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Committee approves bill allowing judges to order certified batterers intervention programs

Tennessee House Judiciary Committee · March 12, 2026
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

HB661 would permit judges to direct defendants to certified batterers intervention programs (26–48 weeks) and recognizes some out‑of‑state convictions for lifetime protection orders; members asked about fit for non‑partner incidents and indigent defendants. The measure moves to Finance, Ways and Means (17–1–2).

Chairman White explained House Bill 661 as a measure to expand use of certified batterers intervention programs as alternatives within sentencing and sentencing‑adjacent options. He described minimum program requirements (26–48 weeks, 1 counselor per 6 defendants, classes up to 2 hours) and said judges could direct defendants to certified programs; failure to complete…

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