Special Session Bills: New Hate Crime Categories, Police’s Right To Assign SROs, Reporting To Feds About Mentally “Defective” Youth, Protection For Gun Owners
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The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –
Another slew of bills has rolled in for Governor Lee’s Special Session over the last two days.
Newly filed bills include 6 Democrat-sponsored bills that aim to create new “hate crime” categories, and Republican bills dealing with codification of a local law enforcement agency’s right to assign SROs, reporting requirements for mental health care professionals, reporting requirements of criminal courts to the feds about juveniles deemed mentally “defective,” civil liability protection for gun owners who have had their firearms stolen, and reporting requirements for courts about individuals that have been “committed” and more.
Democrat Representative Anthony Davis has filed six bills that combined would make any threat, acts of mass violence, or “stalking” of healthcare providers who provide “gender-affirming” care or abortions a hate crime.
As reported by The Center Square, Davis is completing the District 51 term of late Rep. Bill Beck, D-Nashville, before he will be replaced by Democrat Aftyn Behn or Republican David Hooven following a Sept. 14 general election.
An overview of Davis’ six bills are below. Read on for new bills filed by Republican Reps Scott Cepicky, Gino Bulso, Chris Todd, Jason Zachary and Republican Senators Ferrell Haile and Page Walley.
Democrat Bills:
House Bill 7017 (HB7017), sponsored by Anthony Davis (D-Davidson County-District 51), in summary reads,“As introduced, increases the penalty by one classification for the offenses of stalking, aggravated stalking, or especially aggravated stalking if the offense was committed because of the victim’s status as a healthcare provider who performs abortions and classifies the offense as a hate crime. – Amends TCA Title 39.”
House Bill 7018 (HB7018), sponsored by Anthony Davis (D-Davidson County-District 51), in summary reads,“As introduced, increases the penalty by one classification for the offenses of stalking, aggravated stalking, or especially aggravated stalking if the offense was committed because of the victim’s status as a healthcare provider who provides gender-affirming care and classifies the offense as a hate crime. – Amends TCA Title 39.”
House Bill 7019 (HB7019), sponsored by Anthony Davis (D-Davidson County-District 51), in summary reads,“As introduced, creates the Class B felony of knowingly committing an act of mass violence against another; states that the offense is a hate crime, which shall be punished one classification higher than otherwise provided if the defendant committed the act of mass violence against the other person due to the person’s status as a healthcare provider who provides gender-affirming care. – Amends TCA Title 39.”
House Bill 7020 (HB7020), sponsored by Anthony Davis (D-Davidson County-District 51), in summary reads,“As introduced, creates the Class B felony of knowingly committing an act of mass violence against another; states that the offense is a hate crime, which shall be punished one classification higher than otherwise provided if the defendant committed the act of mass violence against the other person due to the person’s status as a healthcare provider who performs abortions. – Amends TCA Title 39.”
House Bill 7021 (HB7021), sponsored by Anthony Davis (D-Davidson County-District 51), in summary reads,“As introduced, creates the Class E felony of knowingly threatening to commit an act of mass violence against another and frightening the other person; classifies the offense as a hate crime, to be punished one classification higher than otherwise provided, if the offense was committed due to the other person’s status as a healthcare provider who provides gender-affirming care. – Amends TCA Title 39.”
House Bill 7022 (HB7022), sponsored by Anthony Davis (D-Davidson County-District 51), in summary reads,“As introduced, creates the Class E felony of threatening to commit an act of mass violence against another; classifies a violation of threats of mass violence as a hate crime, which must be punished one classification higher than otherwise provided, if the defendant threatened to commit the act of mass violence against the other person due to the person’s status as a healthcare provider who performs abortions. – Amends TCA Title 39.”
Republican bills:
House Bill 7023 (HB7023), sponsored by Representative Scott Cepicky (R-Culleoka-District 64), in summary reads, “As introduced, authorizes a law enforcement agency to assign a law enforcement officer to serve as a school resource officer at a school within a local board of education’s control that has not entered into a memorandum of understanding with a law enforcement agency to assign a school resource officer to the school. – Amends TCA Title 8; Title 37; Title 38; Title 49 and Title 62.”
