Quarterly News Letter

The Second Quarter 2003

Welcome again to my fellow Correctional Professionals.

This is the second installment of the Quarterly Newsletter, and will once again feature information reviewing the monthly activities of the Union. This Newsletter covers April, May and June. I already am working on the update for July as this newsletter is concluded. This Newsletter is NOT intended as a replacement for the active participation of the membership, but an enhancement of the flow of information to the Union body at large. The membership is, as always, strongly encouraged to attend the monthly Union Meetings and take a dynamic role in YOUR UNION.

Section 1 - A Brief History

Section 2 - Monthly Updates

Section 3 - New & Improved Contract Table of Contents

Section 4 - Legislative Committee News

Section 5 - Letter from the President and Senior Vice-President

Section 6 - Letters from COAD Vice-Presidents

Section 7 – Closing

A Brief History

One year ago, on June 13, 2002 the votes were tallied and then on June 14, 2002 the Correctional Officer's Association of Delaware commenced operations as your official Union. Yes, That's right COAD has made it through the first year of its existence and is still going strong. This past year has been very productive, both with Legislative Hall and with the Administration.

On October 10, 2002 COAD signed an Interim Agreement with the State to allow its members temporary contractual coverage until a new contract is completed. The COAD contract committee with Thomas Ridgley’s assistance negotiated this agreement in less than 4 months. The 30^th of that same month found COAD back at the negotiating table setting up the ground rules for the upcoming Contract negotiation sessions. Since then we have been in active negotiations with the State for a complete contract. This was the time frame that was open to place items on the budget. After October the items would then have to clash with items already placed on the Budget.

November 11, 2002 - brought about nominations for Union Positions.

January 15, 2003 - First meeting with Lisa Blunt-Bradley (State Personnel Director)

February 7, 2003 - the first COAD Elections held at each Institution.

On February 3, 2003 COAD held their fourth meeting with Lisa Blunt-Bradley (State Personnel Director) and it included Stan Taylor (Commissioner of the Department of Corrections). The focus of these meetings were intended to target salary, retirement / pension, general retention and other Correctional Officer’s issues. The result of that meeting was the formation of The Task Force for Correctional Officer Pension and Benefits on April 10, 2003. The Committee was broken up into four sub-committees that are chaired by COAD. The sub-committees are made up of a diversified collection of State agencies, thus a determination by a sub-committee is an agreement of each of those agencies.

April 8, 2003 – Vests are no longer worn in Institutions.

These were all major mile markers in the advancing journey of Correctional Officers in the State of Delaware. Looking back though my calendar, I see these dates were only a very few items in the over-all picture that made up our first year. There were many political events from meetings with different legislators through the many fundraises. We have achieved an unparalleled presence in the State Capitol.

The Monthly Updates

The April Update…

This monthly update dates back into March due to the creation of the first Quarterly News Letter. The Legislative sections are missing because when the next News Letter is created there will be a whole section for the Committee's report. This way we do not double and triple the same information.

Meetings With Representatives - 27 March 2003

Present for COAD - Kevin Rolph, JR Morris, David Knight

Senators - Thurman Adams (D) District 19 - Senate President Pro Tem

Representatives - Terry Spence (R) District 18 - Speaker of the House

Hazel Plant (D) District 2

Dennis Williams (D) District 1

Pension Office - David Craik - Pension Administrator

State Personnel Director Tour - DCC - 8 April 2003

Lisa Blunt-Bradley took a COAD guided tour of DCC. This was the second tour for the State Personnel Director that was organized and guided by COAD. Lisa Blunt-Bradley still wishes to tour the rest of the Correctional Facilities in the state to witness first hand the working conditions and the job duties first-hand.

Contract Negotiations - 8 April 2003

Present From COAD – Allan Deal, Tammy Ayers, Betty Ford, J.R. Morris, Dean Jester, Miki Eskridge, Lisa David, Allen Pedrick and David Knight

Present From NULEA – J.C. Stamps, Thomas Ridgley, Kimberly Kline and Bill Wharton

Present From the State - Jerry Cutler, Allen Machtinger, Karen Field-Rodgers, Dave Hall, Jerry Platt, Rick Carney and Tom Carroll

The first six articles were discussed with a result of:

2. Purpose - The reason for the contract

3. Association Recognition - What job classifications are covered by the contract

4. Definition of Employees - A legal definition so the word employee will be set throughout the document

5. Association Security, Dues and Service Fees - Exactly who and when are the members covered (5.6 is on hold)

6. Association Officers and Representatives - How the Union is set up and your representation by officials (only 6.1, 6.3, 6.8 and 6.9 – the rest are on hold)

