Bill > SB0375

This bill, which amends Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39 and Title 55, increases the penalties for driving a vehicle without a valid driver's license. Specifically, a first offense of driving without a license will now be a Class B misdemeanor, a more serious offense than the previous Class C misdemeanor. For any subsequent offenses committed within a 10-year period of a prior offense, the penalty will be elevated to a Class A misdemeanor, the most serious class of misdemeanor. The bill also clarifies the definition of "serious bodily injury" within a specific section of the law, defining it to include injuries that involve a substantial risk of death, protracted unconsciousness, extreme physical pain, obvious disfigurement, substantial impairment of bodily function, or a broken bone, and this clarification is intended to be applied notwithstanding a general statute defining criminal offenses.