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 |
2 | |
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. |
16 | |
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. |
24 | |
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. |
37 | |
38 | |
39 | |
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. |
44 | |
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. |
62 | |
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. |
66 | |
67 | Section 7: safety clause |
68 | Safety measures such as cameras and other security measures will be implemented in homeless |
69 | shelters. |
70 |