HOUSE BILL 689
By Camper
SENATE BILL 1177
By Akbari
SB1177
002607
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AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 40,
Chapter 32, relative to expungements.
WHEREAS, counties with a larger population tend to face a criminal docket with many
defendants, and the related records quickly accumulate and can become overly burdensome;
and
WHEREAS, counties with a larger population tend to have a large staff in the court
clerk's office, which enables them to process expungements with less difficulty; now, therefore,
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENE RAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 40-32-101(a)(1), is amended by
adding the following as a new subdivision:
(G) Notwithstanding this section to the contrary, in a county having a population
of three hundred sixty-six thousand two hundred (366,200) or more, according to the
2020 federal census or any subsequent federal census, court clerks are authorized to
implement an automatic expungement processing program that initiates processing the
expungement of public records, without petition by the person, certification under
subsection (n), or order of the court, of any person entitled to an expungement without
cost pursuant to subdivisions (a)(3), (e)(1), or (e)(3). Upon notice from the court clerk of
an expungement under this subdivision (a)(1)(G), other agencies and officials shall treat
such notice the same as the receipt of an order of expungement from the court. The
court clerk shall maintain a confidential record of all cases expunged under this
subdivision (a)(1)(G), which is only accessible by the person whose records were
expunged, law enforcement agencies, courts, or other governmental agencies
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performing official functions. Court clerks are not responsible for the continued
maintenance of an expungement program under this subdivision (a)(1)(G) and are not
liable for any errors or omissions under the program.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.