Sheriffs

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary and text do not provide details on how a lack of response from the sheriff is handled.

Sheriff Budget Protection Act

This bill restricts county legislative bodies from reducing sheriffs' budgets in counties with charter forms of government without written approval from the sheriff.

What This Bill Does

• Prohibits county legislative bodies from adopting a budget that reduces the sheriff's budget below the previous fiscal year's amount for office personnel salaries and benefits or operational expenditures necessary for statutory duties unless approved in writing by the sheriff.
• Authorizes the sheriff to approve or disapprove any budget amendment that would reduce personnel, operational, or capital expenditures below what was proposed by the sheriff.
• Requires a two-thirds vote of the entire county legislative body to override the sheriff's disapproval of a budget amendment.

Who It Names or Affects

• Sheriffs in Tennessee counties with charter forms of government
• County legislative bodies in Tennessee counties with charter forms of government

Terms To Know

Charter form of government

A type of local governance where the rules and structure are set by a charter, which is a document that outlines how the government operates.

Sheriff's statutorily mandated duties

The legal responsibilities assigned to sheriffs by state laws.

Limits and Unknowns

• Does not specify what happens if the sheriff does not respond to a budget amendment request.
• Only applies to counties with a charter form of government in Tennessee.
• The bill's effectiveness depends on approval from the General Assembly and signature by the governor.

Official Summary Text

Notwithstanding a charter provision to the contrary,
this bill prohibits
the county legislative body of a county with a charter form of government
from
adopt
ing
a budget that reduces the budget for the sheriff below the budgeted amount for the previous fiscal year for office personnel salaries and benefits or operational expenditures necessary for the discharge of the sheriff's statutorily mandated duties unless
the reduction is approved in writing by the sheriff.

BUDGET AMENDMENTS

Once a budget has been adopted
for
departments, commissions, institutions, boards, offices
,
and agencies of county governments,
present law authorizes
the budget, including line items and major categories,
to
be amended by passage of an amendment by a majority of the members of the county legislative body.

If an official or department head is requesting the budget amendment and the amendment involves amendment of major categories of the budget,
then
the request
must
be submitted in writing to the county m
ayor and to each member of the county legislative body, and must be approved by the county legislative body in order to be effective. The county mayor may make a recommendation to the county legislative body regarding the requested major category amendmen
t.

However,
with respect to a sheriff's office budget
, this bill authorizes the
sheriff
to
approve or disapprove any budget amendment that would reduce personnel, operational, or capital expenditures below the level proposed by the sherif
f. Further, the
county legislative body
must
amend a sheriff's budget only upon the sheriff's written consent or, if the amendment is disapproved by the sheriff, by a two-thirds vote of the entire county legislative body.

Current Bill Text

SENATE BILL 2043
By Taylor

HOUSE BILL 1931
By Vaughan
HB1931
011610
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 5,
Chapter 1, Part 2; Title 5, Chapter 9, Part 4 and
Title 8, Chapter 20, Part 1, relative to county
budgeting authority for sheriffs.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 5, Chapter 1, Part 2, is amended by
adding the following as a new section:
Notwithstanding a charter provision to the contrary, the county legislative body of
a county with a charter form of government under this part shall not adopt a budget that
reduces the budget for the sheriff below the budgeted amount for the previous fiscal year
for office personnel salaries and benefits or operational expenditures necessary for the
discharge of the sheriff's statutorily mandated duties unless the reduction is approved in
writing by the sheriff.
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 5-9-407(b), is amended by
designating the existing language as subdivision (b)(1) and adding the following as a new
subdivision (b)(2):
(2) Notwithstanding subdivision (b)(1), with respect to a sheriff's office budget:
(A) The sheriff may approve or disapprove any budget amendment that
would reduce personnel, operational, or capital expenditures below the level
proposed by the sheriff; and
(B) The county legislative body shall amend a sheriff's budget only upon
the sheriff's written consent or, if the amendment is disapproved by the sheriff
pursuant to subdivision (b)(2)(A), by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the entire county
legislative body.

- 2 - 011610

SECTION 3. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance
is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of this act that can
be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end, the provisions of this
act are declared to be severable.
SECTION 4. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.