Courts, Juvenile - As enacted, requires a juvenile court conducting a child custody, detention, or adjudicatory proceeding to conduct the proceeding in a dedicated courtroom provided by the county that is closest in prox, the official text

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                              PUBLIC CHAPTER NO. 254

                                                     SENATE BILL NO. 718

                                                          By Taylor, Rose

                                             Substituted for: House Bill No. 797

                                             By Vaughan, Hardaway, Gillespie

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 37, relative to juveniles.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:

          SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 37, Chapter 1, Part 1, is amended by adding
the following as a new section:

                    (a) As used in this section, "approved detention facility" means a detention facility used
          for detention of juveniles, including a detention home or center for delinquent children that is
          under the control, direction, or supervision of the court or other public authority or private
          agency approved by the court. Any such detention center and operator must be approved,
          certified, or licensed by the department of children's services.

                    (b) In a county that has provided an approved detention facility to meet the needs for
          care of children under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court or detained by order of the juvenile
          court pending an investigation or hearing and disposition, the juvenile court is required to use
          and assume direct supervision, control, and direction of the approved detention facility as the
          primary detention facility for detention of juveniles under the court's jurisdiction or arrange with
          a licensed institution, agency, or the department of children's services to manage the facility
          or to receive temporary care and custody of children within the jurisdiction of the court.

                    (c) Consistent with the public purposes set forth in§ 37-1-101, if a county has provided
          an approved detention facility and the approved detention facility contains a courtroom, then
          the juvenile court must use the dedicated courtroom for conducting any proceeding in a
          delinquency matter related to a youth detained at the approved detention facility as long as the
          courtroom substantially complies with the administrative office of the courts' minimum
          courtroom security requirements. It is the purpose of this section to minimize the humiliation of
          a child in custody or detention from public exposure and the use of restraints that may occur
          from unnecessary vehicular transportation of the child. This section does not replace the
          provisions in the Tennessee Rules of Juvenile Procedure pertaining to confidentiality of
          proceedings and the use of contemporaneous audio-visual transmissions.

                    (d) This section does not apply if a juvenile court has entered into a written agreement
          with a licensed institution, other public authority or agency, or the department of children's
          services to manage the approved detention facility or to receive temporary care and custody
          of children within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court.

          SECTION 2. This act takes effect October 1, 2025, the public welfare requiring it.
         SENATE BILL NO. 718

PASSED:  April 14, 2025

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                         '-        RANDY McNALL Y

                         SPEAKER OF THE SENATE

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                         CAMERON SEXTON, SPEAKER
                         HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

:;ytJ- APPROVED this  day of ~ jI  2025

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         BILL LEE, GOVERNOR