Sullen Tennessee lawmakers this morning voted to repeal their DUI law screw up which forced them into a special session to fix after US transportation officials said it put the state out of compliance with policy and endangered $60 million in federal highway funding.
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The governor had hastily called this week’s session after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration warned that the state would lose 8 percent of its federal road funding if a new drunken driving law wasn’t repealed by October 1.
The Senate passed the measure 31-1, and the House later followed suit on an 85-2 vote despite several complaints among Republican lawmaker about the federal government interfering state business.
He voted “yes” on the change, but isn’t happy with how the federal government responded to his bill.
But federal authorities said the state’s law is not in compliance with a federal zero tolerance law, which requires states to set 0.02 as the allowable blood-alcohol level for drivers under 21.
But the federal government wouldn’t budget.
“Our own federal government is blackmailing us”, said Rep. David Alexander, R-Winchester.
Gov. Bill Haslam hastily called lawmakers into a special session this week to reinstate the 0.02 percent rule, along with the more lenient penalties for drivers below the legal drinking age.
Both chambers concluded their work around 10:30 a.m., allowing the special session to officially conclude.
In August, the Feds threatened to pull $60 million in funding over a DUI law the legislature just passed.
State leaders asked for flexibility in the matter, vowing legislators would change the law in the 2017 legislative session.
All eleven members of the state’s congressional delegation also met with U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx to urge him to work state officials to find a solution to avoid a special session.
On Wednesday, lawmakers reverted that BAC to.02 so the law would be in federal compliance. Many were hoping the legislature could simply fix the law in January. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, and Rep. William Lamberth, R-Cottontown, who sponsored the DUI law that needed to be fixed during the special session.
It looks like Tennessee will not have a $60 million federal shortfall in highway department funding.
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The ouster of Durham was the first time a sitting Tennessee lawmaker had been expelled in 36 years.
