Contact:  Darlene Schlicher (615) 741-6336 or email:  darlene.schlicher@capitol.tn.gov

(NASHVILLE, TN), February 2, 2010 -- Tennessee has made significant progress in road safety according to three key representatives of the AAA Auto Clubs of Tennessee, who testified in the Senate Transportation Committee today.  Tim Wright, Don Lindsey and Kevin Bakewell of the AAA Auto Club South and AAA East Tennessee told Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville) and other lawmakers on the committee that “Volunteer State leaders have done some remarkable things in the past ten years to make Tennessee a leader in enacting policies to keep motorists safe.”
Tracy passed legislation last year banning “texting while driving.”  He drafted the legislation after a constituent lost her grandson due to texting while driving.  The new law prohibits sending or reading text messages on public roads and highways while the driver is operating a motor vehicle in motion.  
“Texting is just a quantum leap above (cell phones) in how much it distracts a driver,” said Lindsey, who is Director of Public Affairs at AAA.  “It takes your eyes off the roads for at least four to five seconds at a time.  All it takes is two seconds to have a crash.”
The AAA group cited a study to the legislative panel showing a similar law banning texting while driving in California cut out the dangerous practice by 70 percent.  Research shows that although 82 percent of Americans surveyed say distracted driving is a serious problem, 14 percent admitted to reading or sending text messages while driving. 
“I am very pleased that we continue to see that legislation banning texting while driving has been successful,” said Senator Tracy.  “I think we will continue to see improvements as we educate drivers about the dangers that texting behind the wheel of a vehicle poses.  As more studies are conducted we will continue to see that this new law is saving lives.”
The AAA officials also praised the law passed by the General Assembly in 2000 to implement graduated licenses for teen drivers.  Lindsey said that from the law’s effective date in 2001 through 2008, the rate of teen driver deaths per 100,000 licensed teen drivers dropped 20 percent.  Similarly, they cited the passage of a primary seat belt law in 2004 as having improved the number of Tennesseans who “buckle-up” by 9.5 percent to reach 82.5 percent.  Finally, he said the 2004 law requiring child passenger booster seats have reduced the five- to nine-year-old child passenger fatality rate by 48 percent in deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled. 
“It is good to hear that we are moving in the right direction in keeping our citizens safe,” added Tracy.  “We still have much work to do, particularly in getting drunk drivers off our roads, but I am very pleased that the safety measures implemented are working to make our streets safer.”

Contact:  Darlene Schlicher (615) 741-6336 or email:  darlene.schlicher@capitol.tn.gov

(NASHVILLE, TN), February 2, 2010 – State Senator Brian Kelsey (R-Germantown) has introduced legislation in the Tennessee General Assembly to abolish parole in Tennessee saying it erodes the public's confidence in the judicial system.  Kelsey, who is an attorney and member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the bill aims to provide truth in sentencing so that criminals know that “if they commit a crime that they will do the time.”  
“It erodes the public’s confidence in the judicial system when a judge imposes a sentence on a convicted person, only to have that same convict eligible for release a short time later,” said Kelsey.  “That sends the wrong message to all parties.  It tells criminals that crime might pay if you can take a fifteen year sentence and only serve five years.  It sends the wrong message to victims of crimes and their families who expect justice to be fully carried out.  And, it sends the wrong message to the public who expect truth in sentencing regarding the punishment that will be imposed on criminals who are a threat to the community.”
According to 2008-2009 Board of Pardon and Paroles agency statistics, Tennessee currently has 11,039 parolees.  Tennessee ranks second in the nation in the number of violent crimes and about 67 percent of those convicted of such crimes are re-arrested within three years of being released from prison, statistics show.   The bill, Senate Bill 3297, would apply to those persons committing an offense on or after July 1, 2010.
“Keeping citizens safe in their homes is the first duty of government,” added Kelsey “When a criminal is given a sentence, he should know that he can expect to serve all of that time behind bars.  This bill would restore public confidence that our judicial system works and give victims of crime the justice that they deserve.”

Contact:  Darlene Schlicher (615) 741-6336 or email:  darlene.schlicher@capitol.tn.gov

(NASHVILLE, TN), February 1, 2010 -- Legislation was approved by the State Senate today to let law enforcement act more quickly to protect children from sexual predators. The bill, sponsored by Senator Tim Burchett (R-Knoxville), authorizes district attorneys general or assistant district attorneys general to issue a subpoena for the Internet Protocol (IP) Address of a suspected child sexual predator.  The bill mirrors federal law on the matter. 
“We must do more to stop children from being victimized,” added Burchett.   “This legislation speeds up the process to let us get to endangered kids faster.”
Last Spring, actor and child protection activist David Keith who is spokesman for the National Association to Protect Children, testified before legislative committees in favor of the bill.  He told lawmakers that since 2005 more than 750,000 pedophiles have been identified by computer in the United States, with only two percent of those being investigated.  He said hundreds of thousands of children are being raped, tortured, filmed and traced on the Internet, and law enforcement agencies don't have the resources to investigate the crime. 
“We must keep up with the technology used by these child sexual predators to prey on children,” said Senator Burchett.  “This bill allows the prosecutor to subpoena this information to get the physical address of suspected predators before more harm is done to their victims.” 
The bill, SB 1529 which has already been approved by the House of Representatives, now goes to the governor for his signature.