AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 18; Section 38-6-103; Title 39 and Title 40, relative to domestic violence.
Summary
HB1200, known as “Savanna’s Law,” creates a new state registry for persistent domestic violence offenders within the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI). A person must be placed on the registry if convicted of an offense committed against a domestic abuse victim and that person has at least one prior qualifying conviction. The TBI must maintain the registry and make it publicly searchable online, while limiting public access to sensitive information such as addresses, Social Security numbers, and driver license numbers.
The bill also requires court clerks to send qualifying conviction information to the TBI within seven days and directs the registry to include identifying information such as name, date of birth, conviction date, county of conviction, and a current photograph. It imposes a $150 registration fee on covered offenders, with $50 retained by the court clerk for administration and $100 directed to the state office of criminal justice programs for family violence prevention and intervention grants. The registry is temporary, with removal timelines ranging from five to twenty years depending on the number of prior convictions, and the law applies only to offenses committed on or after January 1, 2026.
Impact
HB1200 amends Tennessee law in Titles 39 and 40 by establishing a new offender-registration framework specifically for repeat domestic violence offenders and assigning implementation duties to the TBI, court clerks, the Department of Correction, local law enforcement, and the office of criminal justice programs. It creates a new public registry, adds a mandatory registration fee, and creates a dedicated funding stream for family violence prevention and intervention services. The bill does not change the underlying domestic violence offenses themselves, but it adds collateral consequences and administrative procedures for repeat offenders convicted on or after the effective date.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have had strong support throughout the legislative process. It advanced unanimously through subcommittee and committee votes and passed the House floor without any recorded opposition. The lack of dissent in the available voting history suggests broad agreement with the bill’s stated goal of increasing accountability for repeat domestic violence offenders and supporting victim services.
Contention
No major contention is reflected in the available committee or floor vote history, and there are no transcript excerpts showing debate. Potential areas of concern inherent in the bill include the creation of a public registry, privacy and due-process implications for offenders, the administrative burden on courts and the TBI, and whether the registry and fee structure are effective tools for domestic violence prevention. However, none of these concerns appear to have produced recorded opposition in the legislative history provided.