SB 28 - HB 370
FISCAL NOTE
Fiscal Review Committee
Tennessee General Assembly
March 4, 2025
Fiscal Analyst: Arielle Woodmore | Email: arielle.woodmore@capitol.tn.gov | Phone: 615-741-2564
SB 28 - HB 370
SUMMARY OF BILL: Expands the definition of communicate, as it relates to the offense
of harassment, to include contacting a person in the physical presence of the person, contacting a
person through the use of flyers, and verbal and nonverbal communication.
FISCAL IMPACT:
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
EXPENDITURES Mandatory
FY25-26 & Subsequent Years $13,400
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:
• Pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-308, a person commits the offense of harassment
who intentionally:
o Communicates a threat to another person, and the person communicating the threat
intends the communication to be a threat of harm to the victim; and a reasonable
person would perceive the communication to be a threat of harm;
o Communicates with another person without lawful purpose, anonymously or
otherwise, with the intent that the frequency or means of the communication
annoys, offends, alarms, or frightens the recipient and, by this action, annoys,
offends, alarms, or frightens the recipient;
o Communicates to another person, with intent to harass that person, that a relative
or other person has been injured or killed when the communication is known to be
false;
o Communicate with another person or transmits or displays an image without
legitimate purpose with the intent that the image is viewed by the victim by any
method described and the person maliciously intends the communication to be a
threat of harm to the victim; and a reasonable person would perceive the
communication to be a threat of harm; or
o Engages in bullying or cyber-bullying.
• Pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-308(c), harassment is a Class A misdemeanor. The
penalty is enhanced to a Class E felony if a person convicted of a criminal offense
intentionally communicates in person with the victim of the person's crime while
incarcerated, on pretrial diversion, probation, community correction or parole and the
communication is:
SB 28 - HB 370 2
o Anonymous or threatening or made in an offensively repetitious manner or at hours
known to be inconvenient to the victim;
o Made for no legitimate purpose; and
o Made knowing that it will alarm or annoy the victim.
• The proposed legislation expands the definition of communicate to include contacting a
person in the physical presence of the person, contacting a person through the use of flyers,
and verbal and nonverbal communication.
• Based upon information provided by the Department of Correction (DOC), there has been
an average of 0.6 admissions per year over the last 10 years for the Class E felony offense
under Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-308 for harassment.
• There will not be a sufficient change in the number of felony prosecutions for state or local
government to experience any significant change in revenue or expenditures.
• Based on information provided by the Administrative Office of the Courts and the DOC
Jail Summary Reports, there have been an average of 287.83 Class A misdemeanor
convictions of harassment in each of the last five years.
• It can be reasonably assumed the proposed legislation will result in an increase of five
percent or 14.39 (287.83 x 5.0%) Class A misdemeanor convictions of harassment.
• It is assumed that an individual convicted of a Class A misdemeanor offense will spend an
average of 15 days in a local jail.
• Based on cost estimates provided by local government entities throughout the state and
reported bed capacity within such facilities, the weighted average cost per day to house an
inmate in a local jail facility is $61.99.
• The recurring mandatory increase in expenditures to local governments is estimated to be
$13,380 (14.39 convictions x $61.99 x 15) in FY25-26 and subsequent years.
• Based on the Fiscal Review Committee’s 2008 study and the Administrative Office of the
Courts’ 2012 study on collection of court costs, fees, and fines, collection in criminal cases
is insignificant. The proposed legislation will not significantly change state or local revenue.
CERTIFICATION:
The information contained herein is true and correct to the best of my knowledge.
Bojan Savic, Executive Director