Task Force – Employee Development Center - 10 April 2003

Present From COAD – Allan Deal, David Knight, JR Morris, Tammy Ayers, Dean Jester, Allen Pedrick, Betty Ford, Kevin Rolph

Present From NULEA – Tom Ridgley, Bill Wharton

Others Present – Harry Masten, Mike Atallian, Craig West, Joyce Talley, Noreen Renard, Richard Seifert, Marsha Custer, Robert Young, Linda Valentino, Debbie McCall, Linda McCloskey, Abbey Feierstein, Alan Machtinger, Kim Reed, Raphael Williams

Four Sub-Committees were created, consisting of: Pension, Salary/Classification, Benefits “A” (Recognition, Training, Career Development, and Mentoring), Benefits “B” Traditional Benefits. COAD is chairing each of the sub-committees. The sub-committees will meet separately to work on their individual plans of attack before coming back together on May 14^th.

Contract Negotiations – Employee Development Center - 29 April 2003

Present From COAD – Allan Deal, Tammy Ayers, Betty Ford, J.R. Morris, Dean Jester, Miki Eskridge, Lisa David, Allen Pedrick and David Knight

Present From NULEA – J.C. Stamps, Thomas Ridgley, Kimberly Kline and Bill Wharton

Present From the State - Jerry Cutler, Allen Machtinger, Phill Morgan, Dave Hall, Jerry Platt, Rick Carney and Tom Carroll

Articles 7 through 10 were discussed:

7. Probationary Period - Wording is agreed upon – not the time frame – yet.

8. Grievance Procedure

9. Special Rights of the Parties

10. Employee Rights

The May Update…

Task Force – Employee Development Center – 14 May 2003

Present From COAD – Allan Deal, David Knight, JR Morris, Tammy Ayers, Dean Jester, Allen Pedrick, Betty Ford, Kevin Rolph

Present From NULEA – Tom Ridgley, Bill Wharton

The four Sub-Committees consisting of, Pension, Salary/Classification, Benefits “A” (Recognition, Training, Career Development, and Mentoring), Benefits “B” (Health Care, Sick Leave and Traditional Benefits) each gave their initial reports to the Task Force. The meeting ended with a tremendous amount of information being transferred between the groups. Among the items brought up were ancillary health insurance, sick leave policy changes, and information concerning salaries from the majority of states on the East Coast. Some other items were a new/improved rank structure, recognition programs and continued training. The separate sub-committees will continue to meet to work on their individual topics before coming back together on July 2^nd.

Contract Negotiations - 15 May 2003

Present From COAD – Allan Deal, Tammy Ayers, Betty Ford, J.R. Morris, Dean Jester, Lisa David, Allen Pedrick and David Knight

Present From NULEA – J.C. Stamps, Thomas Ridgley, Kimberly Kline and Bill Wharton

Present From the State - Jerry Cutler, Allen Machtinger, Karen Field-Rodgers, Dave Hall, Jerry Platt, Rick Carney and Tom Carroll

The State’s Packet:

1. Counter to Article # 7 - Probationary Periods

2. Counter to Article # 10 - Employee Rights

3. Counter to Article # 13 - Orientation of New Hires

4. Counter to Article # 15 - Bulletin Board

5. Agreement to article # 19 - Seniority

6. Counter to Article # 20 - Health and Welfare

7. Agreement to article # 21 - Part-Time Public Office

8. Counter to Article # 23 - Institutional Designations

9. Counter to Article # 49 - Addendum to Merit Rules

10. Counter to Article # 50 - Flextime and Compressed Workweek Schedule

11. Agreement to Article # 53 - Use of Premises by Union

12. Agreement to Article # 63 - Liability Protection

13. Agreement to Article # 64 - Non-Discrimination

14. Agreement to Article # 65 - Prohibition of Sexual Harassment

15. Counter to Article # 66 - Savings Clause - Agreed

Signed off on the following items thus agreeing to present these items to the Union Body in a completed contract for their approval:

1. Article 1

2. Article 2 : Purpose

3. Article 3 : Union Recognition

4. Article 4 : Definition of Employee

5. Article 5 : Union Security, Dues and Service Fees (except for 5.1 - tabled)

6. Article 16: Management Rights

7. Article 17: Strikes and Work Stoppages

Note from the Editor – I would like to offer an apology to all of the membership for the month of May. The Task Force on Correctional Offer Compensation / Benefits and Pension Issues was in full swing and took a great deal of my time to create the meeting material. This is the best possibility for achieving our goals with the State. Please do not think that I was ignoring the Body.

