings Act (sections 2-4 of the bill): Present law requires the board of parole to establish a policy governing attendance at board hearings and submission and use of victim impact statements. This bill adds that the policy must also address the submission and use of other impact statements and that the policy will govern instructions for submitting an impact statement video. This bill requires the board to establish a digital function that a victim or other impacted person may use to electronically submit an impact statement video to be considered at an inmate's parole hearing or parole revocation. This bill sets out in detail more requirements for such a function, and including the method for the submitter to have the video considered at other any future hearings. This bill provides for the confidentiality of impact statement videos in the same manner as written statements under present law. This bill clarifies for the purposes of the Act that "victim" includes victims and victim representatives; (2) Driver license application fees (sections 5-8 of the bill): Present law generally imposes a $2.00 application fee for driver licenses. Also, present law imposes a $65.00 application fee under the present law provision whereby a person whose license is revoked for failure to make payments on a payment plan for court fines, costs, and taxes may apply for a restricted driver license. This bill specifies that the $2.00 application fee will not apply to such applicants for a restricted license and deletes the $65.00 fee; (3) Parole eligibility (section 9 of bill): Under present law, if the board of parole declines, revokes, or rescinds parole, the board is authorized to set the period of time before the prisoner receives another hearing on the same offense or offenses, which may be up to 10 years. This bill decreases the authorized maximum amount of time between hearings from 10 years to six years; (4) Conditions of parole (section 10 of bill): Present law authorizes the board of parole to impose any conditions and limitations on the granting of parole that the board deems necessary. This bill prohibits the board from requiring a condition or limitation to be completed prior to release on parole unless the department of correction recommends completion of the condition or limitation prior to release on parole; (5) Incarceration for parole violation (bill section 11): Generally under present law, when a parolee has violated a condition of parole, the board may require the prisoner to serve out in prison the balance of the maximum term for which the prisoner was originally sentenced, calculated from the date of delinquency or such part thereof, as it may determine, or impose the punishment as it deems proper. This bill rewrites this provision to instead provide that the board may do the following: (A) For a revocation of parole that does not involve a new felony, new Class A misdemeanor, or absconding, require the prisoner to temporarily serve a term of incarceration not to exceed: 15 days for the first revocation; 30 days for the second revocation; 90 days for the third revocation; or one year, or the remainder of the prisoner's sentence, whichever is shorter, for a fourth or subsequent revocation; or (B) For a revocation of parole that involves a new felony, new Class A misdemeanor, or absconding, require the prisoner to serve out in prison the balance of the maximum term for which the prisoner was originally sentenced, calculated from the date of delinquency, or such part thereof, as it may determine, or impose a punishment as the board deems proper; (6) Granting of parole (sections 12-14 of bill): Generally under present law, the board will not grant parole if: there is a substantial risk that the defendant will not conform to the conditions of the release program; the release from custody at the time would depreciate the seriousness of the crime of which the defendant stands convicted or promote disrespect for the law; the release from custody at the time would have a substantially adverse effect on institutional discipline; or the defendant's continued correctional treatment, medical care or vocational or other training in the institution will substantially enhance the defendant's capacity to lead a law-abiding life when given release status at a later time. Notwithstanding this present law provision, this bill adds a presumption that an eligible inmate must be released on parole, except for good cause shown, upon the inmate reaching the inmate's release eligibility date or any subsequent parole hearing. For purposes of this presumption, an "eligible inmate" means an inmate who: (A) Is currently serving a sentence for: a Class E or Class D felony offense; or a felony that is not classified as a violent offense under present law (such as murder, robbery, and rape; (B) Is determined to be low risk to reoffend or most appropriately supervised in the community under the most recent validated risk and needs assessment; (C) Has successfully completed the programming recommended by the department of correction based on a validated risk and needs assessment or can complete any recommended programming while on parole supervision; (D) Has not received a serious disciplinary violation within one year of the inmate's parole hearing; (E) Has not been convicted of a sexual offense. This bill requires the board to state in writing the reason for declining parole and how the inmate can improve the inmate's chance of being released on parole in the future. This bill also specifies that the board's finding under present law that the release from custody at the time would depreciate the seriousness of the crime of which the defendant stands convicted or promote disrespect for the law may not be the sole basis for denying parole. This bill also deletes a present law authorization for the board to deny parole to an inmate who has made no attempt to improve educational, vocation, or employment skills while incarcerated; (7) Mandatory reentry supervision (sections 15 and 16 of bill). This bill: (A) Requires that an eligible inmate be released on mandatory reentry supervision one year prior to the inmate's sentence expiration date as calculated by the department of correction or, if the inmate is not eligible for parole one year prior to the inmate's sentence expiration date, upon reaching the inmate's release eligibility date. Upon release, an eligible inmate will be subject to mandatory reentry supervision until the inmate's sentence expiration date. The release must be under the terms and conditions established by the department of correction. The department will determine whether an inmate is an eligible inmate; (B) For purposes of the reentry supervision, defines "eligible inmate" as an inmate who: is serving a felony sentence for an offense that occurred on or after July 1, 2021; is eligible for parole consideration; has one year or