A new law in Tennessee will take effect in July and will mean that drivers in that state will receive fines that could be up to almost $70 higher than they would for the same offenses before the law is put into place.
The increase in the charge is meant to provide funding for crime lab services used by law enforcement agencies. It will go into effect on the first of July and will place an additional $13.75 onto every traffic violation on a ticket. One ticket can include up to five separate traffic violations, which means that, depending on the ticket, a driver could pay up to $68.50 more next month.
This fee is applicable only to individuals who do not go to court in order to argue their ticket and who pay their ticket’s fine ahead of a compliance or court date. The proceeds of these additional fees will assist in offsetting the crime lab services costs, which are accrued by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
Many motorists have complained about the new law. They state that the additional fees are too great on top of fines that are already highly expensive.
That said, Tennessee Senator Randy McNally, the sponsor of the bill, explained that the increased charges were required in order to avoid having to layoff a huge number of Tennessee Bureau of Investigation employees or boosting the cost of the local law enforcement that relies on the crime lab services in order to effectively perform investigations.