The June Update…

Contract Negotiations – 5 June 2003

Present From COAD – Allan Deal, Tammy Ayers, Betty Ford, J.R. Morris, Dean Jester, Micki Eskridge, Lisa David, Allen Pedrick and David Knight

Present From NULEA –Thomas Ridgley and Bill Wharton

Present From the State - Jerry Cutler, Allen Machtinger, Dave Hall, Jerry Platt, Rick Kearney, Tom Carroll and Raphael Williams

NOTE – This marked the end of having a Lawyer as lead negotiator. There were too many problems between the State and the Attorney. The clashing of wills and egos stalled negotiations too long. A change was made and Thomas Ridgley again took over the task of negotiating our contract. (He was the lead negotiator for the interim agreement).

COAD handed out a packet containing counters to Articles 8, 10, 23 and 50.

16. Counter to Article # 8

a. Grievance Procedure

17. Counter to Article # 10

a. Employee Rights

18. Counter to Article # 23

a. Institutional Designations

19. Counter to Article # 50

a. Flextime and Compressed Workweek Schedule

i. New language or clarification to make it employee agreed

Contract Negotiations – 19 June 2003

Present From COAD – Allan Deal, James Kahoe, Betty Ford, J.R. Morris, Dean Jester, Micki Eskridge, Lisa David, Allen Pedrick and David Knight

Present From NULEA –Thomas Ridgley and Bill Wharton

Present From the State - Jerry Cutler, Allen Machtinger, Dave Hall, Jerry Platt, Rick Kearney and Raphael Williams

State questioned Article 8, then approved but awaiting Warden DCC

State presented a counter to article 10 (Employee Rights)

Pending Articles (less Article 49) were signed thus awaiting body approvals by vote.

Note - This had been the smoothest negotiation session to date. Due to the rate of progress seen in this meeting - 4 negotiation sessions were scheduled for July.

New & Improved Contract Table of Contents

This section has been redesigned, not only will we provide the titles of the articles that are in the contract which are being negotiated but once we have hammered out an article, the text of the article is placed in the following section. This will enable the body to preview the contract well before the body needs to vote on it, thus allowing the body to arrive at a more informed decision.

The original decision to print out the contract prior to being negotiated was flawed. The basic problem was that members of the body might feel that the contract would have everything that was presented, exactly as it was written. This section will correct that problem; it contains the exact text that will be in the version to be voted upon by the membership.

* Article 01- Agreement………………………………………………….……………………………..

1.1. This Collective Bargaining Agreement (“Agreement”) is entered into this _____ day of ________, 2003, by and between the State of Delaware, Department of Correction, hereinafter referred to as the "State," and the Correctional Officers Association of Delaware, hereinafter referred to as “COAD” or the "Union."

* Article 02- Purpose………………………………………………………….………………………...

2.1. It is the purpose of this Agreement to promote and insure harmonious relations, cooperation and understanding between the State and the bargaining unit Employees and to achieve mutually negotiated terms and conditions of employment.

* Article 03- Union Recognition……….………………….……………….……………………………

3.1. The State hereby recognizes the Association as the sole and exclusive collective bargaining agent for all employees in the following classes at all of the adult correctional institutions as of the effective date of this Agreement:

Uniform

Correctional Officer

Correctional Corporal

Correctional Sergeant

Correctional Sergeant /K-9

Correctional Officer/Automotive Mechanic I, II

Correctional Officer/Physical Plant Mechanic I, II, III

Correctional Officer/Food Service Specialist I, II, III

Correctional Officer/Farm Foreman

Correctional Officer/Laundry Operator

Correctional Officer/Storekeeper

Correctional Officer/Supervised Custody

Correctional Officer/Trades Instructor I, II

Correctional Officer/Recreation Program

Correctional Officer/Stationary Fireman I, II

Correctional Officer/K-9

3.2. Any of the foregoing uniformed classes may be modified to include Corporal and/or Sergeant classifications upon establishment by the State.

* Article 04- Definition of Employees……………………..……………………………………………

4.1. As used in this Agreement, the term "Employee" or "Employees" is defined as a full-time Employee who normally works a full 40-hour workweek. All other Employees including, but not limited to, part-time, seasonal, casual, temporary, durational or emergency Employees shall not be covered by this Agreement.

