Amends TCA Title 16; Title 39 and Title 40.

ON MARCH 17, 2022, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 1449, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #1 rewrites this bill to change present law concerning sentencing for persons convicted of drug offenses committed in a drug-free school zone. Public Chapter 803 of 2020 made several changes to the drug-free school zone law, including changing the sentence enhancement of punishing a drug offense involving manufacture, delivery, or sale of a controlled substance in a drug-free school zone one classification higher than if the offense were not committed in such a zone from a mandatory to a permissive enhancement. Public Chapter 803 of 2020 also changed the physical boundaries of what constitutes a drug-free school zone. Public Chapter 803 of 2020 took effect September 1, 2020. Present law specifies that a person sentenced to incarceration for a drug-free school offense is ineligible for early release prior to serving at least the entire minimum sentence for the appropriate range of sentence. This amendment authorizes a court that imposed a sentence for a drug-free school zone offense that occurred prior to September 1, 2020, upon motion of the defendant or the district attorney general or the court's own motion, to resentence the defendant under the present law. In a hearing on any such motion, the defendant bears the burden of proof to show that the defendant would be sentenced to a shorter period of confinement if the defendant's offense had occurred on or after September 1, 2020. This amendment prohibits a court from resentencing the defendant if the new sentence would be greater than the sentence originally imposed or if the court finds that resentencing the defendant would not be in the interests of justice. The full text of this amendment specifies factors for the court to consider in determining whether a new sentence would be in the interests of justice. This amendment prohibits a court from hearing a motion for resentencing made pursuant to this amendment if: (1) A previous motion made under this amendment to reduce the sentence was denied after a review of the motion on the merits; (2) Resentencing the defendant to a shorter period of confinement for this offense would not reduce the defendant's overall sentence or lead to an earlier release; or (3) The defendant has previously applied to the governor for a grant of executive clemency on or after December 2, 2021, for the same offense and has been denied. This amendment further specifies that it does not require a court to reduce any sentence.