Bill > HB1686

This bill establishes a performance-based contracting program for the Tennessee Department of Correction (department) when contracting with entities, referred to as "contractors," to operate prison facilities, with the goal of incentivizing improved performance and outcomes. Under this program, 25 percent of the total funds appropriated to a contractor for operating a prison facility will be conditional upon yearly improvements in a set of specific performance measures. These measures include factors like staff turnover rates, offender completion of orientation, preventable offender deaths, sexual violence incidents, the implementation and participation in rehabilitation and reentry programs, offender health and identification upon release, employment after release, and recidivism rates (the rate at which formerly incarcerated individuals re-offend). The department is required to develop this program within six months of the bill's enactment and incorporate these performance measures into all new or renewed contracts. The program's implementation will be audited quarterly by the division of state audit, with findings reported to the General Assembly and made public. The bill also outlines how the conditional funds will be allocated based on performance, with a significant portion dedicated to recidivism and inmate safety improvements, and mandates an independent evaluation of the program's effectiveness.