* Article 05- Association Security, Dues and Service Fees………………………..………………

5.2. The State agrees to the adoption of an Association check-off system, whereby Association dues and fair share fees established by the Association will be withheld from the Association member's pay, at a source in equal amounts from each pay, either weekly, bi-weekly or otherwise, as the frequency of the pay periods may require. Such withholdings for Association dues are to be transmitted to the duly elected Treasurer of the Association for the previous month's earnings, not later than the 20th day of each month. The Association will notify the employee 30 days prior to any change in such dues.

5.3. New employees hired during the period from the 1st to the 15th of the month will have the full month's Association dues deducted from their pay for that month, if they voluntarily join the Association during this period.

5.4. New employees hired during the period from the 16th to the last day of the month will have one half month’s Association dues deducted from their pay for that month, if they voluntarily join the Association during this period.

5.5. The Association shall indemnify and hold the State harmless against any and all claims, demands, suits and other forms of liability that may arise out of or by reason of any action taken or not taken by the State for the purpose of complying with any of the provisions of this article.

Article 06- Association Officers and Representatives………………………………..………………..…

Article 07- Probationary Period………………………………………………………………………..…

Article 08- Grievance Procedure………………………………………………………………………....

Article 09- Special Rights of the Parties……………………………………………………………...….

Article 10- Employee Rights…………………………………………………………………………..…

Article 11- Internal Affairs/ Investigative Interview Rights……………………………..………………

Article 12- Labor Management Meetings……………………………………………..…………………

Note – 5.1 and 5.6 are tabled – still to be discussed and negotiated upon

* Article 13- Orientation of New Hires………….……………………………..………………………

13.1. The State shall allow a total of two designated Union representatives, one of whom shall be released from duty, 60 minutes, during the Correctional Employee Initial Training course to present to all new hires rights and benefits as Union members upon completion of their probation. The State agrees to provide a room where available in which the Union shall be able to make the presentation.

13.2. The State will notify the Union in writing of the names and work locations of new hires who do not receive the Association’s presentation during the Correctional Employee Initial Training course.

13.3. The Association agrees that it shall not raise, discuss or distribute any issue or material concerning elections, partisan campaign matters, criticism of the State, any employee or management official or anything which may be detrimental to the Labor Management Relationship; provided, however that voter registration cards may be distributed at such orientation meeting.

Article 14- Visitation……………………………………………………………...……………………...

* Article 15- Bulletin Board…..……………………………………………………………...…………

15.1 The State agrees to provide a separate locked, enclosed bulletin board labeled with the Union name at a mutually agreed upon location(s), where notices of official Union matters may be posted.

15.2. The Union will post only that information which it believes to be of importance to its bargaining unit members.

15.3. If the State objects to any posted literature, it shall reduce its objection to writing and file the objection with the Union President.

15.4. The Union may post any appropriate notice pertaining to Union matters such as appointments, meeting announcements, social events and Union election results, but excluding any election or partisan campaign material, as long as none of the above matters contain anything critical of any individual or employer. Any material that may be detrimental to labor management relationship, with the exception of grievances results, may not be posted.

15.5. All keys to the bulletin boards will remain under the control of the Union and the Commissioner of Corrections.

* Article 16- Management Rights……………………………………………………...…….…………

16.1. The State has the exclusive right to manage its operations and direct Employees except as specifically modified by an expressed provision of this Agreement.

* Article 17- Strikes and Work Stoppages……………………………………...……………………..

17.1. Neither the Union nor Employees shall engage in or sanction any strike or work stoppage during the term of this Agreement.

Article 18- Call Off/ Sick Leave………………………………………………………………………….

* Article 19- Seniority…………………………………….……………………………………………..

19.1. Seniority, as stated in this Agreement, shall consist of accumulated service within the Bargaining Unit, as authorized in the certifications referenced in Article 3 of this Agreement.

19.2. Employees’ earned seniority shall not be lost because of absence due to illness, authorized leave of absences, or temporary layoff unless the absence continues for more than (2) years. The seniority list shall be sent annually by mail to the Secretary of the Union. Employees who return to work within (2) years from the date they separated employment shall receive credit for previously earned seniority.

19.3. Employees transferred or promoted to positions outside of the bargaining unit shall not lose seniority rights accumulated from the date of employment to the date transferred or promoted; but during Employees’ absence from the bargaining unit seniority rights shall not accumulate. Employees returning to the bargaining unit shall pick-up seniority credited at the time they left the bargaining unit and there after shall be entitled to the same seniority rights as any other Employee.

