Gov. Lee sets parameters for special session on the Second Amendment, public safety

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Gov. Bill Lee’s office released the topics of legislation for a special session that would take on public safety in tandem with Second Amendment rights.

The document lists 18 different topics from mental health resources to juvenile justice reform.

This special session on Aug. 21 follows The Covenant School shooting back in March that claimed lives — including three children.

Critics had hoped the session would focus on guns and what they call sensible gun reform. The governor, however, intends to focus on the state’s broken mental health and juvenile justice systems.

Near the end of the regular session, Gov. Bill Lee proposed a bill that would have allowed extreme risk orders of protection or so-called red flag laws. The bill would have made it easier for a judge to take away someone’s guns if they are deemed a threat to themselves or others. But the Republican supermajority killed the bill.

Here are the parameters of the special session this August:

• mental health resources providers, commitments or services;
• school safety plans or policies;
• offenses of committing mass violence or threatening to commit acts of mass violence;
• reports from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation regarding human trafficking;
• identification of individuals arrested for felonies;
• law enforcement’s access to information about individuals who are subject to mental health commitment;
• information about victims of violent offenses;
• stalking offenses;
• measures encouraging the safe storage of firearms, which do include the creation of penalties for failing to safely store firearms;
• temporary mental health orders of protections, which must be initiated by law enforcement, must require a due process hearing, must require the respondent to undergo an assessment for suicidal or homicidal ideation, must require that an order of protection be reevaluated at least 180 days and must not permit ex parte orders;
• the transfer of juvenile defendants age 16 and older to courts with criminal jurisdiction, which must include appeal rights for the juveniles and the prosecuting authorities;
• limiting the circumstances in which juvenile records may be expunged;
• blended sentencing for juveniles;
• offenses related to inducing or coercing a minor to commit an offense;
• the structure of operations of state and local courts
• making appropriations sufficient to provide funding for any legislation