AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 16 and Title 18, relative to reports related to the operation of courts.
SB1117 requires every court exercising criminal jurisdiction in Tennessee to prepare a monthly report of fines and fees assessed in the prior month and submit it to the Administrative Office of the Courts. The report must include case-level information such as the court, case number, date and amount of the assessment, whether it is a fine or fee, the underlying offense citation, payment-plan details, payment status, delinquency information, interest or penalties, any reduction or forgiveness, and demographic information about the defendant, including indigent status.
The bill also directs the Administrative Office of the Courts to create and maintain a statewide database and searchable public website that compiles the monthly reports. In addition, the administrative director must provide an annual summary to the governor, legislative leaders, and the attorney general, and may include recommendations for statutory, rule, or policy changes to improve reporting and ensure criminal fines and fees are imposed, collected, and spent in a fair manner, especially for economically disadvantaged people.
This bill would add new reporting duties for criminal courts and the Administrative Office of the Courts, creating a statewide data collection and public transparency system for fines and fees. It would not directly change criminal penalties, but it would amend Tennessee Code Annotated Titles 16 and 18 to require ongoing reporting, public access to aggregated and case-level financial obligation data, and annual policy summaries. Courts, the AOC, and defendants subject to fines, fees, and payment plans would be the primary affected parties.
No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no direct evidence of debate or opposition in the supplied materials. Based on the text alone, the bill appears to be framed as a transparency and fairness measure, with an emphasis on monitoring court-imposed financial obligations and their effects on economically disadvantaged defendants. The inclusion of a public database and annual recommendations suggests a reform-oriented purpose rather than a punitive one.
The bill’s likely points of contention are the breadth of data collection, the public posting of case-level financial information, and the inclusion of defendant demographic information, including indigent status. Supporters would likely view these provisions as necessary for transparency, oversight, and identifying unfair burdens from fines and fees, while critics may raise privacy concerns, administrative burden on courts, and questions about whether publishing detailed payment and demographic data could stigmatize defendants or expose sensitive information. Another possible point of debate is the bill’s implicit focus on reforming how criminal fines and fees are imposed and collected, particularly for low-income people.