Public Chapter 457

HOUSE BILL NO. 760

By Representatives Jackson, Hargett, Haley, Pleasant, Ford, Patton, McDaniel, Roach, Kent, McMillan, Williams

Substituted for: Senate Bill No. 1365

By Senator Rochelle

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 40, Chapter 28, relative to the compact for out-of-state probation and parole supervision.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:

SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 40, Chapter 28, Part 4 is amended by adding the following as a new section:

(a). Applicants from a sending state who have been convicted of any type of homicide, aggravated assault, or any offense involving domestic violence shall be required to enroll, at the offender's expense, in a mental health program to address violent behavior within thirty (30) days of arrival in Tennessee. If no appropriate treatment program is available in the county or adjacent counties in which the applicant plans to reside, the application shall be denied. However, the offender will be considered if such offender:

(1) completes such a program in the sending state prior to acceptance into the State of Tennessee;

(2) can provide documentation of such treatment; and

(3) meets all other criteria for acceptance.

Offenders whose violent offense was reduced by virtue of a plea agreement shall be treated as a violent offender for treatment and supervision purposes.

(b) The Department of Correction shall by rule promulgated in accordance with the provisions of Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4, Chapter 5, establish minimum standards that a mental health treatment program addressing violent behavior must meet in order to satisfy the requirements of this section. Upon establishing such standards, the department shall compile and make available a list, by county, of all providers offering treatment programs that meet such minimum standards.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.