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Committee OKs bill letting Corrections award service weapons to long‑serving or disabled retirees
Summary
SB294, sponsored by Senator Flippo on behalf of the Department of Corrections, allows the board or secretary to award department‑issued service weapons to employees who retire after 20 years or retire on disability due to a qualifying line‑of‑duty injury; the secretary said awards are discretionary.
Senator Flippo presented Senate Bill 294, introduced by the Department of Corrections, which consolidates duplicate code sections and authorizes the board and secretary to award department‑issued service weapons to employees who retire after 20 years of service or who retire because of a qualifying line‑of‑duty injury.
Senator Flowers asked whether the bill would apply to employees injured early in service. Secretary Graves explained the bill's "or" construction: an employee may qualify for the award by completing 20 years of service or by taking a disability retirement after a qualifying line‑of‑duty injury that meets standards used to claim Social Security disability. Graves emphasized the award is permissive: "All we're trying to do is say thank you to the men and women who put their lives on the line every day for us," he said, and the language does not bind the department to make an award in every case.
Committee members discussed recruitment concerns and the symbolic value of the award; the committee voted to pass SB294.
