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Commerce and Insurance requests radios, law-enforcement training funding and SRO support; committee asks about rollout and participation
Summary
Commissioner Carter Lawrence sought funding for radios, depreciation for new fire apparatus, and staff increases tied to statutory pay steps; deputies described SRO training and reported recruitment and retention grants have been partially disbursed with agencies still enrolling.
Carter Lawrence, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, outlined several FY26 requests for the department's law-enforcement and fire training operations and provided details on SRO training and statewide recruiting and retention grants.
Law enforcement recruiting and retention: The department described two tranches of recruiting and retention grants totaling roughly $60,000,000 statewide. Lawrence said about $1,500,000 had been paid out as of the prior month and that roughly $17,000,000 was encumbered for officers meeting milestone payments; the department said roughly $10,000,000 remained unencumbered in the first tranche. The bonuses pay in stages tied to service milestones (6, 12, 24 and 36 months) for new hires.
SRO training and bonuses: The department and Tennessee Law Enforcement Training Academy staff described a 40-hour SRO school-policing requirement for officers designated as school resource officers. Training has been centralized and is also provided by national providers; the department said it has conducted summer SRO classes and that $2,700,000 in training-related funds and $4,500,000 for SRO bonuses had been allocated. The department reported about 1,378 officers in 144 agencies had received SRO-specific bonuses so far.
Other department requests: The department requested $175,000 nonrecurring for 17 TACN radios to enable instructors and field officers to connect to the statewide radio network in major emergencies; a multi-year depreciation request for recently ordered fire apparatus; and a $1,000,000 supplemental request tied to line-of-duty death benefit annuities where certifications originate with Commerce and Insurance but payments are handled by the fiscal agency.
Committee members asked for lists of participating agencies and participation rates for new-hire bonuses and the statewide hiring portal; department officials said they would provide lists and additional data in follow-up and that participation varies by county and agency.
