(The Center Square) – The Senate State and Local Government Committee advanced a bill that would give Shelby County voters a chance to decide on a sales tax increase that would fund a new jail.
But Tennessee lawmakers cautioned that similar requests from other counties could be forthcoming.
Senate Bill 337 by Sen. Raumesh Akbari, D-Memphis, would raise the local sales tax from 2.75% to 3.75% if voters approve a referendum. The increase would expire in eight years.
“There are currently 2,500 inmates at the 201 Poplar, a facility that was made to house 2,400 inmates at any given time,” Akbari said. “The conditions there are not only a danger to those who are incarcerated but to those who work in the facility. Many of the escalators don’t work. Many of the elevators don’t work.”
The 43-year-old jail needs $16.5 million a year just to keep it in working order, Alicia Lindsey, chief administrative officer for the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, told the panel.
The bill is supported by the Shelby County Commission, according to Commissioner Amber Mills.
“This is asking for a sales tax increase because we do not want a property tax increase,” Mills said. “If we fund the jail with a property tax increase, we are looking at a 74 cent property tax increase for the highest taxed county in the state of Tennessee.”
Sen. Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga, said the picture lawmakers are seeing now is going to play out all across the state because of an upcoming constitutional referendum that would allow judges to deny bail for certain criminal offenses.
“Nobody is against putting away people for those types of crimes but somewhere you’ve got to pay for the jails to put those people in,” Gardenhire said.
Sen. Adam Lowe, R-Calhoun, and Sen. Kerry Roberts, R-Springfield, voted against the bill. Roberts said he acknowledged the problem but was concerned about the solution.
“I am willing to bet that if we do this, that probably four of my five counties will have a resolution for me next year to sponsor similar legislation,” Roberts said. “And we’re going to wind up with a piecemeal solution to a problem that may be more egregious in Shelby County than maybe in other counties but nonetheless exists in all the counties.”
Roberts also questioned whether or not the higher sales tax rate would drive consumers to the bordering states of Mississippi and Arkansas, which have lower sales tax rates.
The bill passed 7-2 and moves to the Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee.
