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2017 SESSION

17102941D
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 618
Offered January 11, 2017
Prefiled January 8, 2017
Requesting the Department of Criminal Justice Services to study the costs and benefits of assisting localities in alleviating pay compression in local police and deputy sheriffs' salaries. Report.
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Patron-- Davis
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Referred to Committee on Rules
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WHEREAS, sheriffs' offices are the primary law-enforcement agencies in 86 counties in Virginia; and

WHEREAS, there are 123 sheriffs' offices across the Commonwealth, and they receive over two million calls for service every year; and

WHEREAS, sheriffs absorb additional responsibilities each year in the form of mental health transports; and

WHEREAS, sheriffs serve as the keepers of all local jails; and

WHEREAS, sheriffs serve more than three million civil papers on behalf of the court system and provide security to keep Virginia's courts, judges, and users of the judicial system safe; and

WHEREAS, the starting annual salary of a deputy sheriff is $31,009, or $2,584 per month; and

WHEREAS, the qualifying salary to receive federal assistance is $2,628 per month if the deputy is married and has two dependent children; and

WHEREAS, not all counties supplement deputy sheriffs' salaries; and

WHEREAS, as a result of lower pay, the turnover of first-year deputy sheriffs for all localities is 21.3 percent; and

WHEREAS, local police departments face similar problems of high turnover, and morale as a result of pay compression.

WHEREAS, localities may be unable to alleviate pay compression issues in local police and deputy sheriffs' salaries without state assistance; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the Department of Criminal Justice Services be requested to study the costs and benefits of assisting localities in alleviating pay compression in police and deputy sheriffs' salaries.

In conducting its study, the Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) shall (i) collect and analyze data regarding pay compression in police and deputy sheriffs' salaries; (ii) study the best practices of other states' law-enforcement agencies for preventing and resolving pay compression; (iii) work with stakeholders in identifying issues and solutions; and (iv) propose strategies, campaigns, or state actions to alleviate pay compression issues in local police and deputy sheriffs' salaries, including an analysis of the costs and benefits of the proposed solutions.

All agencies of the Commonwealth shall provide assistance to DCJS for this study, upon request.

The Department of Criminal Justice Services shall complete its meetings by November 30, 2017, and shall submit to the Governor and the General Assembly an executive summary and a report of its findings and recommendations for publication as a House or Senate document. The executive summary and report shall be submitted as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents and reports no later than the first day of the 2018 Regular Session of the General Assembly and shall be posted on the General Assembly's website.