BSB/1/12
Sponsored by Micah Reeves, Smith Kibbe of Baylor School
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 | Section 1) Terms in this act shall be defined as follows: |
| 3 | a. Minor: a person under the age of full legal reasonability |
| 4 | b. Child Protective Services (CPS): governmental agency responsible for receiving and |
| 5 | investigating reports of child abuse or neglect |
| 6 | |
| 7 | Section 2) Harassment against a minor shall have an upgraded punishment and be labeled |
| 8 | “Harassment against a minor”. |
| 9 | a. Harassment is classified as a push, shove, or kick. |
| 10 | b. There should be a clear statement of whether the harassment was against an adult or a minor. |
| 11 | |
| 12 | Section 3) Any violent crime against a minor should be upgraded to a larger punishment. |
| 13 | a. There are already increased punishments for acts against a minor, but they are not substantial. |
| 14 | b. Assault against a minor has a sentence of 1-5 years of imprisonment compared to the regular |
| 15 | sentence of assault being a maximum sentence of six months to a year in custody. |
| 16 | c. The reasonability and comprehension abilities of adults are high enough to know not to commit |
| 17 | crimes against minors who are more vulnerable. |
| 18 | d. The punishments should also have included child protective services checking in the house of |
| 19 | the convict to ensure the safety of their children if they have any. |
| 20 | e. Child Protective Services shall check on house every month for the first year after conviction. |
| 21 | |
| 22 | Section 4) The prosecuted individual must be admitted to reformation programs in prison to make |
| 23 | sure they receive proper help, and it does not happen again. |
| 24 | a. The individual must be admitted to a program fitting to the crime they committed to learn from |
| 25 | it and better themselves. |
| 26 | b. If the individual is not put in prison, it is up to the judge what program they shall be admitted to |
| 27 | outside of prison. |
| 28 | c. The decision of the program they are admitted to is decided by the judge. |
| 29 | d. Their progress in such a program is monitored by an employee of the prison they are admitted |
| 30 | into to make sure they are making sufficient progress. |
| 31 | e. If they are not making progress in the program, they must face further charges in court. |
| 32 | Section 5) This act shall be mandated and funded by the Child Protective Services. |
| 33 | a. This act requires the employees of Child Protective Services to pay for their work in wellness |
| 34 | checks. |
| 35 | b. This act requires payment towards the prison employees who monitor the progress of the |
| 36 | individuals in the reformation programs. |
| 37 | |
| 38 | Section 6) All laws or parts of laws in conflict with this act are hereby repealed. |
| 39 | Section 7) This act shall take effect on January 1st, 2025. |
| 40 |