Every year about this time, two things are guaranteed.
Big Daddy's Fireworks outside of South Pittsburg is going to be jam-packed as we get ready for the Fourth of July. Chattanoogans love to blow up stuff in mid-air.
The other is the July 1 "go-live" date of a slate of new laws that have been passed by the Tennessee Legislature.
Boating under the influence will be viewed in the same manner as driving under the influence, homeschoolers will have more access to Hope scholarships and an organized crackdown on "porch pirates" - the cursed group of folks who steal Amazon and UPS packages from the doorsteps of people's homes - are but a few of the changed or expanded laws.
Looking at the full list of new laws shows that stealing catalytic converters from cars is so prevalent that our legislators were forced to act, and raising the punishment on drag racing - thanks "Fast and Furious" - to a Class A misdemeanor was passed.
Two more laws now on the books should help crime-fighting efforts and aid those who help rehabilitate criminal offenders.
Starting Thursday, those who are convicted of crimes while possessing a firearm will face tougher sentences.
The new law will require those found guilty of gun-related felonies to serve at least 85 percent of their sentences. Previously, it was mandatory for gun-toting felons to serve 30 percent of their sentences.
Hamilton County DA Neal Pinkston said in a news release that his office has every intention to use this enhanced sentencing tool.
Lawmakers have given our justice system another option to fight the growing number of gun crimes. So if you don't want to do 85 percent of a sentence in state prison, don't commit a gun-related felony.
Also on Thursday, Tennessee will put some sweeping reforms into effect to try to cut into Tennessee's recidivism rate - almost half of Tennessee paroled inmates return to the can - and curb the growing number of state-held prisoners, which has grown by more than 50% since 2009, according to state numbers.
Most of the changes seek alternatives to prison for those committing non-violent drug crimes and property crimes. It also will aim to cut back on those who have their paroles revoked on technicalities rather than for new crimes.
So come Thursday, I applaud Tennessee state leadership for giving our enforcement agents more ammo to attack the gun-toting criminals and more chances for reform for non-violent offenders.
Wow, been a while since it felt like government did something this right, you know?
Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com.
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Jay Greeson