Governor, legislature lock heads over ‘truth in sentencing’ bill
Republicans in the Tennessee General Assembly this week moved forward with legislation to lengthen some criminal sentences over the objections of advocates, conservative groups and Gov. Bill Lee, who in 2021 touted a number of criminal justice reforms that legislative leadership is now poised to roll back.
House Speaker Rep. Cameron Sexton, R-crossville, is carrying the bill, which supporters call “truth in sentencing” legislation to require incarcerated individuals for a swath of different felonies serve 100% of their sentence. Good behavior credits would not count toward parole.
The bill’s supporters, including Lt. Gov. Randy
Mcnally, R-oak Ridge, call the measure common sense, tough-on-crime legislation. Supporters argue sentencing guidelines are too often confusing and reflect sentences longer than those actually served.
But the bill continues to receive strong, bipartisan opposition outside the halls of the legislature, with critics warning the bill could cause skyrocketing prison populations and safety issues in an already understaffed system — in addition to a deterioration of incentives designed for rehabilitation.
“We will continue to stand with law enforcement, judges, district attorneys, and victims,” Sexton said in a Wednesday statement. “As this bill nears a vote in the House, hopefully, we can reach an agreement with Gov. Lee on this issue.”
The legislation, HB 2656, is one of a number of bills threatening to roll back Lee’s signature criminal justice reforms from last year, and a fight is brewing after legislative Republicans this week initially slashed a $150 million budget item Lee proposed for a Violent Crime Intervention Fund.
The fund is used by local governments for things such as evidence processing, local jail programs and public safety technology. Lawmakers also initially removed some recurring funding from the state budget proposal to two nonprofits Lee frequently supports, prison ministry Men of Valor and Tim Tebow’s antihuman trafficking initiative.
A House committee on Wednesday morning approved an amended version, reducing the crime intervention fund to $100 million rather than eliminating it entirely. Men of Valor funding was restored as well.
A Lee spokesperson by early Wednesday afternoon had no provided a comment.