WHB/7/7
Sponsored by Connor Kersey, Brayen Marx, Arkin McClurg of Brentwood Academy
This legislation was filed in the Correction category
Presented as part of the YIG Volunteer 2024 conference
| 1 | BE IT ENACTED BY THE TENNESSEE YMCA YOUTH IN GOVERNMENT |
| 2 | |
| 3 | Section 1: Terms in this act shall be defined as follows: |
| 4 | GG: General Government (including state employees and other associated costs) |
| 5 | LSC: Law, Safety, Corrections |
| 6 | General Fund: The state's primary fund for government operations |
| 7 | |
| 8 | Section 2: Reallocate 2% of the GG's fund from the General Fund to the LSC, specifically for |
| 9 | enhancing Correctional Officers salaries. |
| 10 | |
| 11 | Section 3: This reallocation would reduce the GG's fund from $400 million to $368 million, while |
| 12 | increasing the LSC allocation from $176 million to $208 million. |
| 13 | |
| 14 | Section 4: The United States is currently facing a crisis in correctional facilities, with many states |
| 15 | struggling to recruit and retain Correctional Officers. |
| 16 | |
| 17 | Section 5: Recognizing the demanding nature of the Correctional Officer role and Tennessee's 27th |
| 18 | rank in unemployment, an increase in salaries is essential to attract and retain qualified personnel. |
| 19 | |
| 20 | Section 6: Implementation of this bill should not impose additional costs on the state but may |
| 21 | require adjustments to other salary allocations. |
| 22 | |
| 23 | Section 7: Tennessee ranks 4th in crime per capita in the United States, yet 38th in Correctional |
| 24 | Officers salaries, which poses significant safety concerns for these essential workers. |
| 25 | |
| 26 | Section 8: All Laws or parts of law in conflict with this are hereby repealed. |
| 27 | |
| 28 | Section 9: This act shall take effect at the beginning of the next calendar year. |
| 29 |