Tennessee House Bill HB0071

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/8/25
• Refer: 1/16/25

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 8, Chapter 7, relative to assistant district attorneys.

Summary

HB0071 amends Tennessee law governing assistant district attorneys to allow them to receive year-for-year service credit for prior law enforcement experience. The credit is available when recommended by the hiring district attorney general and approved by the executive director of the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference. The bill defines “prior law enforcement experience” as full-time employment with a law enforcement agency as a POST-certified law enforcement officer, and it requires an employment record from the agency to verify that experience. The act takes effect immediately upon becoming law, citing the public welfare.

Impact

The bill would modify Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 8, Chapter 7, by creating a new service-credit eligibility provision for assistant district attorneys and clarifying how prior law enforcement experience is counted and documented. It affects hiring and compensation/benefit calculations for assistant district attorneys who previously worked as certified law enforcement officers, while leaving final approval authority with the district attorneys general conference leadership.

Sentiment

Available voting history suggests the bill was not controversial in subcommittee, passing the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee 6-0 before being deferred to summer study. No committee transcript is available, but the unanimous vote indicates generally favorable or at least non-oppositional sentiment among members at that stage.

Contention

The main policy question appears to be whether prior police or law enforcement service should translate into equal service credit for assistant district attorneys, and who should control that determination. The bill places discretion with the hiring district attorney general and the executive director of the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference, which may raise questions about consistency, administrative oversight, and the scope of qualifying experience. The definition of qualifying experience is also narrow, limited to full-time POST-certified law enforcement employment verified by agency records.