Welfare

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide information on what happens if an inmate declines to apply for food assistance, how the data collected from reports will be used, or details about the rules that commissioners must create to implement this act.

Food Assistance for Inmates

This bill requires Tennessee's Department of Correction to provide inmates with an application for food assistance before release and mandates annual reports on inmate participation in the program.

What This Bill Does

• Requires the commissioner of human services to create a form that inmates can use to apply for food assistance when they are released from prison.
• The form must include options for inmates to decline applying for food assistance anonymously or with reasons provided.
• Directs the department of correction to give each inmate preparing for release a copy of this application and enough time to complete it before leaving prison.
• Requires the commissioner of correction to submit yearly reports on how many inmates apply for food assistance, how many choose not to apply, and why they decline.
• Also requires the commissioner of human services to report annually on how many released inmates are approved for food assistance.

Who It Names or Affects

• Inmates in Tennessee state correctional institutions
• The Department of Correction and the Department of Human Services

Terms To Know

Inmate

A person who is incarcerated in a state correctional institution.

State correctional institution

A public or private facility that detains or restrains individuals under Tennessee law, operated by or contracted with the department of correction.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify what happens if an inmate declines to apply for food assistance.
• It is unclear how the data collected from these reports will be used.
• The rules that the commissioners must create to implement this act have not been detailed.

Official Summary Text

This bill requires the
commissioner of human services
to
provide the commissioner of correction with a form application for food assistance for use by inmates who are preparing for release. The application must include
all of the following:



An option for an inmate to indicate that the inmate is declining to apply for food assistance
.


Options for an inmate who declines to apply for food assistance to indicate the inmate's reasons for doing so
.


The option for an inmate who wishes to decline to apply for food assistance to do so anonymously.

This bill requires the
department of correction
to (i) p
rovide each inmate who is preparing for release from incarceration with a copy of the application and sufficient opportunity and means to complete the application prior to release and
(ii) c
ollect all applications from such inmates and return the completed applications to the department of human services.

REPORTS

Beginning no later than January 15, 2027, and no later than January 15 of each subsequent year
, this bill requires the
commissioner of correction
to
submit a written report

to the chief clerk of the senate, the chief clerk of the house of representatives, and the legislative librarian that includes data from the previous calendar year on
(i) t
he number of completed food assistance applications that were completed by inmates prior to release in each state correctional institution
,
(
ii
)
t
he number of such ap
plications on which the inmate indicated a desire to decline to apply for food assistance
,
and

(
iii
)
the r
easons inmates who declined to apply indicated as the reasons for such denial
. Likewise, the
commissioner of human services
must
submit a written report

to the chief clerk of the senate, the chief clerk of the house of representatives, and the legislative librarian that includes data from the previous calendar year on the number of inmates who were approved for food assistance prior to release from imp
risonment.

RULEMAKING

This bill authorizes the
commissioner of correction and the commissioner of human services to promulgate rules to effectuate this
bill.

Current Bill Text

SENATE BILL 2021
By Reeves

HOUSE BILL 2430
By Farmer
HB2430
011480
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 41
and Title 71, relative to food assistance for
inmates.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 71, Chapter 5, Part 3, is amended by
adding the following as a new section:
(a) As used in this section:
(1) "Inmate" means an individual incarcerated in a state correctional
institution; and
(2) "State correctional institution" means a public or private facility that is
operated by or under contract with the department of correction that has the
power to detain or restrain, or both, a person under the laws of this state.
(b) The commissioner of human services shall provide the commissioner of
correction with a form application for food assistance for use by inmates who are
preparing for release. The application must include:
(1) An option for an inmate to indicate that the inmate is declining to
apply for food assistance;
(2) Options for an inmate who declines to apply for food assistance to
indicate the inmate's reasons for doing so; and
(3) The option for an inmate who wishes to decline to apply for food
assistance to do so anonymously.
(c) The department of correction shall:

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(1) Provide each inmate who is preparing for release from incarceration
with a copy of the application described in subsection (b) and sufficient
opportunity and means to complete the application prior to release; and
(2) Collect all applications from such inmates and return the completed
applications to the department of human services.
(d) Beginning no later than January 15, 2027, and no later than January 15 of
each subsequent year:
(1) The commissioner of correction shall submit a written report, which
may be submitted by electronic means, to the chief clerk of the senate, the chief
clerk of the house of representatives, and the legislative librarian that includes
data from the previous calendar year on:
(A) The number of completed food assistance applications that
were completed by inmates prior to release in each state correctional
institution;
(B) The number of such applications on which the inmate
indicated a desire to decline to apply for food assistance; and
(C) Reasons inmates who declined to apply indicated as the
reasons for such denial; and
(2) The commissioner of human services shall submit a written report,
which may be submitted by electronic means, to the chief clerk of the senate, the
chief clerk of the house of representatives, and the legislative librarian that
includes data from the previous calendar year on the number of inmates who
were approved for food assistance prior to release from imprisonment.
SECTION 2. The commissioner of correction and the commissioner of human services
are each authorized to promulgate rules to effectuate this act. The rules must be promulgated

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in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in Tennessee Code
Annotated, Title 4, Chapter 5.
SECTION 3. For the purpose of promulgating rules, this act takes effect upon becoming
a law, the public welfare requiring it. For all other purposes, this act takes effect July 1, 2026,
the public welfare requiring it.