AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39 and Title 55, relative to driving offenses.
Summary
HB1519, the “Safe Highways and Roads Enforcement (SHARE) Act,” creates new additional fines for certain driving offenses and directs the revenue to the state highway fund. For moving traffic violations classified under the driver improvement program, courts must assess an extra $25 for non-commercial vehicles and $50 for commercial vehicles, on top of any existing penalty under Titles 39 or 55. The bill also adds a separate $100 surcharge for convictions for driving under the influence (DUI) of an intoxicant.
The bill specifies that the new money must be collected by court clerks, transmitted to the state treasurer, and deposited for maintenance and infrastructure improvements to public roads, streets, highways, bridges, and related structures on the state highway and interstate systems. If a person is convicted of both DUI and a moving traffic violation, the court would not impose the moving-violation surcharge in addition to the DUI surcharge; instead, only the $100 DUI assessment would apply. The act would take effect July 1, 2026, and apply only to offenses committed on or after that date.
Impact
HB1519 amends Tennessee Code Annotated Titles 39 and 55 by adding mandatory court-assessed surcharges for specified traffic offenses and by creating a dedicated funding stream for highway and road infrastructure. It affects drivers convicted of moving traffic violations and DUI offenses, with a higher surcharge for commercial motor vehicles. The bill also changes how penalties are stacked by preventing an additional moving-violation surcharge when a DUI conviction is entered for the same conduct.
Sentiment
The available voting history suggests the bill received generally favorable committee support, advancing 7-0 in the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee and 12-4 in the House Judiciary Committee with a recommendation for passage if amended. No committee transcript is available, but the votes indicate broad agreement on the bill’s transportation-funding and enforcement goals, alongside some concern significant enough to prompt an amendment recommendation in Judiciary.
Contention
The main points of contention appear to be the use of traffic fines as a funding mechanism and the size and structure of the added penalties, especially the higher surcharge for commercial motor vehicles and the separate DUI assessment. The Judiciary Committee’s 12-4 vote with a recommendation to pass if amended suggests some members wanted changes, likely related to penalty levels, fairness, or how the new revenue is allocated. The bill’s treatment of overlapping offenses—eliminating the moving-violation surcharge when DUI is also charged—also reflects an effort to limit cumulative punishment, which may have been part of the discussion.