Harris asks state for minimum wage increase, end to abortion ban, criminal justice reform

Katherine Burgess, Memphis Commercial Appeal
·2 min read
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Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris has asked the county’s delegation to the Tennessee General Assembly to work on increasing the state’s minimum wage and to commit funding for mental health, veteran services, Regional One Health and more.

“It is past time for the State of Tennessee to adopt a minimum wage of at least $15 per hour,” Harris said in a news release. “Today, I sent a slate of legislative recommendations to our Shelby County delegation. Our priorities include a robust joint public safety agenda prepared with DA (Steve) Mulroy and (Juvenile Court) Judge (Tarik) Sugarmon. We also really dial in on the important issues of access to healthcare, efforts to strengthen our democracy, and support for working families. The best way we can support working families is to do everything we can to ensure that Tennesseans receive a fair day’s wage for a fair day’s work.”

Harris’ set of legislative priorities, presented to the Shelby County Delegation Tuesday, also includes a request that the state overturn the Human Life Protection Act, which triggered a ban on abortion upon the overturning of Roe v. Wade. If the law is not overturned, Harris asked that exceptions be added for the life of the mother and victims of rape and incest.

More:The 901: What to know about state's near-total abortion ban

Many of the requests in Harris’ legislative agenda mirror actions his administration has taken locally.

Those include raising the minimum wage for Shelby County employees, first to $15 an hour in 2018, then to $15.44 and currently to $16 an hour.

Harris has also prioritized working with at-risk youth, launching the Youth and Family Resource Center, and working to rehabilitate former inmates.

Related:With team of community leaders, Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris looks to plan 'next era'

One of the legislative asks is to pass a statewide Fair Chance to Serve legislation, allowing offenders to serve on volunteer boards and commissions. Such an ordinance was passed in Shelby County with Harris’ support earlier this year.

Other asks in the legislative agenda focus on improving access to healthcare, something Harris has said he plans to make a major component of his final four years as mayor.

Legislative Agenda_Mayor Lee Harris by USA TODAY Network on Scribd

One of those requests is that the state appropriate money in the next several budget cycles to construct a new Regional One Health, since many of the current buildings making up the campus are past their usable lifespan.

“With state support, the capital improvement project could deliver a world-class facility that could serve as an official academic medical training facility for the State of Tennessee,” reads Harris’ legislative agenda.

Katherine Burgess covers county government and religion. She can be reached at katherine.burgess@commercialappeal.com or followed on Twitter @kathsburgess.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Lee Harris asks state for minimum wage increase, end abortion ban