19.4. Dismissed Employees who appeal their dismissal shall not lose any seniority earned prior to their dismissal date until exhaustion of all appeals.

Article 20- Health and Welfare…………………………………………………………………………...

* Article 21- Part-Time Public Office………………………………..………………………………...

21.1. Employees elected to any public office provided for by the Constitution of the State or the Delaware Code shall be granted such leaves of absence without pay as is reasonable and necessary to perform their duties in such office. Upon completion of such leaves, Employees shall be reinstated in the same position, which they held at the time such leaves of absence were granted. Employees on leaves of absence in accordance with this section shall maintain any seniority, pension or benefits previously earned.

Article 22- Working Conditions………………………………………………………………………….

Article 23- Institutional Designations…………………………………………………………………….

Article 24- Hours of Work………………………………………………………………………………..

Article 25- Work Schedule……………………………………………………………………………….

Article 26- Safety…………………………………………………………………………………………

Article 27- Overtime……………………………………………………………………………………...

Article 28- Personal Leave………………………………………………………………………………..

Article 29- Vacation/ Holiday Preference and Schedule…………………………………………………

Article 30- Transfer within an Institution (By Classification)……………………………………………

Article 31- Transfer Outside An Institution (Lateral) ……………………………………………………

Article 32- Transfer Involving Career Ladder Positions…………………………………………………

Article 33- Promotions……………………………………………………………………………………

Article 34- Performance Review…………………………………………………………………………

Article 35- Personnel Records……………………………………………………………………………

Article 36- Drug Testing………………………………………………………………………………….

Article 37- Leave Bank And Leave Bank Donation Program……………………………………………

Article 38- Equipment..………………………………………………………………………………….

Article 39- Uniforms……………………………………………………………………………………...

Article 40- Essential Employees………………………………………………………………………….

Article 41- Testing ...……………………………………………………………….…………………….

Article 42- Training………………………………………………………………………………………

Article 43- Demotion……………………………………………………………….…………………….

Article 44- Shift Trades…………………………………………………………….…………………….

Article 45- Temporary Modified Work…………………………………………….…………………….

Article 46- State Information Provision…………………………………………………………………..

Article 47- Contract Out………………………………………………………………………………….

Article 48- Employee Reimbursement……………………………………………………………………

** Article 49- Addendum to Merit Rules……………………………………..…………………………………..

Article 50- Flextime And Compressed Work Week Schedule…………………………………………...

Article 51& Article 52- Employee Facilities....………..………………………………………………....

* Article 53- Use of Premises by Union…….…………………………………….……………………..

53.1 The Union may request to use any Departmental facility for the Union business during working hours. Such request shall not be unreasonably denied.

53.2. This article shall not be interpreted to grant the Employee the right to conduct Union business during working hours not granted elsewhere in this Agreement.

Article 54- Call Back Pay………………………………………………………………………………...

Article 55- Stand By Duty Pay…………………………………………………………………………...

Article 56- Shift Differential Pay…………………………………………………………………………

Article 57- Roll Call Pay………………………………………………………………………………….

Article 58- Bilingual Pay…………………………………………………………………………………

Article 59- Acting Capacity Pay………………………………………………………………………….

Article 60- Lead Worker………………………………………………………………………………….

Article 61- Layoffs, Job Abolishment’s, and Reduction in Work Force…………………………………

Article 62- Bumping Rights………………………………………………………………………………

* Article 63- Liability Protection……………………………………………………………………….

63.1. The State and the Union agree that any Employee involved in any criminal or civil action against them as a result of performing their normal duties shall be protected by 11 De. Code, Section 5919, and/or 10 De. Code, Section 3925.

* Article 64- NON-Discrimination……………………………………………………………………...

64.1 The State shall not interfere with or discriminate in respect to any term or condition of employment against any Employee governed by this Agreement because of membership in or legitimate activity as described in this Agreement on behalf of the Union, nor will the State encourage membership in any other Union.

64.2. There will be no discrimination on the basis of Union activity, race, creed, age, sex, religion, disability, national origin or lawful political activity by the State or by the Union.

* Article 65- Prohibition of Sexual Harassment……………………………………………………….

65.1. The State and the Union acknowledge that sexual harassment is a form of unlawful sex discrimination, and the parties mutually agree that no Employee should be subjected to such harassment. The term sexual harassment as used herein is conduct such as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature which constitutes sexual harassment when:

i. Submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual’s employment;

ii. Submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such individual; or

iii. Such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment.

