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With eyes on surplus, legislators renew call for major crime bills Staring down the barrel of a $400 million budget surplus for next year, the Tennessee Public Safety Coalition on Monday renewed its push for roughly $88 million in new legislation to keep violent offenders behind bars for longer stretches. At a Monday afternoon news conference at Legislative Plaza, the same group of lawmakers, district attorneys and police chiefs who two months ago announced their support for the broad legislative agenda that includes bills to toughen sentences for both gun-toting and gang-banging violent criminals, again called on the Legislature and the Bredesen administration to pass the crime package, especially in light of the state’s auspicious fiscal position. “Since we first announced these bills, it has become clear that the state government is operating at a significant budget surplus,” Montgomery County Sheriff and Tennessee Public Safety Coalition (TPSC) chairman Norman Lewis said. “So this year, unlike others, it appears that we have extra resources available to fund priorities that have, for too long, gone unfunded.” Those priorities, according to the TPSC, are rolling back the 30 percent sentencing laws for criminals who commit violent gun crimes, enacting harsher penalties for gang crimes, and adding 64 prosecutors across the state. The proposal that packs the most punch – as well as the heftiest price tag, at $60.3 million the first year alone – is the so-called “Crooks with Guns” bill, which would eliminate the opportunity for some first-time felony offenders to get out of prison after serving only 30 percent of their sentences. “One of the largest complaints we hear as prosecutors on a day-to-day basis is that people do not serve what the court [sentences],” said Knox County District Attorney General Randy Nichols. “People are upset with that. They don’t understand why we don’t mean what we say,” Nichols said. “These bills change that.” The second bill in the package, called the “Street Terrorism” bill, sets longer sentences for those who commit violent gang crimes or crimes in groups of three or more. It has been projected to cost $20.8 million the first year. Both estimates are based on the increased cost for housing more prisoners and for housing them for longer periods. But Shelby County District Attorney General Bill Gibbons said the fiscal notes on both bills are inflated because they fail to take into account a significant deterrent factor, which he noted was something seen in states that have recently adopted similar sentencing bills. Not only would the longer sentences prevent likely repeat offenders from committing additional crimes, both bills would “also send a clear signal to those would-be criminals that the price is too high to pay,” Gibbons said. Gibbons said the TPSC’s own fiscal estimate for the gun sentencing bill is 25 percent lower than the state’s, and said they have calculated the cost of the gang bill to be “something less than $10 million,” as opposed to it’s fiscal score of $20.8 million. The third component of the package, a bill to add 64 prosecutors to judicial districts across the state, has a fixed cost of $6.5 million. Regardless of the actual costs, Norman said the coalition was open to “discussing whether there’s a way to make common sense changes in these bills that will allow them to move forward.” But he also added that he wants to see the package passed in its entirety. News of the budget surplus has so far centered around proposals to cut the sales tax on food. Sen. Mark Norris, R-Collierville, said there is a way to accomplish both goals. “I think it is important for us to provide some meaningful tax relief,” Norris said. “But I think those folks also understand it’s important to provide safe homes and safe streets.” |
