Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 13 and Title 40, Chapter 35.

Generally, under present law, the offense of reckless endangerment occurs when a person recklessly engages in conduct that places or may place another person in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury. Reckless endangerment is generally considered a Class A misdemeanor. The following are ways in which the offense is a different classification:<br /> <br /> (1) Reckless endangerment committed with a deadly weapon is a Class E felony;<br /> <br /> (2) When a firearm or antique firearm is discharged within a habitation, reckless endangerment is a Class C felony. However, if the habitation was unoccupied at the time of the firearm discharge, then it is a Class D felony; and<br /> <br /> (3) Reckless endangerment by discharging a firearm from within a motor vehicle is a Class C felony.<br /> <br /> In addition to the penalties authorized for each felony classification, the court must also assess a fine of $50, to be collected and distributed as statutorily mandated. <br /> <br /> This bill provides that reckless endangerment also includes conduct that places or may place another person in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury and is committed against a population within a geographic territory by members of a criminal gang that regularly engages in gang-related conduct or has a pattern of criminal gang activity, and the commission of the offense is gang-related. This type of reckless endangerment is a Class C felony and must be punished by the following in addition to the applicable period of confinement:<br /> <br /> (1) Revocation of the person's driver license for a period of five years from the date of conviction, if the person had a valid driver license on the date of conviction for the offense; or <br /> <br /> (2) A prohibition against the department issuing a driver license to the person for a period of five years from the date of conviction, if the person did not possess a valid driver license at the time of conviction for the offense; and <br /> <br /> (3) If the person is sentenced to probation, the court must, as a condition of probation, prohibit the person from entering the geographic territory in which the offense was committed, which is defined by the court in its sentencing order, for the duration of the person’s sentence. <br /> <br /> This bill also provides that upon ordering the revocation or prohibited issuance of the person's driver license, the court must submit a copy of the conviction and an order for revocation or prohibition, whichever is applicable, to the department of safety. Upon receipt, the department must revoke the driver license if the person had a valid driver license on the date of conviction. The driver license must not be reinstated or issued until the five-year period following the date of conviction has expired. A person whose license was revoked or prohibited may apply to the department for reinstatement or issuance after the five-year period has expired. <br /> <br /> This bill further holds that a person whose driver license has been so revoked or prohibited may, upon release from confinement, apply to the sentencing court, or a court of competent jurisdiction in the person's county of residence, for a restricted driver license. The court may allow the issuance upon a demonstration of a compelling need by the person, such as for the purpose of going to and from work at the person's regular place of employment; the person's regular place of worship; medical appointments for the person and the person's immediate family members; a dependent's day care or school and, in the case of a student enrolled full time in an institution of higher learning, going to and from that institution. If the court orders the issuance of a restricted driver license, then the person may obtain a certified copy of the order and, within 10 days after the issuance of the order, present the order to the department with an application fee of $65, and the department must issue a restricted driver license embodying the limitations imposed in the order. <br /> <br /> NEIGHBORHOOD PROTECTION ACT<br /> <br /> Present law provides a homeowners' association, a neighborhood association, a neighborhood watch, or a similarly organized residential entity that is recognized by state or local law with defined boundaries referenced in the residential entity's charter or governing document, may seek an injunction or restraining order prohibiting an offender from entering the boundaries of the residential area, if the offender has been convicted of three or more separate offenses of burglary; rape; criminal homicide; delivering or selling a controlled substance; criminal gang activity; prostitution; theft; vandalism; or aggravated criminal littering, if the conviction is for an amount of litter that exceeds 100 pounds in weight or 30 cubic feet in volume; and these qualifying offenses were committed within the boundaries of the residential area. <br /> <br /> This bill adds reckless endangerment committed against a population as described above as a qualifying offense for the application of such prohibitions.<br />