(a) The general assembly hereby declares that conducting a criminal conviction record check of an applicant desiring a license to operate an adult-oriented establishment is for a law enforcement purpose and that conducting a criminal conviction record check of applicants desiring a permit to perform as an entertainer at an adult-oriented establishment is also for a law enforcement purpose. Notwithstanding § 7-51-1121(b), or any other law to the contrary, those counties, cities or other political subdivisions that choose to license and regulate adult-oriented establishments and sexually-oriented businesses, either by adopting this part or by enacting and enforcing their own regulatory scheme that disqualifies an applicant for the conviction of a criminal act, shall require that all applicants for a license or permit to operate an adult-oriented establishment or to perform as an entertainer at an adult-oriented establishment shall submit a full set of fingerprints to the county, city or other political subdivision for positive identification of the applicant and the county, city or other political subdivision shall conduct a criminal conviction records check of the applicant.
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 7-51-1122

  • Adult-oriented establishment: includes , but is not limited to, an adult bookstore, adult motion picture theater, adult mini-motion picture establishment, adult cabaret, escort agency, sexual encounter center, massage parlor, rap parlor, sauna. See Tennessee Code 7-51-1102
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • County: as used in this part , means either a Class A county or a Class B county as classified in §. See Tennessee Code 7-51-1102
  • Entertainer: means any person who provides entertainment within an "adult-oriented establishment" as defined in this section, whether or not a fee is charged or accepted for entertainment and whether or not entertainment is provided as an employee, escort or an independent contractor. See Tennessee Code 7-51-1102
  • Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in a perceivable form. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b)

(1) Upon receipt of an application, the county, city or other political subdivision that licenses or permits operators or entertainers shall:

(A) Conduct a criminal conviction record check through such computer terminals available to it or other means of access to criminal convictions that are maintained by the county, city or other political subdivision, the Tennessee bureau of investigation and the federal bureau of investigation; and
(B) Forward the applicant’s fingerprints to the Tennessee bureau of investigation, which shall verify the identity of the applicant and shall conduct its own criminal conviction record check itself and forward the results of that investigation to the requesting county, city or other political subdivision.
(2) If no disqualifying criminal conviction is identified by the county, city or other political subdivision or by the Tennessee bureau of investigation, the Tennessee bureau of investigation shall forward a set of the applicant’s fingerprints to the federal bureau of investigation for verification of the applicant’s identity and request the federal bureau of investigation to conduct a criminal conviction record check investigation using the fingerprints.
(3) The results of criminal conviction record investigations shall be used for the limited purpose of determining the applicant’s qualifications for a license to operate an adult-oriented establishment or for a permit to perform as an entertainer at an adult-oriented establishment.
(c) Fingerprints shall be submitted on authorized fingerprint cards or by electronic, machine-readable data, or other means approved by the Tennessee bureau of investigation and the federal bureau of investigation.
(d) Any cost incurred in conducting such criminal conviction records investigations shall be paid by the county, city or other political subdivision making the request of the Tennessee bureau of investigation or the federal bureau of investigation. The county, city or other political subdivision may include such cost as part of any fee it charges for processing the applicant’s license or permit.
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