HB 558 – SB 745
FISCAL NOTE
Fiscal Review Committee
Tennessee General Assembly
February 28, 2025
Fiscal Analyst: Natalie Dusek | Email: natalie.dusek@capitol.tn.gov | Phone: 615-741-2564
HB 558 – SB 745
SUMMARY OF BILL: Creates a Class A misdemeanor offense for a person who is in the
United States without legal authorization to operate a motor vehicle without possessing a valid
driver license and evidence of financial responsibility. Limits the fine for such offense to a maximum
of $1,000.
FISCAL IMPACT:
NOT SIGNIFICANT
Assumptions:
• Pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-50-301(a)(1), no person shall drive any motor vehicle
upon a highway in this state unless the person has a valid driver license for the type or class
of vehicle being driven. Pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-50-601(6), a violation of this
requirement is a Class C misdemeanor.
• Pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-12-139(c)(1)-(2), it is an offense to fail to provide
evidence of financial responsibility upon request by an officer in accordance with current
law. A violation is a Class C misdemeanor offense, punishable only by a fine not to exceed
$300, except for some particular circumstances in which the offense is enhanced to a Class
A misdemeanor.
• It is estimated that, on average, a person convicted of a Class C misdemeanor does not
spend any days incarcerated, and those convicted of a Class A misdemeanor spend an
average of 15 days incarcerated.
• The proposed legislation creates a Class A misdemeanor offense for a person who is in the
U.S. without legal authorization to operate a motor vehicle without possessing a valid driver
license and evidence of financial responsibility. The maximum fine for a violation is $1,000.
• The proposed legislation is interpreted to require the person to lack both a valid license and
evidence of financial responsibility in order for the enhancement to apply. It is assumed
that a lack of possession of just one of those things would be punished under current law as
a Class C misdemeanor. The enhancement is also predicated on the person not having legal
authorization to be in the country.
• According to the Department of Safety, over the last five years, there has been an average
of 14,979 convictions statewide each year for a violation of driving a motor vehicle upon a
highway without an appropriate valid driver license, and the Tennessee Highway Patrol has
issued an average of 17,284 citations each year for failure to provide evidence of financial
responsibility.
HB 558 – SB 745 2
• The average number of persons convicted of both of those offenses as a result of a single
encounter with law enforcement is not known.
• It is unclear how exactly how an officer may discover in a routine traffic stop that an
individual is in the country illegally. If the officer can obtain the identity of a person lacking
identification, the officer may be able to run a check of criminal databases. If the person
has a federal warrant for their arrest, the officer would likely be able to determine the
person’s legal status. Beyond that, determining the person’s legal status would likely require
the officer to arrest, fingerprint, book, and hold the person while the agency contacts U.S.
Immigration Customs and Enforcement. Any such actions must be lawfully conducted and
presumably predicated on probable cause.
• None of this is assumed to occur in most routine traffic stops, even if the person is lacking
proof of both requirements. It is assumed that in almost all cases, the person would be
cited for the relevant offenses as Class C misdemeanors.
• For cases in which a federal warrant is returned, or there is probable cause for arrest related
to some other offense, or a serious accident, it is assumed that the penalties associated with
those circumstances, including any incarceration period, would not be significantly
enhanced by the proposed Class A misdemeanor.
• Any increase in local incarceration expenditures related to the proposed enhancement is
therefore estimated to be not significant.
• Based on the Fiscal Review Committee’s 2008 study and the Administrative Office of the
Courts’ 2012 study on collection of court costs, fees, and fines, collection in criminal cases
is minimal due to defendants often not being able to pay them; therefore, any increase in
local revenue from fines is likewise estimated to be not significant.
• Any fiscal impact to state or local government is estimated to be not significant.
CERTIFICATION:
The information contained herein is true and correct to the best of my knowledge.
Bojan Savic, Executive Director