HB 1200

This bill enacts "Savanna's Law, which creates within the Tennessee bureau of investigation (TBI) a registry of persistent domestic violence offenders. The TBI must maintain this registry based upon information supplied to the TBI by the court clerks pursuant to this bill and information available to the TBI from the department of correction and local law enforcement agencies. The TBI must make the registry available for public inquiry on the internet. INFORMATION IN THE REGISTRY This bill requires the registry to consist of the persistent domestic violence offender's name, date of birth, conviction date, county or counties of convictions, and a current photograph of the persistent domestic violence offender. If available after reasonable inquiry, the court clerk must provide the TBI with a copy o f the persistent domestic violence offender's driver license, or other state or federal identification, and such other identifying data as the TBI determines is necessary to properly identify the persistent domestic violence offender and exclude innocent p e rsons. However, the registry available for public inquiry must not include the persistent domestic violence offender's address, social security number, driver license number, or any other state or federal identification number. REQUIRED REGISTRATION If a person is convicted of an offense committed against a domestic abuse victim and the person convicted has at least one prior conviction for an offense committed against a domestic abuse victim, then this bill requires the court to, upon proof of any pri o r convictions committed against a domestic abuse victim, order the defendant to register as a persistent domestic violence offender. TRANSFER OF INFORMATION If a court orders a defendant to register under this bill, then this bill requires the court cle rk to forward to the TBI a certified copy of the qualifying conviction and the date of birth of the defendant. The court clerk must forward the information to the TBI within seven days of the date of the conviction. REGISTRATION FEE In addition to any other punishment that may be imposed for a conviction of the offense, this bill requires a defendant required to register to be assessed a registration fee in the amount of $150, which must be paid to the clerk of the court imposing the sentence, who must (i) retain $50 of the fee for the administration of this bill, which must be reserved for the purposes authorized by this bill at the end of each fiscal year; and (ii) remit $100 of the fee to the TBI for the administration of this bill, which must be res e rved for the purposes authorized by this bill at the end of each fiscal year. REMOVAL FROM REGISTRY This bill requires the TBI to remove from the registry the name and other identifying information of a persistent domestic violence offender required to register:  Two years after the date of the most recent conviction for an offense committed against a domestic abuse victim if the defendant has one prior conviction for an offense committed against a domestic abuse victim.  Five years after the date of the most recent conviction for an offense committed against a domestic abuse victim if the defendant has two prior convictions for an offense committed against a domestic abuse victim.  Ten years after the date of the most recent conviction for an offense committed against a domestic abuse victim if the defendant has three or more prior convictions for an offense committed against a domestic abuse victim. APPLICABILITY This bill only applies to persons convicted of an offense committed against a domestic ab use victim that occurred on or after January 1, 2026. However, a prior conviction is not required to occur on or after January 1, 2026. ON APRIL 16, 2025, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #2 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 1200, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #2 replaces thi s bill's requirement that a registrant r emit $100 of the $150 registration fee to the TBI for the administration of this bill. This amendment instead requires that the registrant remit $100 of the fee to the department of finance and administration's offi ce of criminal justice programs for the purpose of administering grants to fund family violence prevention and intervention services. The funding shall not revert to the general fund at the end of the fiscal year and must be carried forward for administr a tion of such grants. This amendment replaces this bill's schedule for removing the identifying information of a persistent domestic violence offender from the registry, as follows: (1) Five years (instead of two years) after the date of the most recen t conviction for an offense committed against a domestic abuse victim if the defendant has one prior conviction for an offense committed against a domestic abuse victim; (2) Seven years (instead of five years) after the date of the most recent convictio n for an offense committed against a domestic abuse victim if the defendant has two prior convictions for an offense committed against a domestic abuse victim; (3) Ten years after the date of the most recent conviction for an offense committed against a domestic abuse victim if the defendant has three (instead of three or more) prior convictions for an offense committed against a domestic abuse victim; and (4) Twenty years after the date of the most recent conviction for an offense committed against a domestic abuse victim if the defendant has four or more prior convictions for an offense committed against a domestic abuse victim. This amendment clarifies that, while a person must be convicted of a qualifying offense that occurs on or after January 1, 2026, in order to be subject to this bill's registration requirement, the person's prior convictions may have occurred prior to January 1, 2026."