NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A bipartisan effort in the Tennessee Legislature is moving forward to crack down on gang-related crime, but questions remain about who will foot the bill for the proposed measures.
Tennessee House Bill 184, sponsored by State Rep. G.A. Hardaway, D-Memphis, in the House and a State Sen. Brent Taylor, a Republican in the Senate, passed the House Judicial Committee Wednesday without debate. The legislation would expand the definition of reckless endangerment to include certain types of gang activity.
"This bill is bipartisan, it's about protecting the community," Hardaway said.
The legislation would give judges unique sentencing options for gang-related crimes. Judges could revoke a person's driver's license for several years, even if the infraction had nothing to do with a car, and require them to wear a GPS monitoring device, which Hardaway hopes will deter gang association. "Nobody wants to be associated with you if law enforcement knows where you are 24 hours a day," Hardaway said.
The bill includes another provision allowing homeowners associations to petition judges to ban gang members from spending time in their communities.
Under the bill, convicted criminals would pay the costs for GPS monitoring — approximately $7 per day or about $2,500 per year, according to the bill's fiscal note.
However, NewsChannel 5 asked Rep. Hardaway if state taxpayers would have to foot the bill when defendants aren't able to pay. "It may, the majority of it should be falling back on the local community," Hardaway replied.
When pressed about potential unfunded mandates to local communities, Hardaway noted that "we have some funds to pick up the costs of GPS in some cases." He was referring to the Tennessee Electronic Monitoring Indigency Fund, though it's unclear how much money that fund contains.
The bill received mostly bipartisan support, but three Democratic representatives voted "Present Not Voting" rather than supporting the measure. Rep. Gloria Johnson told NewsChannel 5 she needed more time to review the legislation's details.
The legislation now moves to the Finance Subcommittee and faces a long journey through both chambers of the Legislature, leaving room for additional debate on the funding questions.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at Chris.Davis@NewsChannel5.com.
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