New sex offender law

What starts as a Messed Up complaint in March leads to a new Tennessee State Law.

It all started with a complaint from a citizen living on Rayon Drive in Old Hickory.

The question they asked me was simple:

SHOULD 8 SEX OFFENDERS BE ABLE TO LIVE IN A SINGLE HOME?

We asked that question of City Councilman Darren Jernigan who was appalled that many TBI registered sex offenders all lived on one street around families with children.

“We are doing everything we can to limit the exposure of these predators from our children and we will not let up until they are completely gone from our neighborhoods.”

Jernigan called some of his contacts on Capitol Hill and soon a Messed Up expose was at the heart of new legislation known as:

SB 3290 by *Burchett, Overbey. (*HB 3181 by *Turner M, Hardaway, Coleman, Stewart.)

The legal-speak is posted below, but in a nutshell:

No more than 2 sex offenders can live together in a private residence, and no more than 3 sex offenders can live together in a corporate treatment center, like a group home.

The law does not apply to individuals placed in residential treatment facilities by the court.

So what’s up with the 8 sex offenders on Rayon Drive. A check of the TBI sex offender website shows that 4 have moved out and 4 still remain.

Messed Up is currently investigating to see if 4 sex offenders under one roof at a group home are too many under the new law. We’ll keep you posted.

Here is the new law:

SB 3290 by *Burchett, Overbey. (*HB 3181 by *Turner M, Hardaway, Coleman, Stewart.)

Sexual Offenders – As introduced, requires all sexual offenders who are required to be on the sexual offender registry and whose victim was 15 years of age or younger to attend a class sponsored by the offender’s registering agency on the evening of October 31 of every year. – Amends TCA Title 40, Chapter 39.

Fiscal Summary

Increase State Revenue – $3,000 Increase State Expenditures – $2,400 Increase Local Revenue – $9,400 Increase Local Expenditures – $11,900*

Bill Summary

This bill requires that any sexual offender whose primary or secondary residence is in Tennessee or who is a student in Tennessee, who is required to be on the sexual offender registry, and whose victim was 15 years of age or younger must attend a class sponsored by the offender’s registering agency on the evening of October 31 of every year. The offender will be required to pay a reasonable attendance fee for the class, which will be established by the offender’s registering agency. A violation of the October 31 meeting requirement will be a Class A misdemeanor.

ON JUNE 3, 2010, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 3290, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 rewrites the bill to prohibit any sexual or violent sexual offender who is required to be on the sexual offender registry from establishing a primary or secondary residence with two or more other such offenders. Similarly, no person, corporation or other entity may knowingly permit more than three such sexual or violent sexual offenders to establish a primary or secondary residence in any house, apartment or other habitation owned or under the control of such person, corporation or entity. This amendment would not apply to any residential treatment facility in which more than three sexual or violent sexual offenders reside following sentencing to such facility by a court or placement in such facility by the board of probation and parole for the purpose of in-house sexual offender treatment if the treatment facility complies with the guidelines and standards for the treatment of sexual offenders established by the sex offender treatment board under present