Criminal Offenses - As introduced, extends from January 15 to February 15, the date by which, every five years, the fiscal review committee must report to the chief clerks of the senate and the house of representatives of the general assembly the percentage of change in the average consumer price index (all items-city average) as published by the United States department of labor, bureau of labor statistics and must inform the general assembly what the statutory minimum and maximum authorized fine for each offense classification would be if adjusted to reflect the compounded cost-of-living increases during the five-year period. - Amends TCA Title 16; Title 36; Title 37; Title 38; Title 39; Title 40; Title 49; Title 55 and Title 65.

114th Regular Session (2025-2026) Introduced by Monty Fritts

Tennessee moves the deadline for reviewing and adjusting criminal fines for inflation from January 15 to February 15 every five years to account for cost-of-living changes.

Action Def. in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee to 3/25/2026

#criminaloffenses

Legislative bill overview

HB 723 adjusts the timeline for Tennessee's periodic review of criminal fines by moving the reporting deadline from January 15 to February 15 every five years. The bill requires the fiscal review committee to report inflation adjustments (based on the Consumer Price Index) and recommend updated minimum and maximum fines for each criminal offense classification to account for compounded cost-of-living increases over the five-year period.

Why is this important

Criminal fines that aren't adjusted for inflation effectively become less punitive over time, reducing their deterrent effect and creating disparities in penalties for identical offenses committed in different years. This mechanism ensures that statutory penalties remain economically meaningful and comparable across time. The one-month deadline extension appears to provide administrative flexibility for completing complex calculations across multiple criminal code sections.

Potential points of contention

Administrative burden: The amendments span nine Tennessee Code Annotated titles, suggesting extensive fine schedules requiring recalculation—the deadline shift may reflect underestimation of workload

Automatic adjustment concerns: Some may argue that inflation-based fine increases should require explicit legislative votes rather than automatic adjustments, raising accountability questions

Fairness debate: Opponents might contend that inflation adjustments disproportionately affect lower-income defendants; supporters argue non-adjusted fines unfairly diminish over time