NASHVILLE -- The state's top economic recruitment official said Thursday that legislation requiring the written portion of state driver's license exams be conducted only in English "contradicts the message ... that Tennessee is a good place for foreign companies to invest."
"If we make Tennessee a less-inviting place for foreign companies to invest and hire and make it more difficult for their (home country workers) to come and be part of their operations, we won't see those kind of opportunities come," Economic and Community Development Commissioner Matt Kisber warned.
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But Rep. Eric Watson, R-Cleveland, sponsor of House Bill 262, said the issue really is one of road safety.
"The bottom line is if you have to take a test in a foreign language, that means there's an issue," said Rep. Watson, a lieutenant in the Bradley County Sheriff's Department. "You can't read English."
German auto manufacturer Volkswagen, which is building a $1 billion auto assembly plant in Chattanooga, has raised concerns about the bill, as has the consulate-general of Japan in Nashville, which in 2008 moved its offices from New Orleans to Tennessee because of extensive Japanese investment in the state.
Tennessee offers written portions of its driver's license exam in Spanish, Japanese and Korean. The Department of Safety also has a pilot project at its Red Bank service center in which the written portion of the test is offered in German, department spokesman Mike Browning said.
The driving portion of the test is conducted only in English, and drivers must recognize road signs.
But Rep. Watson argued that there are many more signs in use today than traditional stop, yield and curve signs. Millions of dollars have been spent on electronic signs on interstates, he noted, while others warn of road crews.
The issue came to a head Tuesday when the House Public Safety Subcommittee passed Rep. Watson's bill on a 4-1-1 vote.
Before the vote, Volkswagen Group of America lobbyist Mark Smith sought to rebut previous testimony from lobbyist Eddie V. Garcia with ProEnglish, a group that backs language restrictions, which Mr. Smith said indicated Volkswagen supported the Watson bill.
DRIVER LICENSE EXAMSTennessee: Offers written exams in Spanish, Japanese and Korean. Written exams in German are offered at the state driver services center in Red Bank. The driving portion of the exam is conducted in English. Drivers must understand highway traffic and directional signs.Georgia: Exams available in Arabic, Spanish, Chinese, French, German, Bosnian, Japanese, Korean, Laos, Polish and Russian. The Road Sign Test, however, is available only in English. All drivers must have the ability to read and understand the simple English used in highway traffic and directional signs.Alabama: Driver's license written examinations are available in Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, French, German, Greek, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Thai and Vietnamese.
"We don't quibble that making sure that matters like signs, which are currently tested, are sufficiently covered in the exam," Mr. Smith said. "What we would submit to you is that a one-size-fits-all, English-only, no-exception legislation is perhaps not the gesture of Southern hospitality that we
think that companies looking to Tennessee are looking for."
That drew the wrath of Rep. Tony Shipley, R-Kingsport, who snapped, "That speaks closely to blackmail."
Mr. Smith said that was not his intent. House Public Safety Subcommittee Chairman Vince Dean, R-East Ridge, later said he disagreed with Rep. Shipley.
But Mr. Garcia, in an e-mail Thursday, said that "foreign executives are concerned and interested in tax credits, tax savings and economic development incentives. These companies bring over far fewer executives than the Americans they claim, purport and promise to hire."
Volkswagen spokeswoman Jill Bratina said in an e-mail Thursday that "Volkswagen values diversity and inclusion. We do not oppose this bill because we need the tests in German but because it is contradictory to the principles we hold important."
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