This bill amends Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-17-1351 to broaden eligibility for a lifetime enhanced handgun carry permit fee waiver. Under current law, only retired law enforcement officers who served at least ten years and held POST certification (or equivalent training) at retirement qualify. The proposed change adds officers who served fewer than ten years but were POST-certified (or equivalently trained) and whose retirement was the direct result of a line-of-duty injury. By deleting the old provision and substituting the amended language, the state extends the permit fee waiver to a new category of disabled veterans of law enforcement service. The act takes effect immediately upon becoming law.
This small but meaningful tweak recognizes the sacrifice of officers forced to retire early due to work-related injuries. It ensures that these individuals maintain the same ready access to self-defense tools as their longer-serving colleagues, without bearing the financial burden of permit fees. It also upholds Tennessee’s longstanding respect for law enforcement service and rewards commitment under hazardous conditions.
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