H.O.P.E. Homeless opportunities Programs and Employment

BSB/4/14

Sponsored by Hudson honeycutt, Mackenzie sanders of West High School

This legislation was filed in the Human Services category

Presented as part of the YIG Volunteer 2024 conference

1 BE IT ENACTED BY THE TENNESSEE YMCA YOUTH IN GOVERNMENT
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3 Section 1. Definitions
4 Financial independence
5 refers to an individual's ability to sustain a residence, provide food, pay electric and water bills,
6 and afford basic necessities like clothes, hygiene products, and save for retirement.
7 A Homeless individual
8 An Individual who is unable to provide Financial Independence for themselves and has therefore
9 gone without residence.
10 Rehabilitation Center
11 A program or organization whose purpose is to help individuals overcome their past addictions and
12 end possible substance abuse
13 Substance abuse
14 An action involving Frequently using a specific form of drug, such as alcohol, cocaine, or other
15 highly addictive or pleasurable substances in a way that is directly harmful to a person's health.
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17 Section 2. Purpose
18 Tennessee has the 6th largest share of homeless people in the US. It is necessary to cut down on
19 this number and provide help for people who would like to be financially independent. Helping
20 these people recover would directly benefit our community in a variety of different ways, such as
21 raising property values, decreasing mass unemployment & crime rates, and generally keeping our
22 city much cleaner and nicer to look at. While also allowing these Individuals to recover from past
23 addictions and substance abuse and contribute more to our beloved community.
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25 Section 3. Provisions
26 In order to re-integrate homeless people back into society and encourage financial independence,
27 they will be provided with access to addiction recovery programs, temporary housing, hygienic
28 facilities, and more opportunities to acquire Financial independence On their own without needing
29 to rely on governmental welfare agencies. This will be done through a variety of means, such as
30 the construction of more quality homeless shelters, communal showers, and the such to
31 accommodate those who are in a transitional period of their lives. It will also open up more job
32 opportunities by funding and opening homeless shelters where people could potentially work.
33 Providing 8000 USD in tax credits to employers who choose to hire and sustain employership of
34 Homeless individuals for at minimum a minimum of one full year. This bill will also fund Homeless
35 individuals' attendance at public rehabilitation centers if they have a past history of substance
36 abuse.
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40 Section 4. Penalty Clause
41 Refusing to admit homeless people to recovery programs based on religion, race, sexuality, or
42 gender identity will become a misdemeanor and impose a minimum 700$ fine on convicted
43 individuals.
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45 Section 5. Appropriations Clause
46 To provide funding for this bill, a property tax will be proposed on private residential property
47 worth over 2 million USD, adding an extra 2% to their annual property tax based on their
48 estimated MARKET value. This tax will be implemented under the understanding that a decrease in
49 homeless individuals would potentially raise the market value of many wealthier homes. An
50 income tax on the wealthy will also be implemented in order to fully fund the bill. Individuals who
51 make over 500,000 or more will have an extra 2% tax added to their original income tax. To enact
52 this bill we will need $3,000,000 from the state treasury and the rest will be covered by the tax
53 implementation.
54 Money will be spent as follows:
55 All projects pertaining to this bill will go through Tennessee’s Housing and Urban Development
56 Agency.
57 There are ~10,000 homeless individuals within Tennessee, and 500 USD will be spent on each to
58 provide food, hygiene products, and such to help them while recovering
59 500 extra will be spent on sending those with abusive tendencies to rehabilitation centers.
60 Roughly 1 million USD will be appropriated to build basic shelters and hygienic facilities in major
61 cities.
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63 Section 6. Enactment Clause
64 All laws or parts of existing legislation that conflict with this act are hereby repealed. This bill will
65 become effective 30 days after the governor signs it.
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67 Section 7: safety clause
68 Safety measures such as cameras and other security measures will be implemented in homeless
69 shelters.
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