Rep. Cepicky’s bill looks to codify the right of a law enforcement agency within a school’s district to assign an officer to serve as an SRO within the school(s) during school hours and any time children are present on school property.
The bill text also states that, “An LEA shall not impede on the duties of an officer who is assigned to a school.”
The bill, however, does not require the local law enforcement agency to assign an officer to schools, it simply codifies the right to do so if they choose.
House Bill 7024 (HB7024), sponsored by Representative Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood-District 61), in summary reads, “As introduced, requires each public and private school facility to be equipped with an alarm system to be used in cases of an active shooter; requires the department of education to provide grants to local education agencies and private school operators to cover the cost of the installation and maintenance of the system. – Amends TCA Title 4; Title 49 and Title 68.”
Other than laying out the specifications for the required alarm systems, the bill text does not offer further explanation.
House Bill 7025 (HB7025), sponsored by Representative Chris Todd (R-Madison County-District 73), in summary reads, “As introduced, adds categories of victims and geographic targets that are the subject of threats communicated by a service recipient as targets that require certain actions by a qualified mental health professional or behavior analyst; requires reports of certain information about communicated threats to be reported to local law enforcement; makes certain other changes regarding reporting requirements by mental health professionals to whom threats are communicated by service recipients. – Amends TCA Title 33.”
The bill text clarifies that a qualified mental health professional or behavior analyst must take reasonable care to predict, warn, or take precautions to protect a clearly identified potential victim or geographic target as identified by one of their patients if the following conditions are met:
• an actual threat of bodily or physical harm against a clearly identified victim, including a category of victims or a specific geographic target
• to a reasonable degree of certainty, a probable threat of bodily or physical harm against a clearly identified victim, including a category of victims or a specific geographic target
• the professional or analyst, using the reasonable skill, knowledge, and care ordinarily possessed and exercised by the professional’s or analyst’s specialty under similar circumstances, has determined or reasonably should have determined that the service recipient has the apparent ability to commit such an act and is likely to carry out the threat unless prevented from doing so
House Bill 7026 (HB7026), sponsored by Representative Jason Zachary (R-Knoxville-District 14), in summary reads, “As introduced, requires a court that makes mental health adjudications regarding children to enter a standing and continuing order instructing the juvenile court clerk to collect and report certain information regarding children who have been adjudicated as a mental defective or judicially committed to a mental institution within three business days for the purposes of complying with federal law. – Amends TCA Title 16; Title 33; Title 34; Title 37; Title 38 and Title 39.”
According to the bill text, “Adjudication as a mental defective or adjudicated as a mental defective,” means, “A determination by a juvenile court in this state that a person,as a result of marked subnormal intelligence, mental illness, incompetency, condition, or disease is a danger to such person or to others; lacks the ability to contract or manage such person’s own affairs due to mental defect; or has been found insane by a criminal court proceeding.
The bill basically states that any such juvenile’s condition / criminal standing will be reported on by the juvenile court clerk to the FBI / NICS and the Department of Safety for the purposes of complying with the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022.
Senate Bill 7003 (SB7003), sponsored by Senator Ferrell Haile (R-Gallatin-District 18), in summary reads, “As introduced, exempts a person from civil liability for damages, injuries, or death resulting from or arising out of the theft of the person’s firearm or firearm ammunition properly stored in the person’s motor vehicle unless the person commits an offense involving the use of the stored firearm or firearm ammunition or intentionally solicits or procures the conduct resulting in the damage, injury, or death. – Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 13.”
The bill summary is self-explanatory with the bill text not providing further information of note.
Senate Bill 7006 (SB7006), sponsored by Senator Page Walley (R-Savannah-District 26), in summary reads, “As introduced, clarifies the meaning of “local law enforcement” for purposes of the required notification to law enforcement by an inpatient mental health treatment facility or hospital that a service recipient has been committed; requires the clerk of court who maintains records of the adjudication as a mental defective or judicial commitment to a mental institution of a Tennessee resident to notify the clerk of court in the county of the person’s permanent residence. – Amends TCA Title 16; Title 18; Title 33 and Title 68. “
The bill text expands on the language a bit by saying that a court clerk who maintains the records of an individual that is judged to be “mental defective” and/or an individual’s commitment to an institution, must send a notice to the clerk of the county the individual resides in no later than five business days from the date the judicial commitment is ordered.
