Ken YagerNASHVILLE – Legislation making it a crime for motorists to drive with a dog in their lap in Tennessee was brought to heel, at least temporarily, in the Senate Finance Committee
The bill, which sponsor Rep. Jim Cobb, R-Spring City, passed Monday night in the House on a 58-30 vote, drew growls from senators on Tuesday.
Sen. Douglas Henry, D-Nashville, joked that dog-related bills can arouse strong “passions” and “often come back to bite you.”
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Ken Yager, R-Harriman, in the Senate, makes it a Class C misdemeanor carrying a $50 fine and up to 30 days in jail for anyone caught driving with an animal in his or her lap or “between the driver and driver’s door.”
“That’s a pretty good misdemeanor,” Senate Minority Leader Jim Kyle, D-Memphis, told Yager, who initially had difficulty finding anyone to move and second his bill. “I don’t know how anybody’s going to take care of the dog if they’re in jail.”