NASHVILLE – A former prosecutor’s bill that would hammer habitual DUI offenders bogged down on the Tennessee House floor Thursday amid concerns about a provision that repeals the felony enhancement for third and subsequent convictions for possessing small amounts of cocaine, illegally obtained opioids and marijuana.
In other legislative action, however, Gov. Bill Haslam’s plan to boost economic development in small communities passed without a single dissenting vote and is scheduled to come up in a Senate committee next week.
A bill making it a Class C misdemeanor to fly a drone within 250 feet of critical infrastructure for surveillance and information-gathering passed 96-0. Violations would be punishable by up to 30 days in jail. Affected facilities include power and chemical plants. The bill now goes back to the Senate for concurrence after House members added an amendment.
His drone bill sailed through the House, but Rep. William Lamberth’s effort to toughen drunken-driving laws while simultaneously reducing penalties for repeated possession of drugs generated fierce debate.
Lamberth, a former prosecutor from Portland, said his bill would boost repeat DUI penalties from a Class E felony, punishable by one to six years in jail, to a Class C penalty, punishable by three to 15 years. It also would trim penalties for three or more drug possession convictions for small amounts of drugs like cocaine, meth and pot from a Class E felony to a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail.