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HB1519 • 2026

Criminal Offenses

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39 and Title 55, relative to driving offenses.

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
McCalmon, Lowe
Last action
2026-03-18
Official status
Taken off notice for cal in s/c Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee of Finance, Ways, and Means Committee
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The candidate explanation included details about the Driver Improvement Program that were not supported by the provided official source material.

Safe Highways and Roads Enforcement Act

This bill imposes additional fines for moving traffic violations and driving under the influence in Tennessee, with funds going towards road maintenance.

What This Bill Does

  • Adds a $25 fine for non-commercial vehicles involved in moving traffic violations.
  • Adds a $50 fine for commercial vehicles involved in moving traffic violations.
  • Requires an additional $100 fine for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, with no extra fines if there's also a moving violation.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Drivers who commit moving traffic violations in Tennessee.
  • People convicted of driving under the influence in Tennessee.

Terms To Know

Moving Traffic Violation
A violation that occurs while a vehicle is in motion, such as speeding or running a red light.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify how much extra money will be needed for updating court management systems.
  • It is unclear exactly when the new fines will start being collected after July 1, 2026.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

Amendment 1-0 to HB1519

Plain English: The amendment changes the start date for when a new law about driving offenses will begin.

  • Changes the effective date of the bill from its current unspecified date to October 1, 2026.
  • The original effective date is not provided in the amendment text, so it's unclear what the previous date was or why this new date was chosen.
Amendment 1-0 to SB1572

Plain English: The amendment changes the start date when new driving laws will take effect in Tennessee.

  • Changes the effective date of the bill from its current unspecified date to October 1, 2026.
  • The original effective date is not provided, so it's unclear what date was replaced.

Bill History

  1. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Taken off notice for cal in s/c Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee of Finance, Ways, and Means Committee

  2. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 3/18/2026

  3. 2026-03-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Deferred to Summer Study

  4. 2026-03-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/10/2026

  5. 2026-03-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action deferred in Senate Judiciary Committee to 3/10/2026

  6. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  7. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  8. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/9/2026

  9. 2026-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 3/4/2026

  10. 2026-02-18 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  11. 2026-02-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 2/18/2026

  12. 2026-01-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee

  13. 2026-01-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to Judiciary Committee

  14. 2026-01-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Judiciary Committee

  15. 2026-01-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  16. 2026-01-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  17. 2026-01-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  18. 2026-01-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

This bill imposes additional fines for certain motor vehicle violations as described below.

PENALTIES FOR MOVING TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS

This bill provides that, in addition to any penalty authorized under law for a traffic violation designated as a moving traffic violation under rules of the driver improvement program, which assigns points according to the seriousness of the accident or
moving traffic violation conviction and authorizes the department of safety to suspend or restrict the licenses of incompetent or unqualified drivers based on insufficient points:



For non-commercial motor vehicles, the court must assess a fine of $25.


For commercial motor vehicles, the court must assess a fine of $50.

Such additional fines must be collected by the respective court clerk and transmitted to the treasurer for deposit in the state highway fund, to be used for maintenance and infrastructure improvements of public roads, streets, highways, bridges, and simi
lar structures on the state system of highways and the state system of interstate highways.

DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE VIOLATIONS

Present law provides that it is unlawful for any person to drive or to be in physical control of any automobile or other motor driven vehicle on any of the public roads and highways of the state, or on any streets or alleys, or while on the premises of a
ny shopping center, trailer park, or apartment house complex, or any other premises that is generally frequented by the public at large, while any of the following circumstances exist:



The person is under the influence of any intoxicant, marijuana, controlled substance, controlled substance analogue, drug, substance affecting the central nervous system, or combination thereof that impairs the driver's ability to safely operate a motor vehicle by depriving the driver of the clearness of mind and control of oneself that the driver would otherwise possess.


The alcohol concentration in the person's blood or breath is 0.08% or more.


The person has a blood alcohol concentration of 0.04% or more and the vehicle is a commercial motor vehicle.

If a person is so convicted, present law provides the following penalties:



For a first offense, a fine no less than $350 nor more than $1,500.


For a second offense, a fine no less than $600 nor more than $3,500.


For a third offense, a fine no less than $1,100 nor more than $10,000.


For a fourth or subsequent offense, a fine no less than $3,000 nor more than $15,000.


For any offense while accompanied by a child under 18, a fine of $1,000 in addition to the fine for the DUI offense.

Additionally, present law provides that the payment of restitution to any person suffering physical injury or personal losses as the result of such offense, if such person is economically capable of making such restitution, must be imposed as a condition
of probation.

This bill adds that, in addition to the penalties authorized for a violation of driving under the influence of an intoxicant as described above, the court must assess a fine of $100 to be collected by the respective court clerk and transmitted to the tre
asurer for deposit in the state highway fund, to be used for maintenance and infrastructure improvements of public roads, streets, highways, bridges, and similar structures on the state system of highways and the state system of interstate highways. If t
he
person convicted of driving under the influence of an intoxicant is also convicted of a moving traffic violation, then the court must not assess the additional fine for the moving traffic violation as described above and must only assess the additional $
100 fine described in this paragraph.

APPLICABILITY

This bill applies to offenses committed on or after July 1, 2026.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
SENATE BILL 1572
By Lowe

HOUSE BILL 1519
By McCalmon
HB1519
010463
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39
and Title 55, relative to driving offenses.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. This act is known and may be cited as the "Safe Highways and Roads
Enforcement (SHARE) Act."
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 55, Chapter 8, Part 2, is amended by
adding the following as a new section:
Except as provided in § 55-10-403(e), in addition to the penalty authorized by this
title or title 39 for a traffic violation designated as a moving traffic violation under rules of
the driver improvement program established in § 55-50-505:
(1) For non-commercial motor vehicles, the court shall assess a fine of
twenty-five dollars ($25.00) to be collected by the respective court clerk and
transmitted to the treasurer for deposit in the state highway fund, to be used for
maintenance and infrastructure improvements of public roads, streets, highways,
bridges, and similar structures on the state system of highways and the state
system of interstate highways; and
(2) For commercial motor vehicles, the court shall assess a fine of fifty
dollars ($50.00) to be collected, transmitted, and used as provided in subdivision
(1).
SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 55-10-403, is amended by adding
the following new subsection:
(e) In addition to the penalty authorized by this part for a violation of driving
under the influence of an intoxicant under § 55-10-401, the court shall assess a fine of

- 2 - 010463

one hundred dollars ($100) to be collected, transmitted, and used as provided in
SECTION 2(1). If the person convicted of driving under the influence of an intoxicant is
also convicted of a moving traffic violation, then the court shall not assess the additional
fine for the moving traffic violation under SECTION 2 and shall only assess the
additional one-hundred-dollar fine in this subsection (e).
SECTION 4. This act takes effect July 1, 2026, the public welfare requiring it, and
applies to offenses committed on or after that date.