2023 Tennessee Code › Title 41 - CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTIONS AND INMATES (§§ 41-1-101 — 41-51-302) › Chapter 21 - INMATES (§§ 41-21-101 — 41-21-1006) › Part 10 - INMATE DISCIPLINARY OVERSIGHT BOARD (§§ 41-21-1001 — 41-21-1006) › Section 41-21-1003 - Power and authority of the board - Board Meetings

(a)
The board has those powers and duties necessary and proper to enable the board to fully and effectively carry out this part, including, but not limited to:
(1)
The authority to select and recommend to the appropriate state officials the employment or transfer of all personnel required for the operation of the board; except the initial transfer of a preferred service employee shall not result in impairment, interruption, or diminution of employee rights, salary, benefits, leave accumulation, or employment. The commissioner of human resources is authorized to determine if there has been any impairment of rights, salary, benefits, leave accumulation, or employment as a result of a transfer. A preferred service employee may seek redress of a determination through a request for a declaratory order by the commissioner of human resources pursuant to §
4-5-223
;
(2)
The authority to promulgate reasonable substantive and procedural rules in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5;
(3)
The authority to develop and implement guidelines for reviewing the grant, denial, and removal of good institutional behavior credits. The board shall review and reevaluate the guidelines at least annually and provide copies of the guidelines to the governor, the speaker of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, the commissioner of correction, and the appropriate standing committees of the senate and the house of representatives;
(4)
The authority to prescribe all forms to be used by the board in the transaction of the board's business;
(5)
The authority to adopt an official seal by which the board's acts and proceedings are authenticated, and of which a court or other officials concerned with the actions of the board shall take judicial notice. The certificate of the chair of the board, under seal and attested to by the executive director, must be accepted in any judicial or administrative proceeding as adequate and sufficient proof of the acts and proceedings of the board as described in the certificate;
(6)
The authority to employ other employees and to incur such other expenses, within the limits of appropriations, as necessary for the proper discharge of the board's duties;
(7)
The authority to work with the department of correction in developing criteria for the award of sentence credits for good institutional behavior;
(8)
The duty to keep appropriate records of all of the board's official actions and to make them accessible in accordance with law and the regulations of the board;
(9)
The duty to adopt written long-range goals and objectives. The goals and objectives must be reaffirmed or changed, as appropriate, by the board at least once each year;
(10)
The duty to adopt written policies and procedures to govern the board's internal operations. It is the legislative intent that the board has the authority to freely adopt policies and procedures to meet the board's particular needs. Prior to final board adoption of the policies and procedures and prior to change, the board shall submit a draft to the attorney general and reporter for review and comment; and
(11)
The authority to employ staff attorneys who are licensed to practice law in this state and to employ others as the board deems necessary.
(b)
As soon as is convenient after appointment, the members of the board shall meet and organize. The members shall appoint an executive director who shall be the chief administrative officer of the board and whose duties include:
(1)
Supervising the scheduling of board meetings;
(2)
Assisting the board in the formulation, development, and implementation of procedures and policies;
(3)
Assisting in the preparation of the necessary forms and maintaining the records required for decisions of the board;
(4)
Conducting conferences and managing correspondence with interested persons;
(5)
Supervising all employees of the board; and
(6)
Developing and maintaining communication and cooperation between the board and other state agencies.
Added by 2023 Tenn. Acts, ch. 402, s 7, eff. 1/1/2024.