less remaining until expiration of all sentences that the inmate is serving or set to serve or reaches the inmate's release eligibility date with less than one year remaining until expiration; does not have an active detainer for new or untried charges or sentences to serve in other jurisdictions; has not been classified as maximum or close custody for disciplinary reasons in the previous two years; and if the inmate has previously had the inmate's probation or parole revoked, has served at least six months since returning to custody after revocation of probation or parole; (C) Provides that upon expiration of an ineligible inmate's sentence of confinement, the inmate must be released and subject to mandatory reentry supervision for a period of one year following the inmate's sentence expiration date under conditions to be prescribed by the department of correction. Noncriminal, technical violations of supervision conditions by ineligible inmates will not result in revocation of supervision or incarceration. The mandatory reentry supervision period must be calculated by the department of correction. An "ineligible inmate" means an inmate who: is serving a felony sentence for an offense that occurred on or after July 1, 2021; does not satisfy all of the criteria in (B) above to be considered an eligible inmate; does not have an active detainer for new or untried charges or sentences to serve in other jurisdictions; and is incarcerated when the inmate's sentence expires; and (D) Requires a court, when the court accepts a plea of guilty or nolo contendere or imposes a sentence for a defendant who has been convicted of a felony offense that occurred on or after July 1, 2021, to specify in its order that the defendant may be subject to an additional year of mandatory reentry supervision pursuant to this bill if, at the time of release, the defendant is an ineligible offender; (8) Limitation of liability for employers (section 17 of bill): This bill provides a cause of action may not be brought against an employer or contracting party for negligent hiring, training, retention, or supervision of an employee or independent contractor based solely upon the fact that the employee or independent contractor has been previously convicted of a criminal offense. Also, in a cause of action against an employer or contracting party for negligent hiring, training, retention, or supervision of an employee or independent contractor, evidence that the employee or independent contractor has been previously convicted of a criminal offense is not admissible. These provisions will not apply when: (A) The employer or contracting party knew or reasonably should have known of the employee's or independent contractor's prior conviction; and the employee or independent contractor was previously convicted of: an offense that was committed while performing duties substantially similar to those reasonably expected to be performed in the employment or under the contract, or under conditions substantially similar to those reasonably expected to be encountered in the employment or under the contract; or a violent offense or a violent sexual offense; or (B) The cause of action concerns the misuse by an employee or independent contractor of the funds or property of a person other than the employer or contracting party; on the date the employee or independent contractor was hired, the employee or independent contractor had been previously convicted of an offense an element of which includes fraud or the misuse of funds or property; and the employer or contracting party should have reasonably foreseen that the position for which the employee or independent contractor was being hired would involve managing the funds or property of a person other than the employer or contracting party; (9) Stipend to eligible counties and re-entry programs (sections 18-21 of the bill): Present law requires that counties be reimbursed for housing convicted felons and authorizes the commissioner of correction to compensate any county that has not contracted with the state for that county's reasonable, allowable cost of housing felons. This bill adds that in addition to such reimbursement or compensation, the department must pay an accreditation stipend to eligible counties for each convicted felon housed by the county for which the county receives reimbursement or compensation. To receive the stipend, the county must, among other things, administer a validated risk-needs assessment to each felony offender upon admission and such offender must be eligible to participate in evidence-based programming that is matched to the offender's risks and needs. This bill sets out in detail other requirements and procedures for the stipend, which include the following: (A) The amount of the accreditation stipend, which is in addition to the amount set annually in the appropriations act for each convicted felon housed by the county for which the county receives reimbursement or compensation, will be: $3.00 per day for each convicted felon housed by the county for which the county receives reimbursement or compensation, if the county has achieved tier 1 accreditation from the Tennessee corrections institute; and $6.00 per day for each convicted felon housed by the county for which the county receives reimbursement or compensation, if the county has achieved tier 2 accreditation from the Tennessee corrections institute; (B) In order to maintain the accreditation stipend, an eligible county must provide annual documentation to the department that a satisfactory percentage of the felons who enroll in the evidence-based programming complete the programming in a timely manner, as determined by the department based on the historical completion outcomes for the particular programming; (C) After an accreditation stipend has been paid to a county for three years, the department must annually review the recidivism rates of felons housed in that county to determine whether the implementation of the programming has been effective in reducing recidivism rates. If the evidence-based programming at issue does not impact the recidivism rate by a satisfactory percentage, as determined by the department based upon the length of time that the programming has been utilized and the program's historical outcomes, the department may require that the county develop a corrective action plan that is satisfactory to the department in order to continue receiving the accreditation stipend; (D) A county must not prohibit the county's misdemeanor offender population from participating in evidence-based programming when programming capacity remains following the enrollment of felony offenders whose risks and needs are matched to the programming. The state will not be responsible for any costs of incarceration or programming for misdemeanor offenders. However, misdemeanor offenders may utilize evidence-based programming