Several House bills have now also gained Senate sponsors.
Rep. Bulso’s House Bill 7005, dealing with handgun-carry policies for private schools has gained a Senate sponsor with Senator Joey Hensley and Senate Bill 7004 (SB7004).
Rep. Cepicky’s House Bill 7006, dealing with the redirection of available state funds to provide medical services for uninsured individuals, has gained a Senate sponsor with Senator Joey Hensley and Senate Bill 7005 (SB7005).
Get caught up with our previous overviews of filed bills in our previous articles below:
Based on “insider reports,” there may be several hundred bills filed for the Special Session.
The General Assembly should be placing bills HERE for public viewing as they are filed.
However, this is subject to change as we near the beginning of the Session on August 21st at 4PM Central.
It is not currently known when the filing deadline for new bills will be, nor exactly how long the Special Session will last. Bills could possibly still be filed after the lawmakers are in session.
The Tennessee Conservative will strive to stay abreast of legislation, as it is filed, and keep our readers informed.
About the Author: Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career. Most recently, he served as Deputy Director for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others. He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History. Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com
What about enforcing the Law we already have and putting the Death penalty electric chair on over time!! These Democrat/RINO garbage bills will do nothing until it is make plain crime does not pay. By the way where are they going to put these so- called mental ill patients?? Tn. has closed most or all of it’s mental facilities over the years??
Everything listed above other than “creating” new crime category’s is already on the books and not enforced. Hate crimes is a bogus category already on the books and the rest are just “feel good” proposals. Close up shop and go home. This “Special Session” is a joke and in the end will only cost the taxpayers more money for what is already on the books and not enforced. Basing this mess on the actions of a certifiable maniac is just as insane. Enough has leaked about the “Manifesto” to show that other than calling on “Judge Dredd”, she couldn’t have or wouldn’t have been stopped. Pure evil is just that, it requires no explanation or more useless “category’s” of crime.
WASTE of everything.
January is sounding like a far better time to take up these bills under the normal deliberative process. What is your hurry?
Here is a short list of my top items for January:
-Old fashion elections with paper ballots voted by hand held pens or pencils…only valid if the two lines cross in the box, all on one day in person at your polling location. Paper poll books and validated ID’s, multiparty chain of custody, no electronic devices, no mechanical devices, all vote counting done by human eyes and hands in full view of as many citizens as possible from all factions, do not stop until all ballots are counted… and chain of custody!
This is just a start, but you get the idea. We see what consequences stolen elections have. Totalitarian Russia and China are back in bed with each other. Our economy and energy production infrastructures are not our first priority. Our woke military is outfitted to fight the last war and all are jabbed with big pharma’s latest money maker. Do you kids remember when the law required equal media air time for both major parties? A quaint idea we had back then along with a host of others: our country had a border, we had laws that applied to all equally. But the Fed made the rich very rich (oh, just read the ‘Creature from Jekyll Island’ for some history.) and the rest of us are the little people.
Maybe I should mention a gun law… I want to be able carry a gun with the intention of protecting myself, those I care about, and other citizens I see in need of protection…a right God gives us but Tennessee does not no mater what the politicians tell us.
Very well said. I couldn’t agree with you more sir. Unfortunately most politicians have sold their souls to the lobbyists. To do their bidding and not that of WE the PEOPLE that elected them in to office. And that goes for both political parties. That also applies to the politicians here in Tennessee.
In God we trust not government or man.
Have a blessed day.
Not one bit of this legislation has anything to do with the Covenant School shooting. The proposed legislation is nothing new nor will it make our schools safer. How can the Covenant shooting be the root of this Special Session when we have not seen the journals or the manifesto of the shooter. This is nothing but a liberal gun grab that is being promoted by a RINO Govenor.
I will do my best to work against any Republican that votes for this legislation.