Senate Bill 2043, also known as House Bill 1931, amends various sections of the Tennessee Code Annotated to enhance the budgeting authority of county sheriffs. The bill establishes that in counties with a charter form of government, the county legislative body cannot adopt a budget that reduces the sheriff's budget for personnel salaries, benefits, or necessary operational expenditures below the previous fiscal year's amount without the sheriff's written approval. This provision aims to ensure that sheriffs have adequate funding to fulfill their mandated duties.

Additionally, the bill modifies the existing budget amendment process for sheriff's offices. It designates the current language regarding budget amendments as subdivision (b)(1) and introduces a new subdivision (b)(2), which allows sheriffs to approve or disapprove any budget amendments that would lower personnel, operational, or capital expenditures below the levels they propose. Furthermore, any amendments to a sheriff's budget must receive the sheriff's written consent or, if disapproved, can only be enacted by a two-thirds vote of the county legislative body. This legislation seeks to protect the financial autonomy of sheriffs in managing their offices effectively.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 5-9-407(b), 5-9-407