NASHVILLE (AP) — The House has passed Gov. Bill Haslam's bill to require mandatory jail time for people with repeat domestic violence convictions.
The chamber voted 98-1 to approve the bill sponsored by Republican Rep. Jim Coley of Bartlett on Wednesday.
The only vote against the bill came from Democratic Rep. Eddie Bass of Prospect, who argued that the measure should not go into effect until the state pays local governments for the entire cost of the increased incarceration.
Coley said Haslam's budget includes about $5 million in direct and indirect funding for local governments, or about half of the projected cost of the added penalties for domestic violence.
Coley noted that the bill does not take into account added savings of fewer hospital visits by victims of abuse.