State lawmakers last week advanced Senate Bill (SB) 1467, the Memphis Safe Task Force (MSTF) Accountability Act by State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis), which would require the Shelby County District Attorney to provide an explanation for any plea deal offered in a felony case generated by the task force.
The bill would require Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy, as well as any other prosecutor’s office assigned to the case, to provide a report within 24-hours of a decision to enter a plea agreement, lower a charged offense, dismiss, or otherwise decline to prosecute an offense, when the arrest was generated through one of the MSTF members.
Led by the U.S. Marshals Service, the task force also includes local, state, and federal law enforcement. More than 6,000 arrests have been made since the MSTF deployed on September 30, 2025.
Under Taylor’s bill, the Tennessee Attorney General, Speaker of the Senate, Speaker of the House, District Attorneys General Conference, and the relevant U.S. Attorney General would all receive a copy of the report.
In addition to arrests generated by the MSTF, the legislation would also apply to those from the FBI in Operation Viper, the effort announced by FBI Director Kash Patel after Memphis was determined to lead the nation in murders per capita.
Filed in October 2025, the legislation passed its first reading on January 13 and is now assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee for further review.
Announcing his plan to file the legislation last year, Taylor said his bill would hold local prosecutors accountable.
“When I recently testified in front of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, I testified that our Soros-backed District Attorney Steve Mulroy was the weak link in the Memphis Safe Task Force’s efforts to #MakeMemphisMatter and clean up our crime,” wrote Taylor in October.
Citing his concern, Taylor said his legislation, “will allow us to track what D.A. Mulroy is doing with the state charges,” from the arrests. He added, “we can’t let this once in a generation opportunity go to waste!”
In another statement, he acknowledged Mulroy’s prosecutorial discretion, but said that citizens deserve to know how the prosecutor handles cases.
“We’re not tampering with that discretion, but we are going to hold him accountable based on what he puts in that certification,” said Taylor.
An unknown number of the arrests have resulted in federal cases, and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced the temporary reassignment of military attorneys to handle the work.
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Tom Pappert is a 2025 recipient of the Dao Prize and the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star. He also reports for the Star News Network. Follow Tom on X. Email tips to [email protected].
