NASHVILLE – Tennessee lawmakers on Wednesday repealed a DUI law they enacted this spring because it threatened to jeopardize some $60 million in federal highway spending in the state.
The Republican-controlled Senate repealed the law in a 31-1 vote, and the GOP-run House later sent the measure to Gov. Bill Haslam on an 85-0 vote. The General Assembly then adjourned its three-day special session and left the Capitol.
Haslam had called lawmakers into special session to fix the law and avoid the loss of federal funding. On Wednesday, he thanked General Assembly members for repealing it.
“I am grateful to the General Assembly for quickly convening and passing legislation that clarifies our drunk-driving law to remove any question of compliance with federal requirements,” Haslam said.
Tennessee’s law, passed in April, sought to crack down on 18-, 19- and 20-year-old motorists who drive under the influence.