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HB0190 • 2026

Criminal Offenses

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39, Chapter 13, relative to vehicular offenses.

Crime
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Gant, Rose
Last action
2025-05-15
Official status
Comp. became Pub. Ch. 430
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Changing Alcohol Levels for Aggravated Vehicular Offenses

This law changes the alcohol concentration levels needed to be charged with aggravated vehicular assault or homicide in Tennessee.

What This Bill Does

  • Changes the minimum blood alcohol level from 0.20% to 0.15% for someone to face charges of aggravated vehicular assault if they have a prior conviction for driving under the influence, boating under the influence, vehicular assault, or similar offenses.
  • Reduces the same threshold from 0.20% to 0.15% for someone to be charged with aggravated vehicular homicide if they have one or more prior convictions related to drunk driving or causing harm while intoxicated.

Who It Names or Affects

  • People who drive after drinking and cause accidents that hurt others
  • Individuals with previous DUI, boating under influence, or similar convictions

Terms To Know

Aggravated Vehicular Assault
A serious crime where someone causes injury to another person while driving drunk and has a prior record of similar offenses.
Aggravated Vehicular Homicide
A severe offense involving the death of another person caused by drunk driving with previous convictions for related crimes.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The law does not specify how it will be enforced or if there are any exceptions.
  • It is unclear what impact this change will have on public safety and crime rates.

Bill History

  1. 2025-05-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. became Pub. Ch. 430

  2. 2025-05-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Effective date(s) 07/01/2025

  3. 2025-05-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Pub. Ch. 430

  4. 2025-05-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Governor.

  5. 2025-05-01 Tennessee General Assembly

    Transmitted to Governor for action.

  6. 2025-04-30 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by H. Speaker

  7. 2025-04-29 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Senate Speaker

  8. 2025-04-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Enrolled and ready for signatures

  9. 2025-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. SB subst.

  10. 2025-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  11. 2025-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed H., Ayes 93, Nays 0, PNV 0

  12. 2025-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Subst. for comp. HB.

  13. 2025-04-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/21/2025

  14. 2025-04-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 4/17/2025

  15. 2025-04-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass; ref to Calendar & Rules Committee

  16. 2025-04-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  17. 2025-04-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to Finance, Ways, and Means Committee

  18. 2025-04-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/17/2025

  19. 2025-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/14/2025

  20. 2025-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed behind the budget

  21. 2025-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/14/2025

  22. 2025-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee

  23. 2025-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass; ref to Finance, Ways, and Means Committee

  24. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 4/2/2025

  25. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in Judiciary Committee to 4/02/2025

  26. 2025-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rcvd. from S., held on H. desk.

  27. 2025-03-20 Tennessee General Assembly

    Engrossed; ready for transmission to House

  28. 2025-03-20 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  29. 2025-03-20 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed Senate, Ayes 28, Nays 0

  30. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 3/26/2025

  31. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in Judiciary Committee to 3/26/2025

  32. 2025-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 3/20/2025

  33. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 3/19/2025

  34. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to Judiciary Committee

  35. 2025-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Calendar Committee

  36. 2025-03-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  37. 2025-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 3/12/2025

  38. 2025-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/11/2025

  39. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Judiciary Committee

  40. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  41. 2025-02-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee

  42. 2025-02-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to Judiciary Committee

  43. 2025-01-29 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  44. 2025-01-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  45. 2025-01-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

Under present law, a person commits aggravated vehicular assault if the person commits vehicular assault and has two or more prior convictions for driving under the influence of an intoxicant o
r has one or more prior convictions for vehicular assault, vehicular homicide, or aggravated vehicular homicide. Additionally, a person commits aggravated vehicular assault if the person has an alcohol concentration in the person's blood or breath of 20
%
or more at the time of the offense and has one prior conviction for driving under the influence of an intoxicant, or boating under the influence.

Under present law, a person commits aggravated vehicular homicide if the person has two or more prior conv
ictions for driving under the influence of an intoxicant or boating under the influence, vehicular assault, or any combination of such offenses. Additionally, a defendant commits aggravated vehicular homicide when they have one or more prior convictions
f
or the offense of vehicular homicide. Present law also provides if at the time of the offense, there was 20% or more, by weight of alcohol in the defendant's blood and the defendant has one prior conviction for driving under the influence of an intoxican
t
or boating under the influence, or vehicular assault, then the defendant has committed aggravated vehicular homicide.

This bill lowers
from
20%
to
15% the minimum weight of alcohol concentration in the provisions described above that is required to be
convicted of aggravated vehicular assault or aggravated vehicular homicide.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
SENATE BILL 457
By Rose

HOUSE BILL 190
By Gant

HB0190
000404
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39,
Chapter 13, relative to vehicular offenses.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 39-13-115(b)(2)(A), is amended by
deleting "twenty-hundredths of one percent (0.20%)" and substituting "fifteen-hundredths of one
percent (0.15%)".
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 39-13-218(a)(3), is amended by
deleting "twenty-hundredths of one percent (0.20%)" and substituting "fifteen-hundredths of one
percent (0.15%)".
SECTION 3. This act takes effect July 1, 2025, the public welfare requiring it.