NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — For years, the state of Tennessee has only paid for mental health evaluations if the suspect in a crime is charged with a felony. But a Tennessee lawmaker wants to change that.
"The state, about 15-20 years back, stopped paying for mental health evaluations for misdemeanor defendants. So if an individual is arrested in a misdemeanor, the state doesn’t pay for that evaluation," said Rep. William Lamberth, R-Portland, who also serves as House Majority Leader.
Under his proposal, the state would be back on the hook for paying for those evaluations. Lamberth says he got the idea from area District Attorneys, including Nashville DA General Glenn Funk, who complained that many of their repeat misdemeanor offenders simply aren't being evaluated because the crime isn't severe enough.
"Unfortunately the local communities are simply not paying for those evaluations. They’re expensive. I get it. The budgets are tight. The state really should pay for that evaluation," he said.
The bill was passed overwhelmingly by the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee and will advance to the next committee stop. But if it becomes law, it won't be cheap. Rep. Lamberth told subcommittee members that the fiscal note is at least $3 million a year. Lamberth thinks it's worth every penny.
Bail reform changes in the pipeline
The subcommittee also passed a Lamberth sponsored bill that would make it a misdemeanor offense to violate a judge's conditions for bail. Currently, doing so is only a court citation.
"They may have been arrested many times. And a judge can look at that circumstance and say look, here are some conditions of bond that are going to keep the community safe. If you violate those conditions, it’s going to be an A misdemeanor. You’re going to go to jail," he said.
Another one of Lamberth's bills would make a judge consider a defendant's risk to public safety as their top priority for setting bail.
"The judge has to consider what’s going to keep the community safe from that person before they even get to whether that person is going to show up in court," said Lamberth.
Finally, a bill that would allow the death penalty to be an option for someone convicted of raping a child, also passed the subcommittee.
But the move did get push back from Rep. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville. For more on her objections to the move, click here.
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-Rebecca Schleicher
