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HB 1333

Safety, Dept. of - As introduced, requires, by February 1 of each year, the department to submit a report to the governor, the speaker of the senate, and the speaker of the house of representatives that provides the number of individuals for whom a court enhanced their statutory penalty because either the conviction is for the commission of a violent crime and the defendant was an illegal alien or the conviction involved the use or display of a deadly weapon and the defendant was an illegal alien. - Amends TCA Title 2; Title 4; Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 8 and Title 55.

114th Regular Session (2025-2026) Introduced by William Lamberth

Requires Tennessee Department of Safety to annually report cases where courts enhanced penalties for violent crimes or deadly weapon use by defendants identified as illegal aliens.

P2C, caption bill, held on desk - pending amdt.
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Bill Summary · HB 1333

Legislative bill overview

HB 1333 requires Tennessee's Department of Safety to submit an annual report by February 1 documenting cases where courts enhanced statutory penalties for individuals convicted of violent crimes or crimes involving deadly weapons where the defendant was identified as an illegal alien. The bill amends multiple Tennessee code titles to establish this reporting requirement.

Why is this important

This bill creates a new data collection and reporting mechanism focused on a specific intersection of immigration status and criminal sentencing. The annual reports would provide lawmakers and the governor with quantified information about how often enhanced penalties are applied in cases involving non-citizens, potentially informing future policy discussions about sentencing practices and immigration enforcement.

Potential points of contention

  • Data collection and privacy concerns: Requires systematic tracking and reporting of immigration status linked to criminal convictions, raising questions about data security, accuracy of immigration status determination, and privacy implications
  • Interpretive scope: The bill's language around "illegal alien" status and how courts document this determination could create ambiguity in implementation and data consistency across different jurisdictions
  • Resource implications: Creates a new administrative reporting obligation that requires resources for data collection, verification, and compilation without specified funding mechanisms

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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