NASHVILLE (AP) - A proposal that increases the penalty for drunken driving when a child under 18 is a passenger in the vehicle is headed to the governor for his consideration.
The measure sponsored by Republican Rep. Tony Shipley of Kingsport was unanimously approved 94-0 in the House on Tuesday. The companion bill unanimously passed the Senate 32-0 last month.
Under present law, a person arrested for DUI with a child under 18 in the vehicle is sentenced to a mandatory minimum incarceration of 30 days and a fine of $1,000.
The proposal requires such incarceration be served consecutively with any sentence for convictions of DUI, vehicular assault, vehicular homicide, or aggravated vehicular homicide.