Several “hot topics” are coming before the State Legislature this month, including the ones listed below in State Representative Kip Capley’s weekly report. The bills advancing through the legislature include a bill to reduce drunk driving, a bill to combat illegal immigration in Tennessee, and a bill to protect children from gender-disfiguring procedures.
Read below as Rep. Capley explains some of this very important legislature.
Tennessee Prevention of Drunk Driving Act advances – Legislation to reduce drunk driving in Tennessee advanced out of the House Departments and Agencies Subcommittee last week.
The Tennessee Prevention of Drunk Driving Act would create a 12-member advisory task force to review impaired driving and boating statewide and offer solutions to reduce those crimes from occurring. The Impaired Driving Advisory Council would also be required to submit all of its reports, strategic plans and recommendations annually to the General Assembly. Additionally, law enforcement officers investigating fatal wrecks involving a suspected drunk driver would be required to determine if the individual was served alcohol at a licensed establishment. The findings would be reported to the Alcoholic Beverage Commission (ABC) within 48 hours.
There were 6,135 wrecks statewide that involved an alcohol-impaired driver in 2022, according to the most recent data from the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security. There were 324 fatalities and more than 3,700 injuries as a result. The legislation would also require the ABC to regularly report to the legislature ways to prevent underage drinking, drunk driving, and other harmful uses of alcohol in Tennessee. Adults who begin drinking as a teenager are more likely to develop alcohol dependence at some point in their lives, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The study of 43,000 U.S. adults also found that nearly half of those who developed alcoholism had become alcohol-dependent by the age of 21. House Bill 2845 was scheduled to be heard in the State Government Committee on March 13.
Republicans fight to combat illegal immigration in Tennessee – The House State Government Committee last week advanced Republican legislation that seeks to combat illegal immigration in Tennessee.
House Bill 2124 would ensure all law enforcement in the state notify the appropriate federal authorities if an individual they come into contact with is found to be in the country illegally. Notification is currently not required under state law. There were more than 2.4 million encounters at the nation’s southwest border during the 2023 fiscal year, according to the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security. Since 2021, there have been at least 1.7 million individuals who illegally entered the country and successfully evaded authorities.
House Bill 2124 was scheduled to be heard in the House chamber on March 11. The companion version of the legislation is still advancing through the Senate. If approved, the new law would take effect July 1.
Republicans introduce Family Rights and Responsibilities Act.
Republicans have introduced legislation that explicitly lays out 12 fundamental rights of parents in Tennessee law.
The Family Rights and Responsibilities Act protects parents’ fundamental rights and responsibilities to make education, health care, moral and religious decisions for their child. The bill aims to protect children from being indoctrinated by ideologies contrary to the values taught by their parents without interference from a government entity. It further codifies that only parents and legal guardians can give consent for the collection, storage, or sharing of biometric data, such as facial images and fingerprints, or DNA and blood.
House Bill 2936 is currently advancing in the House and Senate chambers. If approved, the legislation would take effect July 1.
Additional protections from child gender-disfiguring procedures advances – Legislation to further protect children in Tennessee from gender-disfiguring procedures advanced out of the House Civil Justice Subcommittee.
House Bill 2310 seeks to stop anyone from knowingly taking a minor across state lines without parental consent in order to receive a prohibited medical procedure like the removal of the child’s healthy body parts in order for them to identify as a gender that is different from their biological sex. Any adult who recruits, harbors, or transports a minor for a restricted medical procedure could be charged with a Class C felony and held civilly liable by the child’s parent or legal guardian under the proposed legislation. The General Assembly last year passed the Protecting Children from Gender Mutilation Act. The legislation provided the nation’s strongest protections against disfiguring gender mutilation surgeries and treatments on minors.
House Bill 2310 was scheduled to be heard in the Civil Justice Committee on March 13.
House approves bill allowing overdose reversal drug in schools.
The House chamber unanimously passed legislation aimed at increasing the availability of potentially life-saving medication on school campuses that would counteract the effects of a drug overdose.
House Bill 2311 would allow students, employees or visitors to carry an opioid antagonist, such as Naloxone, while on school property or attending a school-sponsored activity held off-campus. The legislation would also ensure the medication is stored properly at the school. Naloxone, more commonly known as Narcan, is a pressurized nasal spray that is designed to be given to someone experiencing a drug overdose to rapidly reverse it.
The companion version of House Bill 2311 is still advancing through the Senate.
Bill increasing protections from bullying, cyberbullying advances.
The Criminal Justice Subcommittee advanced legislation to further protect students in Tennessee from bullying and cyberbullying.
House Bill 2590 would classify the crimes as forms of harassment. The legislation would also require an officer who has knowledge of bullying or cyberbullying to make a report of the incident and notify a parent or guardian when the victim is a minor.
House Bill 2590 was scheduled to be heard in the Criminal Justice Committee on March 12.
House passes bill to ensure local governments enforce laws.
Legislation to ensure police can properly investigate suspected traffic-related crimes in Tennessee was approved by the House chamber.
House Bill 1931 prevents local governments or officials from limiting the ability of law enforcement to conduct a traffic stop if a local, state or federal law is believed to have been violated.
The companion version of House Bill 1931 is still advancing through the Senate.
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