Bill > HB2157

This bill establishes a Tennessee Safe Initiative Task Force, administratively attached to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), to identify and address prevalent criminal activity that endangers public safety. The task force, composed of eight voting members including the TBI director, commissioner of safety, a district attorney general, a sheriff, and a chief of police, will determine when additional law enforcement operations are needed. The bill outlines appointment procedures, term lengths, meeting requirements, and allows for executive sessions to discuss sensitive law enforcement matters without public notice, though final actions must occur in open meetings. The task force can request the TBI to conduct investigations into offenses like violent crimes and criminal gang activities, and its authority, along with related provisions, is set to terminate on July 1, 2029. Additionally, TBI investigators are authorized to conduct investigations in judicial districts where the Memphis Safe Task Force operates, focusing on violent crimes and gang activity, with this authority continuing until the task force votes to rescind it. The bill also expresses the intent that agents hired for the Tennessee Safe Initiative will continue their employment with the TBI after the initiative's specific provisions terminate.