Tennessee § 7-68-104 - Violations — Filing complaint — Burden of proof — Court actions — Compliance with orders.

§ 7-68-104. Violations — Filing complaint — Burden of proof — Court actions — Compliance with orders.

A person residing in a municipality or county who believes a local governmental entity or official has violated § 7-68-103 may file a complaint in chancery court in that person's county of residence. The person filing the complaint shall have the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that a violation of § 7-68-103 has occurred. If the court finds the local governmental entity or official is in violation of § 7-68-103, the court shall issue a writ of mandamus against the entity or official ordering the entity or official to comply with § 7-68-103, enjoin the entity or official from further interference, and take other action to ensure compliance as is within the jurisdiction of the court. Upon a finding by the court that a local governmental entity or official has adopted or enacted a sanctuary policy, the local governmental entity, or the entity to which the official belongs, becomes ineligible to enter into any grant contract with the department of economic and community development. Ineligibility commences on the date the court finds that the local governmental entity or official is in violation of § 7-68-103 and continues until such time that the court certifies that the sanctuary policy is repealed, rescinded, or otherwise no longer in effect. A local governmental entity shall have no less than ninety (90) days nor more than one hundred twenty (120) days from the date of the court's order to comply with the order. If, after one hundred twenty (120) days, the local governmental entity has not complied with the court's order, the court may take whatever action necessary to enforce compliance. Acts 2009, ch. 447, § 1; 2018, ch. 973, § 4. Compiler's Notes. Acts 2018, ch. 973, § 6 provided that (a) The act, which amended this section, shall be implemented in a manner consistent with federal laws regulating immigration, protecting the civil rights of all persons, and respecting the privileges and immunities of United States citizens. (b) In complying with the requirements of this act, no law enforcement officer shall consider an individual's race, color, or national origin, except to the extent permitted by the United States or Tennessee constitution, and federal law. Amendments. The 2018 amendment added (c)(2), and in present (c)(1), inserted “is” preceding “in violation”, substituted “shall” for “may” preceding “issue”, substituted “entity or official ordering the entity or official” for “local governmental entity of official ordering it” preceding “to comply”, inserted “entity or” following “enjoin the”, and substituted “, and” for “or” following “interference”. Effective Dates. Acts 2018, ch. 973, § 7. January 1, 2019.