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SB1591 • 2026

Traffic Safety

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 55-8-199, relative to prohibited uses of electronic devices while operating a motor vehicle.

Taxes
Active

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

Sponsor
Haile, Slater
Last action
2026-03-26
Official status
Re-ref. Calendar & Rules Committee
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The exact amounts of litigation taxes or court costs beyond the cap removal are not specified.

Changes to Tennessee's Traffic Safety Laws

This bill amends Tennessee's traffic safety laws by removing a $10 cap on court costs for using electronic devices while driving and adding state and local litigation taxes.

What This Bill Does

  • Removes the $10 cap on court costs for using an electronic device while driving, allowing up to 50% of standard court costs charged by the court.
  • Adds state and local litigation taxes to fines for using an electronic device while driving.
  • Applies changes starting July 1, 2026, for violations that happen after this date.

Who It Names or Affects

  • People who use wireless communications devices or stand-alone electronic devices while operating a motor vehicle in Tennessee.

Terms To Know

court costs
Money paid to the court as part of a penalty for breaking traffic laws, now up to 50% of standard court costs charged by the court.
litigation taxes
Taxes added by the state and local governments when someone is fined for using an electronic device while driving.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify exact amounts of litigation taxes or court costs beyond the cap removal.
  • It's unclear exactly how much revenue this change will generate.

Amendments

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

Amendment 1-0 to HB1555

Plain English: The amendment changes how much court costs can be charged for people who break the law about using electronic devices while driving in Tennessee.

  • Removes the previous limits on court costs and replaces them with a new rule that allows up to 50% of standard court costs plus state and local litigation taxes for violations.
  • The exact amount of court costs before this amendment is unclear, so it's hard to say how much more or less people will pay compared to the old rules.
  • It's not clear if there are other laws that might still affect these court costs beyond what this amendment changes.
Amendment 1-0 to SB1591

Plain English: The amendment changes how much court costs can be charged for people who break the law about using electronic devices while driving in Tennessee.

  • Removes the previous limits on court costs and replaces them with a new rule that allows up to 50% of standard court costs plus state and local litigation taxes for violations of this section.
  • The exact amount of court costs before and after the amendment is not specified, making it hard to know how much more or less people might pay in fines.
  • It's unclear what other laws are affected by this change beyond § 8-21-401(g)(1).

Bill History

  1. 2026-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Re-ref. Calendar & Rules Committee

  2. 2026-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Failed to pass H., Ayes 37, Nays 48, PNV 3

  3. 2026-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Am. withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - HA0563)

  4. 2026-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Subst. for comp. HB.

  5. 2026-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. SB subst.

  6. 2026-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  7. 2026-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 3/26/2026

  8. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 3/19/2026

  9. 2026-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass; ref to Calendar & Rules Committee

  10. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Finance, Ways, and Means Committee for 3/17/2026

  11. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  12. 2026-03-09 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  13. 2026-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Engrossed; ready for transmission to House

  14. 2026-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 20, Nays 11

  15. 2026-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 1 - SA0486)

  16. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 3/11/2026

  17. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee to 3/11/2026

  18. 2026-03-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 3/5/2026

  19. 2026-03-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 8, Nays 3 PNV 0

  20. 2026-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 3/4/2026

  21. 2026-02-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee calendar for 3/3/2026

  22. 2026-02-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee Ayes 9, Nays 0 PNV 0

  23. 2026-02-17 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  24. 2026-02-17 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  25. 2026-02-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Transportation and Safety Committee calendar for 2/18/2026

  26. 2026-02-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Transportation Committee for 2/17/2026

  27. 2026-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  28. 2026-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Transportation Subcommittee for 2/10/2026

  29. 2026-01-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Transportation Subcommittee

  30. 2026-01-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to Transportation Committee

  31. 2026-01-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  32. 2026-01-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Transportation and Safety Committee

  33. 2026-01-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  34. 2026-01-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  35. 2026-01-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

ON MARCH 5, 2026, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 1591, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 rewrites the bill to, instead, impose court costs of up to 50% of the standard court costs charged by the court for a case involving a traffic violation, as well as state and local litigation taxes, on a person who uses a wireless communicat
ions device or stand-alone electronic device while operating a motor vehicle. Present law caps the court costs for such an offense at $10, and provides that state and local litigation taxes are not applicable.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
HOUSE BILL 1555
By Slater

SENATE BILL 1591
By Haile
SB1591
010053
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Section
55-8-199, relative to prohibited uses of electronic
devices while operating a motor vehicle.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 55-8-199(c)(1), is amended by
deleting the third and fourth sentences and substituting instead:
A person violating this section is subject to court costs and state and local litigation
taxes.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect July 1, 2026, the public welfare requiring it, and
applies to violations occurring on or after such date.