Tennessee bill looks to expand state's department of homeland security

From Local 3 News: On Wednesday, Tennessee lawmakers in the Senate Government Operations Committee passed Senate Bill 1880. The bill aims "to create within the Department of Safety of the Office of Homeland Security." According to the bill's co-sponsor, Republican Senator Kerry Roberts, the department technically already exists; it was created and has been operating under an executive order for the last two decades.

"This legislation establishes the office of homeland security and delineates its authority and responsibility. You may say, 'Wait a minute, don't we already have that?' The answer is, 'Yes, sort of.' This was created by executive order back in the Bredesen Administration. Over the years, as we all know, we have sort of given it more and more authority, but sometimes our codification catches up to our practice, and that's exactly what we're doing here," said Senator Kerry Roberts of District 23.

According to Kerry, the state already has homeland security officers operating in all 95 counties across Tennessee. The department's main focus is to track threats toward the state, individual counties, and schools. He explained that their department fills the gaps that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has.

"We have this entity because there are gaps in the coverage that the federal authorities can provide. Their focus is not necessarily on our state or on our state institutions. So our goal here is not to do the job with the feds. That is their job, and we are familiar with anti- commandeering principles, where we don't do the fed job for them. The focus is really here is on the State of Tennessee... I don't particularly look at this and see a lot of expansion for what we're doing. I just see that we are correctly codifying what is already in practice," said Kerry.

There are changes surrounding the roles of peace officers and their appointment from the current executive order and the proposed bill:

• Present law authorizes the Office of Homeland Security to apply to the commissioner in order to commission certain officers who directly support state, federal, and local law enforcement activities involved in countering or responding to acts of terrorism, as the Office of Homeland Security must designate, to act as peace officers for the Office of Homeland Security.  The commissioner, upon such application, may appoint such person as the office of homeland security designates, or as many people as the governor deems proper to be such peace officers, and give commissions to those appointed.
• This bill removes the above provisions and, instead, authorizes the commissioner of safety to commission such a number of homeland security officers who directly support state, federal, and local law enforcement activities involved in countering or responding to acts of terrorism, as authorized by this bill, to act as peace officers for the Office of Homeland Security.
• Present law provides that each homeland security officer has the powers of a peace officer, including that the officer may carry weapons for the reasonable purposes of their offices and while in the performance of their assigned duties.  This bill adds that an officer may also carry weapons off-duty pursuant to present law, which authorizes any law enforcement officer to carry firearms at all times and in all places within the state, on-duty or off-duty.
• When the office of homeland security no longer requires the services of the peace officer so appointed, present law requires the office to file a notice to that effect with the commissioner's office, and the powers of such peace officer cease and terminate.  This bill removes this provision.

On Wednesday, Democratic Senator Charlane Oliver of District 19 and Democratic Senator Sarah Kyle of District 30 voted against SB 1880. During the committee hearing, Senator Kyle asked about the bill's financial impact.

"This particular situation, here we are in an economic situation, we didn't even have enough money for food for the kids this past summer. The vouchers were costing us a lot of money.

Utility rates are going up, and we are just in a situation where it is a different day than it was under the former governor Bredesen... These officers will be providing that technical investigative support; in other words, they are going to be doing the job of the feds, but we don't get any money for that. We are having to expand funds that could go to necessary programs," said Senator Sarah Kyle of District 30.

Senator Oliver asked Greg Mays, the Deputy Commissioner of Tennessee's Department of Safety and Homeland Security, if this bill would expand their surveillance powers. Mays responded that it did not.  

The bill now goes to the Senate Transportation Committee.