As the New Year begins several new laws went into effect the moment the clock struck midnight.
While several laws passed by the Tennessee 113th General Assembly took effect in July, the effective date was extended to Jan. 1, 2024, for others. Those new laws included hundreds of bills, with a number of them related to crime and public safety.
Some of the bills going into effect this week address issues such as distracted driving, firearm safety and child abuse, among other things. However, many of them likely flew under the radar with several more high-profile bills being passed by the state legislature this year.
The new laws include six laws related to crime and public safety you might not have known about that will soon be enacted in Tennessee.
Increased penalties for distracted driving
This bill, also known as the “Eddie Conrad Act,” will increase the number of points that can be charged to someone’s driving record if they are caught texting and driving starting Jan. 1, 2024. It particularly affects people under the age of 18, who will receive seven points for a second or subsequent offense — enough to potentially have their license suspended for six to 12 months.
A previous section of the bill that would have hiked penalties for drivers older than 18 was later removed as a part of an amendment passed in March. However, adults caught texting and driving still face a Class C misdemeanor.
The bill derived its name from a Middle Tennessee businessman who was killed in a July 2020 car crash. According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Eddie Conrad was waiting to make a turn when he was hit from behind by a distracted driver and pushed into oncoming traffic.
Conrad’s wife and grandchildren were in the car and survived. It was subsequently his family’s efforts to bring more awareness to the potential consequences of distracted driving that caught the attention of state Sen. Mark Pody (R-Lebanon), who sponsored the bill.
In addition to texting, the bill also applies to holding, reading or reaching for an electronic device like a cell phone while driving, or using such a device to record a video while driving.
GPS technology being added to car breathalyzers
Under this law, any ignition interlock device that is installed on or after Jan. 1, 2024, will be required to be equipped with global positioning system (GPS) technology.
Present law defines an “ignition interlock device” as a device that connects a vehicle’s ignition system to a breath-alcohol analyzer and prevents a vehicle from starting if the driver’s blood alcohol level exceeds the calibrated setting on the device.
With added GPS technology, the devices will now be able to geotag or assign a geographical location to a vehicle whenever an initial startup test is conducted or when circumvention of the device is detected.
This may also happen during a retest or when a skipped test occurs, but the bill stipulates that GPS technology should not be used to continuously track a vehicle.
Offsetting the cost of firearm safety courses (SB0360)
This bill authorizes the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security to create a voucher program for the purpose of offsetting the cost for people taking a firearm safety course for the first time on or after Jan. 1, 2024.
The department of safety will be able to use the $100 enhanced handgun carry permit application and processing fee to pay reimbursements of up to $30 per person to an approved handgun safety school.
The law also requires the department to provide information on approved handgun safety training courses available to Tennesseans at minimal cost on its website, and to report the number of courses taken using the voucher program to the senate judiciary committee and house criminal justice committee.
Certain signage making consumers aware of the program and available safety training may also be displayed by licensed firearms dealers. However, the voucher program will only be in place for the next year. It will end on Jan. 1, 2025, unless extended.
Assisting inmates in post-release employment
Under this law, the Tennessee Department of Correction will be required to provide any inmate who is released after serving time for a felony offense with the relevant documentation to assist them with obtaining employment.
That includes providing a photo identification license for anyone who does not already have one. The bill requires the department of correction to begin the process of gathering required documentation nine months before an inmate’s release.
It also authorizes the department to use any funds available, including inmate trust funds, existing funds or donations, to cover the costs associated with the purchase of photo identification licenses.
The department of correction will also be required to provide the following documentation for purposes of assisting an inmate in obtaining post-release employment in certain situations where it is applicable:
- A copy of the vocational training record of the inmate
- A copy of the work record of the inmate
- A certified copy of the birth certificate of the inmate
- A social security card or a replacement social security card of the inmate
- A notification to the inmate of whether they are eligible to apply for a license from a state entity charged with oversight of an occupational license or certification
“Abrial’s Law, the Keeping Children Safe from Family Violence Act”
This bill makes various changes to child custody law in Tennessee, particularly when it involves potentially abusive situations. The law prohibits a parent in a child custody proceeding from being penalized for making a “good faith complaint” about domestic violence or child abuse.
But it also stipulates that a court cannot remove a child from a parent in a child custody proceeding if the parent has shown to be competent, protective of the child, and not physically or sexually abusive.
In a proceeding where a parent has been alleged to have committed domestic violence or child abuse, the court is authorized to consider any evidence of past sexual or physical abuse committed by the accused parent, in addition to any other relevant admissible evidence such as arrest records or protection orders.
If a court does find probable cause of domestic violence or child abuse and the child’s other parent is safe, then the court must award full custody to the other parent. If the court orders visitation with the abusive parent, then the visitation must be supervised by a professional.
The bill prohibits courts from ordering a reunification treatment in a child custody proceeding, unless there is scientifically valid proof of the safety, effectiveness, and therapeutic value of the reunification treatment.
All judges involved in child custody proceedings must also complete at least two hours of training or continuing education courses on domestic violence or child abuse per year, or 10 hours per five years.
“James ‘Dustin’ Samples Act”
This bill will provide support and resources for firefighters diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), like the bill’s namesake, James “Dustin” Samples, who worked for the Cleveland Fire Department for 21 years.
Samples was reportedly suffering from PTSD when he died by suicide in 2020. The new law establishes a grant program to mitigate the cost to an employer providing worker’s compensation for firefighters facing similar diagnoses.
It also creates the legal presumption that an injury was incurred in the line of duty if a firefighter is diagnosed with PTSD as a result of responding to one or more incidents within the following determining factors: - Directly witnessing the death of a minor, or treating the injury of a minor, who subsequently died before or upon arrival at a hospital emergency department
- Directly witnessing an individual whose death involved a serious bodily injury of a “nature that shocks the conscience”
- Responding to an event where there was a victim with a serious bodily injury that “shocks the conscience”
- Responding to an event where a responder, co-worker of a responder, or family member of a responder sustained a serious bodily injury or died
The bill also applies to any firefighter who is diagnosed with PTSD within one year of his or her final date of employment. In order to qualify for the grant created by the bill, employers must provide mental health resiliency training as part of their continuing education program.
