A bill by a local lawmaker to help improve constable training standards across the state is headed for the House floor for debate this coming week.

“It’s going to be heard on Thursday,” State Rep. Timothy Hill said of his bill on constable training standards.

Hill introduced the legislation (HB2141) on Jan. 31. The bill was first assigned to the Local Government Subcommittee. On Feb. 21, the Local Government Subcommittee heard the bill, recommended it for passage, and referred it to the full Local Government Committee.

Members of the Local Government Committee heard the bill on Feb. 27 and recommended it for passage.

The bill is now on its way to the House of Representatives floor for debate and action.

Constables are elected law enforcement officers who serve their local communities and have the same authority of arrest under state law as do sheriff’s deputies and police officers. Currently, state law requires that each constable complete 40 hours of in-service training within one year of their election to the post.

According to Hill, the current state law does not require any ongoing training for constables after they complete the initial 40 required hours.

Under Hill’s bill, state law would be changed to require constables to undergo a minimum of 40 hours of in-service training each year that they hold office.

“Overall, the bill is receiving widespread support,” Hill said.

The Tennessee Constables Association has voiced their support of the proposed changes to increase training requirements, and members of the Association were involved in helping Hill and State Sen. Rusty Crowe, who is carrying the Senate version of the bill, draft the legislation.

Members of the Tennessee General Assembly are also showing their support for the bill, according to Hill.

“I think that my colleagues are realizing that constables across the state are going to play a role in school safety,” Hill said, adding that more training will help better prepare the constables for those types of incidents.

Hill said the bill has had no opposition as far as he is aware.

“I think there has been some concern in other parts of the state about constables who have served for a long time and won’t want to participate in a school safety program,” Hill said.

While Hill’s bill in the House is now headed to the floor for debate, the companion bill in the Senate is still working its way through the process.

“We usually have a week or two head start in the House,” Hill said. “It’s just now getting started in the Senate.”

On the Senate side, Crowe’s bill (SB2054) was introduced on Jan. 31, and passed on both the first and second consideration votes. The bill was then sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which assigned it to the General Subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Feb. 27.