capacity that has been paid for using the accreditation stipend provided under this bill; (E) Tennessee's community colleges and colleges of applied technology may assist counties in the development of evidence-based programming for felony offenders housed by counties that identify appropriate job training and workforce development programs for that county's region. This bill authorizes the board of regents to contract with a sheriff's department or other official or department charged with oversight of a county jail or workhouse for the purpose of developing reentry programs to effectively reduce the recidivism rate of felons and increase the likelihood of successful reintegration into society following release of individuals from incarceration; and (F) This bill requires the corrections institute to inspect local jails, lock-ups, and workhouses to determine whether a county has achieved tier 1 or tier 2 accreditation by the Tennessee corrections institute and report such determinations to the department of correction; and (10) Licensure denial based on criminal history (sections 22 and 23 of the bill): Under present law, in considering whether to deny an application for a license, certificate, or registration to an applicant, or whether to refuse to renew a license, certificate, or registration, on the basis of a criminal conviction, the licensing authority must consider certain factors. This bill revises those factors, as follows: (A) Present law requires the authority to consider "the nature and seriousness of the offense," and "the nature and seriousness of the crime for which the individual was convicted." This bill removes the fact of "the nature and seriousness of the offense"; and (B) This bill removes the requirement for the authority to consider the length of time since the commission of the crime. The provisions described above in item (1), which are Sections 2 through 4 of this bill, will take effect upon becoming a law for purposes of establishing the digital function for electronically submitting an impact statement video, and for all other purposes, will take effect January 1, 2022. All other provisions of this bill will take effect either upon becoming law or July 1, 2021. ON APRIL 22, 2021, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENTS #2 AND #3 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 785, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #2 revises various provisions of this bill, as follows: (1) Clarifies, in regard to applications for restricted driver licenses as described above in the bill summary, that no application fee will be required; (2) Changes the maximum term of incarceration for a fourth or subsequent parole revocation that does not involve a new felony, new Class A misdemeanor, or absconding to be "the remainder of the sentence" (instead of the shorter of one year or the remainder of the sentence). This amendment also adds a reference to "zero tolerance violations as defined by the department" in regard to the parole revocation provisions so that a violation that was not a zero tolerance violation would be sentenced the same as revocation based on no new felony, Class A misdemeanor, or absconding; and a revocation involving a zero tolerance violation would be sentenced the same as revocation involving a new felony, Class A misdemeanor, or absconding; (3) Adds, in regard to the provision whereby the board's finding that the release from custody at the time would depreciate the seriousness of the crime of which the defendant stands convicted or promote disrespect for the law may not be the sole basis for denying parole, that this provision will not apply if the individual is serving a sentence for any of the following offenses, in which case the board may deny parole for seriousness of the offense: first degree murder or an attempt to commit, solicitation of, or facilitation of first degree murder; second degree murder or an attempt to commit or facilitation of second degree murder; voluntary manslaughter; aggravated vehicular homicide; vehicular homicide; especially aggravated kidnapping or an attempt to commit or facilitation of especially aggravated kidnapping; trafficking for a commercial sex act; a human trafficking offense; advertising commercial sexual abuse of a minor; especially aggravated robbery or an attempt to commit or facilitation of especially aggravated robbery; aggravated rape of a child or an attempt to commit or facilitation of aggravated rape of a child; aggravated rape or an attempt to commit or facilitation of aggravated rape; rape of a child or an attempt to commit or facilitation of rape of a child; rape; aggravated sexual battery; especially aggravated burglary; aggravated child abuse; aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor; especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor; aggravated vehicular assault; aggravated abuse of an elderly or vulnerable adult; or vehicular assault. This amendment adds that if the board denies parole for seriousness of the offense, then the board must state in writing how the inmate can improve the inmate's chances of being released on parole at the inmate's next hearing; (4) Removes this bill's definition of an "ineligible inmate" as described above in the bill summary in (7)(C); (5) Specifies that the risk-needs assessment for a stipend, as discussed above in the bill summary in (9), must be administered within 45 days of the felon's admission to the county facility; and clarifies that felons will not be required to participate in programs not indicated as needed by the evidence-based risk and needs assessment; (6) Clarifies in the provision regarding the documentation to be provided in order for a county to maintain the stipend (discussed above in the bill summary in (9)(C)) that the documentation must show the percentage of felons who enroll and complete the program in a timely manner and that the department will determine if the percentage is satisfactory; (7) Removes this bill's provision encouraging counties to provide evidence-based programming to misdemeanor offenders that matches risks and needs of the offender, as determined by a risks-needs assessment; (8) Revises this bill's provision, described above in the bill summary in (9)(E), authorizing Tennessee's community colleges and colleges of applied technology to assist counties in the development of evidence-based programming for felons to remove the specification that the programming identify appropriate job training and workforce development programs for that county's region; and (9) In regard to the maximum period of time between parole hearings (as described above in the bill summary in (3), retains the 10-year maximum for prisoners serving a sentence for multiple convictions for first degree murder or facilitation of murder. AMENDMENT #3 corrects a reference from "eligible offender" to "eligible inmate."