HB 553 – SB 1022
FISCAL NOTE
Fiscal Review Committee
Tennessee General Assembly
February 14, 2025
Fiscal Analyst: Arielle Woodmore | Email: arielle.woodmore@capitol.tn.gov | Phone: 615-741-2564
HB 553 – SB 1022
SUMMARY OF BILL: Includes a correctional officer employed by a county jail, the
Department of Correction (DOC), or a private prison contractor and a probation or parole officer
employed by the DOC or a private probation provider in the definition of law enforcement officers
for the purposes of penalties for the offenses of assault and aggravated assault against a law
enforcement officer, first responder or nurse.
FISCAL IMPACT:
STATE GOVERNMENT
EXPENDITURES Incarceration
$177,200
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
EXPENDITURES Mandatory
FY25-26 & Subsequent Years $250,200
Article II, Section 24 of the Tennessee Constitution provides that: no law of general application shall impose increased expenditure
requirements on cities or counties unless the General Assembly shall provide that the state share in the cost.
Assumptions:
Assault and Aggravated Assault on Probation Officers
• Based on information provided by DOC, there has been less than one incident per year of
assault and no incidents of aggravated assault on probation or parole officers.
• There will not be a sufficient change in the number of prosecutions for state or local
government to experience any significant change in revenue or expenditures.
Assault on Correctional Officers in State and Privately-Operated Facilities
• Pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-116(c)(1)(A), assault against a law enforcement
officer is a Class E felony offense punished by a mandatory fine of $10,000 and a
mandatory minimum sentence of 60 days incarceration.
• This analysis assumes individuals charged with assault against a correctional officer pursuant
to the proposed legislation would be charged with a Class A misdemeanor offense of
assault pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-101 under current law, and spend an average
of 15 days incarcerated in local jail.
• The proposed legislation will enhance, from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class E felony, the
penalty for assault against a correctional law enforcement officer.
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• Based upon information provided by the DOC, there has been an average of 636 incidents
per year over the last three years for assault on a staff member within a state or privately-
operated facility.
• It can be reasonably assumed that 10 percent or 63.6 (636 x 10.0%), of such incidents will
be convicted of a Class E felony of assault against a law enforcement officer under this
legislation.
• This analysis assumes individuals convicted of assault against a correctional law
enforcement officer will serve the mandatory minimum 60-day sentence consecutive to any
other sentences being served. It is further assumed that individuals already incarcerated in a
state facility who are convicted of a Class E felony of assault against a correctional law
enforcement officer pursuant to the proposed legislation, will remain in a state facility to
serve the additional 60 days.
• It is assumed that, under current law, an individual convicted of a Class A misdemeanor
offense of assault while incarcerated in a state facility will serve an additional 15 days at the
end of the sentence they were originally incarcerated for.
• The proposed legislation will result in 63.6 admissions annually serving an additional 45 (60
– 15) days incarcerated.
• Based in population data from the U.S. Census Bureau, population growth in Tennessee
averaged 1.24 percent per year (from 2021 to 2024).
• The weighted average operational costs per inmate per day are estimated to be $62.02 for
inmates housed at state facilities and $50.51 for inmates housed at local facilities.
• The increase in incarceration costs is estimated to be the following over the next three-year
period:
Increase in State Expenditures
Amount Fiscal Year
$ 172,900 FY25-26
$ 175,000 FY26-27
$ 177,200 FY27-28
• Pursuant to Public Chapter 1007 of 2022, recurring costs increases are to be estimated on
the highest of the next three fiscal years; therefore, the recurring increase in incarceration
costs will be $177,200.
Assault on Correctional Officers in a County Jail
• According to the DOC October, 2024 Felon Population report, the total average
population in prisons in FY23-24 was 19,453.
• According to the DOC Jail Summary reports, the total average population in local jails in
FY23-24 was 27,445, or approximately 141.08 percent higher than the average total prison
population.
• It is reasonably assumed that the rate of assaults on correctional officers in local jails is the
same as the rate of assaults on correctional officers in prisons, or 897.27 incidents (636 x
141.08%) per year, and that 10 percent or 89.7 (897.27 x 10.0%), of such incidents will be
convicted of a Class E felony of assault against a correctional law enforcement officer under
this legislation.
