HB 358 – SB 388
FISCAL NOTE
Fiscal Review Committee
Tennessee General Assembly
February 18, 2025
Fiscal Analyst: Natalie Dusek | Email: natalie.dusek@capitol.tn.gov | Phone: 615-741-2564
HB 358 – SB 388
SUMMARY OF BILL: Expands significantly the criminal offenses for which a magistrate
must order a defendant to wear a global positioning monitoring system (GPS) device. Requires the
clerk of each court that orders the use of a GPS device to report the number of defendants currently
subject to such an order and the offenses for which the defendant is awaiting trial on a monthly
basis to the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC). Requires the AOC to compile and submit a
report on such information to the Criminal Justice Committee of the House of Representatives and
the Judiciary Committee of the Senate by July 1 each year.
FISCAL IMPACT:
STATE GOVERNMENT
EXPENDITURES General Fund Electronic Monitoring Indigency Fund
FY25-26 $290,500 $385,000
FY26-27 & Subsequent Years - $385,000
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
EXPENDITURES Mandatory
FY25-26 $475,000
FY26-27 & Subsequent Years $385,000
Article II, Section 24 of the Tennessee Constitution provides that: no law of general application shall impose increased expenditure
requirements on cities or counties unless the General Assembly shall provide that the state share in the cost.
Assumptions:
GPS Required as a Condition of Bail:
• The proposed legislation requires a magistrate to order a defendant to wear a GPS device as
a condition of bail for any defendant arrested for:
o An offense, during the course of which:
▪ The defendant is alleged to have carried, possessed, or used a firearm or
dangerous weapon;
▪ A person was killed or suffered serious bodily injury; or
▪ The defendant is alleged to have used force against the person of another;
o Burglary of a freight or passenger car, automobile, truck, trailer, boat, airplane, or
other motor vehicle;
o Reckless driving;
o Drag racing; or
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o A second or subsequent offense of burglary, or any offense established in Title 39,
Chapter 14, Part 1 of the Tennessee Code, which covers a wide variety of numerous
offenses considered theft.
• It is not known how many people are charged each year with these offenses, or for the
commission of an offense that meets these criteria.
• Based on the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s Crime in Tennessee 2023 report, it is
estimated that in 2023 at least 60,000 adults were arrested for offenses that are included in
the legislation and that at least 50,000 were subsequently charged. Therefore, it is assumed
that 50,000 additional individuals each year could be subject to an order for GPS
monitoring as a condition of bail under the proposed legislation.
• Pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-10-419(h)(1), unless the court finds the person to be
indigent, the defendant is required to pay the costs associated with operating a GPS system
under the proposed legislation.
• Pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-11-152(h), if the magistrate determines that the
defendant is indigent, the magistrate must order the defendant to pay any portion of the
costs associated with the GPS system for which the defendant has the ability to pay, as
determined by the magistrate. Any portion of the costs that the defendant is unable to pay
shall come from the Electronic Monitoring Indigency Fund (EMIF), subject to the
availability of funds.
• It is estimated that approximately 10 percent of those offenders, or 5,000 individuals
(50,000 cases x 10%), will be determined to be indigent and will require funding assistance.
• The average cost of a GPS monitor is estimated to be $7 per day.
• Pursuant to the Tennessee Criminal Court Proceedings, Rule 5(c)(2), unless the defendant
expressly waives the right to a preliminary hearing, when the defendant pleads not guilty the
magistrate shall schedule a preliminary hearing to be held within 14 days if the defendant
remains in custody and within 30 days if released.
• For the purpose of this analysis, it is estimated a released defendant will be monitored for
an average of 22 days.
• The recurring mandatory increase in expenditures related to monitoring is estimated to be
$770,000 [5,000 offenders x (22 days x $7 cost)] in FY25-26 and subsequent years.
• Pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-10-419(g), for GPS monitoring, the state is only
obligated to provide a 50 percent match with participating local governments, subject to
availability.
• It is not known how many counties are currently participating in the shared funding
program. This analysis assumes full participation.
• Therefore, it is assumed that $770,000 of the increased expenditures will be subject to a
50/50 match with the state.
• The total recurring mandatory increase in expenditures to local governments is estimated to
be $385,000 ($770,000 x 50%) in FY25-26 and subsequent years.
• The total recurring increase in state expenditures from the EMIF is estimated to be
$385,000 ($770,000 x 50%) in FY25-26 and subsequent years.
• It is assumed that this legislation will not significantly impact the rates of incarceration due
to violating conditions of bail.
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Recording and Reporting:
• The proposed legislation requires the clerk of each court that orders the use of a GPS
device to report the number of defendants currently subject to such an order, and the
offenses committed by each defendant, to the AOC on a monthly basis.
• Neither the Tennessee Court Information System (TnCIS), nor the various other case
management systems used by certain clerks’ offices currently have the ability to track and
report this information.
• Based on information provided by the AOC, facilitating the recording and reporting of this
information will require significant software modifications, as well as the construction of a
new database to store it.
• The AOC provides an estimate of $290,525 in FY25-26 to contract for the required updates
to the TnCIS system and the construction of the database.
• There are approximately 190 clerks’ offices across the state that serve a court with criminal
jurisdiction. There are 86 counties that currently use the TnCIS system for case
management. For the clerks’ offices located in those counties, the updates provided by the
AOC will enable those clerks to report the required information.
• The other nine counties (95 counties in state – 86 counties that use TnCIS) in the state,
however, use various other case management systems. Each one of those counties will
need to contract with their relevant vendor to modify their existing systems. The costs for
this are assumed to be the responsibility of those counties.
• The amount each of those nine counties will need to spend to integrate the changes is not
known. It is reasonably assumed to be at least $10,000 per county, or $90,000 ($10,000 x 9
counties) total.
• Therefore, there will be an increase in state expenditures estimated to be $290,525 (TnCIS
updates and database construction) in FY25-26; and an increase in local expenditures
estimated to be $90,000 (updates to various other local systems) in FY25-26.
Total Impacts
• The increase in state expenditures is estimated to be $385,000 (monitoring) to the EMIF,
and $290,525 (software updates) to the General Fund in FY25-26.
• The increase in state expenditures is estimated to be $385,000 (monitoring) to the EMIF in
FY26-27 and subsequent years.
• The mandatory increase in local expenditures is estimated to be $475,000 ($385,000
monitoring + $90,000 software updates) in FY25-26.
• The mandatory increase in local expenditures is estimated to be $385,000 (monitoring) in
FY26-27 and subsequent years.
CERTIFICATION:
The information contained herein is true and correct to the best of my knowledge.
Bojan Savic, Executive Director