The state Senate on Monday passed a bill to restrict police oversight boards across Tennessee, though with an amendment that would still allow a process for obtaining subpoenas.

The Republican-backed bill cleared the House last week, but without such amendment, meaning the bill will likely go to a conference committee so lawmakers can attempt to reconcile their differences.

Sen. Mike Bell, R-Riceville, the sponsor of Senate Bill 1407 — which is being carried in the House by Rep. Michael Curcio, R-Dickson — filed the amendment earlier this month after consulting with officials in Knoxville.

"This sets checks and balances for the exercise of the boards' authority," Bell said, speaking broadly on the bill.

"Subpoena power is (an) awesome power. It compels a witness, be it a police officer or a private citizen, to come and tell the truth,” he said. "I don't know if that's power we need in the hands of people outside of trained experts ... putting that in the hand of a judge to issue that subpoena is a great compromise."

Bell's amendment would allow an independent investigator employed by a community oversight board, chief of police or head of a police department's internal affairs division to file a petition with a judge to issue a subpoena.

That subpoena could compel the production of documents or witness testimony under oath, though the testimony would only go before the investigator, the police chief or the internal affairs head.

The petition for the subpoena would be filed in chancery or circuit court, and any official authorized to serve process would deliver a copy to the witness or document custodian.

The legislation passed in the Senate on a 27-4 vote Monday. The House passed the legislation without the amendment in a 66-26, near-party-line vote last week.

"My guess is that this would go to a conference committee," Bell said. "I will fight for the Senate's position."

Bill could strip key powers from Nashville police review board

The bill, if passed without the amendment, would strip Metro's 11-member civilian-led police review board — approved by 59 percent of the vote in November — of its authority to subpoena people and evidence, a move that would significantly hinder the group's ability to investigate alleged officer misconduct.

Nashville senators questioned the timing of the legislation, voicing disappointment that the bill was filed so soon after the city's voters approved the board by a wide margin in November.

"My first preference would be that we would have allowed the community oversight board to have been in existence for at least a year to make a proper assessment," said Sen. Brenda Gilmore, D-Nashville.

"But I do want to thank (Bell) for hearing out the community and trying to make the best of the situation," she added, commending the amendment.

Sen. Steve Dickerson, R-Nashville, hit present instead of voting on the bill Monday, saying he was conflicted about the process of how the bill came about.

"Where we are from, a public policy standpoint is palatable to them. It's an issue of process," Dickerson said. "Davidson County voted in favor of this and this sort of trumps them."

Bell filed the amendment after consulting with officials in Knoxville, where an oversight board with subpoena power has existed for more than two decades.

"I want to thank (Bell) for working with my folks in Knoxville because we've had the citizens advisory board for about 30 years and it's worked well," said Sen. Becky Duncan Massey, R-Knoxville, who voted in support of the bill.

"With the amendment, this make is a workable thing," she said.

Oversight board supporters: Bill 'harms police-community relations'

Following the House's vote last week, Community Oversight Now — a local coalition that pushed for Nashville's newly formed oversight board — called on Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, and other lawmakers to intervene and keep the legislation from being enacted into law.

"The legislation harms police-community relations and makes it difficult for people to have fair civil rights investigations in incidences of alleged misconduct by law enforcement," the group said in a statement.

"All boards and commissions that have direct and indirect oversight over law enforcement agencies will be curtailed by HB 658/SB 1407. This includes civil service boards, public employee benefits boards, school boards that hire resource officers, and ethical conduct boards. Consequently, the legislation raises serious legal concerns."

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