HB 553 – SB 1022 3
• It is assumed that, under current law, an individual convicted of a Class A misdemeanor
offense of assault while incarcerated in a local jail will serve an additional 15 days at the end
of the sentence they were originally incarcerated for.
• This analysis assumes individuals already incarcerated in a local jail who are convicted of a
Class E felony of assault against a correctional law enforcement officer pursuant to this
proposed legislation, will remain in the local jail to serve the additional 45 days (60 – 15).
• The proposed legislation will result in 89.7 admissions annually serving an additional 45 (60
– 15) days incarcerated in a local jail.
• Based on cost estimates provided by local government entities throughout the state and
reported bed capacity within such facilities, the weighted average cost per day to house an
inmate in a local jail facility is $61.99.
• The recurring mandatory increase in expenditures to local government is estimated to be
$250,223 (89.7 convictions x $61.99 x 45) in FY25-26 and subsequent years.
Aggravated Assault on Correctional Officers in State and Privately-Operated Facilities
• Pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-116(c)(2), aggravated assault against a law
enforcement officer is a Class C felony, punished by a mandatory fine of $15,000 and a
mandatory minimum sentence of 90 days incarceration.
• This analysis assumes individuals charged with aggravated assault against as correctional
officer pursuant to the proposed legislation would be charged with a Class C felony offense
of aggravated assault pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-102(e)(1)(A) under current law.
• Based on information provided by the DOC, the average time served for a Class C felony
of aggravated assault is 1.63 years after adjusting for pre-trial jail credits.
• While the proposed legislation establishes mandatory sentence minimums, this analysis
assumes that the offender will serve the established average sentence length of 1.63 years.
• It is assumed that, under current law, an individual convicted of a Class C felony offense of
aggravated assault while incarcerated in either a state or local jail will serve an additional
1.63 years at the end of the sentence they were originally incarcerated for.
• Based on information provided by DOC, there has been 14 incidents per year over the last
three years of aggravated assault on a staff member within a state or privately-operated
facility.
• It can be reasonably assumed that 10 percent or 1.4 (14 x 10.0%), of such incidents will be
convicted of a Class C felony of aggravated assault against a law enforcement officer under
this legislation.
• The proposed legislation will result in 1.4 admissions annually serving 1.63 years
incarcerated.
• The proposed legislation requires a minimum of 90 days incarceration for aggravated assault
on a law enforcement officer. Under current law, convicted individuals are currently serving
an average of 1.63 years for the Class C felony offense of aggravated assault; therefore,
there will not be a significant change for state or local government in revenue or
expenditures.
Aggravated Assault on Correctional Officers in a County Jail
• It is reasonably assumed that the rate of aggravated assaults on correctional officers in local
jails is the same as the rate of aggravated assaults on correctional officers in prisons, or
19.75 incidents (14 x 141.08%) per year, and that 10 percent or 1.98 (19.75 x 10.0%), of
HB 553 – SB 1022 4
such incidents will be convicted of a Class C felony of aggravated assault against a law
enforcement officer under this legislation.
• This analysis assumes individuals charged with aggravated assault against as correctional
officer pursuant to the proposed legislation would be charged with a Class C felony offense
of aggravated assault pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-102(e)(1)(A) under current law.
• The proposed legislation will result in 1.98 admissions annually serving 1.63 years
incarcerated.
• The proposed legislation requires a minimum of 90 days incarceration for aggravated assault
on a law enforcement officer. Under current law, convicted individuals are currently serving
an average of 1.63 years for the Class C felony offense of aggravated assault; therefore,
there will not be a significant change for state or local government in revenue or
expenditures.
• Based on the Fiscal Review Committee’s 2008 study and the Administrative Office of the
Courts’ 2012 study on collection of court costs, fees, and fines, collection in criminal cases
is insignificant. The proposed legislation will not significantly change state or local revenue.
• The estimated fiscal impact of the proposed legislation does not consider the availability of
beds in state and local facilities, but is based solely on the current operating costs of state
facilities and the reimbursement rates for local facilities as is required by Tenn. Code Ann. §
9-4-210.
• All calculations used in completion of this fiscal note are available upon request.
CERTIFICATION:
The information contained herein is true and correct to the best of my knowledge.
Bojan Savic, Executive Director