For years, information on Tennessee sex offenders has been just a few keystrokes away. Tennessee lawmakers are also discussing legislation to create a similar register for domestic violence offenders.
“In the last three years, we’ve had anywhere from 62,000 to 70,000 domestic violence offenses in Tennessee,” said Sen. Becky Massey, a Republican from Knoxville.
The database would be very comparable to Tennessee’s Sex Offender Registry. Anyone may navigate through the list or perform a straight name search. “I had a lady that I talked to last week that said that, had she been able to find that out, she would not have married the fella,” Massey added.
The proposed registry would not include personal addresses, and a person would need to have two domestic violence convictions before their name was included to the database.
Another significant difference from the sex offender registry is that names would not be on the list indefinitely. For example, if a person was convicted of two domestic violence offenses, their name would be on the books for two years. If someone had three infractions, their name would be removed after five years.
If someone had four or more violations, their name would be removed after 10 years. Of course, the clock would reset with each new transgression. It’s vital to emphasize that domestic abuse survivors must provide their permission for the perpetrator to be included on the registry.
“This is a huge issue, huge problem,” said Sen. Jon Lundberg, R-Bristol.
Cost Concerns
The Senate Judiciary Committee appeared to be amenable to the notion, but they were concerned about the cost. “Based on the new work that would take, that’s why we had to put on the fiscal note that we did,” Rachel Russell, the TBI Deputy Counsel of Policy who testified, explained.
According to the bill’s fiscal note, the TBI estimates that salary for four new staff jobs, software development, and data storage will cost taxpayers around half a million dollars annually. “I think I know where it might go because of the fiscal note, and I hate that,” said Sen. Paul Rose, R-Lauderdale County.
Unintended Consequences
There is also concern about unforeseen outcomes. Jessica Escue, Executive Director of the Tennessee Coalition to End Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, says they’re neutral on the bill since registries can sometimes have unexpected consequences for survivors. However, Escue notes that revisions to Tennessee’s legislation have addressed some of their concerns.
Finally, the bill passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee with five votes in favor, two against, and two present but not voting. Will the database someday be accessible with a single keystroke? Only time will tell.
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