* Article 66- Savings Clause……………………………………………………………………………

66.1. It is understood and agreed that if any part of this Agreement is in conflict with mandatory Federal or State Laws, that part shall be suspended and the appropriate mandatory provisions shall prevail, and the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected thereby. If a portion of this Agreement is in conflict with these laws, the parties shall meet and renegotiate that part of the Agreement.

66.2. The waiver of any breach, term or condition of this Agreement by either party shall not constitute a precedent in the future enforcement of all its terms and conditions.

Article 67- Work Rules / Existing Benefits………………………………………………………………

Article 68- Fully Bargained Provisions…………………………………………………………………..

Article 69- Scope Wavier Alteration of Agreement……………………………………………………...

Article 70- Duration of Agreement…………………………………………………..…………………...

Key:

* Signed off

** Agreed Upon – Waiting to sign

Please hold on to this section, as more articles will be added as they are agreed upon. I would like to keep the Union Body up to date on all issues pertaining to the contract. It is a slow process but seems to be moving along at a positive pace. Our negotiation team is to all intents and purposes a cross-section of the majority of the department thus allowing each article to be scrutinized in relationship to how it affects each and every officer. We want a contract but we will not allow that desire to overshadow the progress that we have made thus far. We will not place ourselves in a position of "NEED" for this will weaken our status in negations with the State. The contract we negotiate will be a MUTUALLY agreed upon document - FOR BOTH PARTIES. This includes YOU the Correctional Professional.
Legislative Committee News

House Bill 233

As some may have heard, there have been several incidents of Officers being assaulted while off duty. This serious matter reached a new low in May when we had 2 assaults occur within 10 days of one another. The most troublesome of these occurred in Christiana Mall, in a store, in full view of the public and the Officer’s family. Fortunately the perpetrator, an ex-inmate that our Officer had removed from DOC property a week before, was apprehended in Wilmington a short time later and initially charged with 2nd Degree Assault (a Felony), 2nd Degree Conspiracy (due to 2 accomplices; another felony), and Harassment (a misdemeanor). Due to the way that the 2nd Degree Assault Statute is currently written, the charge of 2nd Degree Assault is only applicable if the Officer is assaulted during the course of that Officer’s duties. This caused the court to reduce the charge to 3rd Degree Assault, a Misdemeanor. Since the Conspiracy charge follows the Assault charge, it was also reduced to a misdemeanor (3rd Degree Conspiracy). In an effort to correct this, we approached the Department to ask for their support on a Bill to amend the 2nd Degree Assault Statute (Title 11, Section 612) to extend the protection of the Statute to Officers off duty as well as on-duty. We received the enthusiastic support of Commissioner Taylor for this effort. In addition, the State FOP Lodge, the Delaware State Trooper’s Association, and Attorney General Jane Brady also supported this proposed Legislation (Some of you may remember that we supported Ms. Brady in her bid for re-election). The result of this effort was House Bill 233 which reads, in part, as follows: “This Bill will include injuries suffered by Law Enforcement Officers, including Correctional Officers off duty, as a result of an attacker identifying them as a Law Enforcement Officer or in other incidents involving their official performance of duties. Recently a Correctional Officer was attacked in a mall because he had denied visitation to a former inmate during the course of his normal duties. The attack was motivated by revenge.” This Bill’s Primary Sponsor was Rep. and Speaker of the House Terry Spence. It was Additionally Sponsored by Rep. Lee, and was Co-Sponsored by Sen. Vaughn; Reps. Smith, Atkins, Booth, Boulden, Buckworth, Carey, DiPinto, Ewing, Fallon, Hudson, Lavelle, Lofink, Maier, Oberle, Quillen, Roy, Stone, Thornburg, Ulbrich, Valihura, Wagner, Gilligan, Van Sant, B. Ennis, George, Hall-Long, Houghton, Keeley, Mulrooney, Plant, Schwartzkopf, Viola, Williams; Sens. Adams, McDowell, Blevins, Cook, DeLuca, Henry, Venables, Bonini, Cloutier, Connor, Copeland, and Simpson. The Bill was introduced on June 11 and assigned to the House Judiciary Committee. On June 17th, it was reported out of committee with 7 “On it’s Merits”. On June 25th it passed the House of Representatives 36-0. On June 26 it was assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee, where it is as of this date awaiting action.

TO ALL OF THE ABOVE WE WOULD LIKE TO EXTEND OUR SINCERE THANKS!