Login | Create New Account | Facebook | Twitter
Homes | Jobs | Wheels | Worship | Coupons | Move To Kingsport | Kingsport Chamber of Commerce
Print
Faulk seeks DUI repeat offender registry
JOHNSON CITY — Tennessee needs a “Repeat DUI Offender” registry similar to the state sex offender registry people can check out on the Internet, state Sen. Mike Faulk says. Faulk, whose law practice includes suing DUI offenders, pitched his legislation creating a registry for DUI repeaters on “Legislative Chat,” a public affairs program produced for public television by East Tennessee State University. Faulk’s bill calls for the registry to be posted on the Web sites of the Tennessee Department of Safety and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. “There are many bills pending in the legislature that would liberalize Tennessee’s alcohol laws,” said Faulk, R-Church Hill. “If we’re going to loosen the availability of alcohol, then we need to make sure that when alcohol is being sold that every possible tool is available. If we have a DUI repeat offender registry, then we have more information out there about who’s violated the alcohol laws, who’s gone so far as to drive while they’re intoxicated. It can’t do anything but improve public safety.” The registry would help alcohol sellers, Faulk stressed. “If you’re an alcohol merchant running a bar and you have a customer that you’ve had to cut off two or three times, the availability of the fact that he’s been convicted of DUI may in fact impact how often you serve that person,” he explained. A separate Faulk bill would prohibit retailers from selling alcohol to people who are “visibly intoxicated” rather than “drunk.” When asked about the difference between the terms, Faulk replied: “The whole idea was to have a consistent phrase to describe that conduct. In fact the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission has a definition of visibly intoxicated within their rules and regulations. So this is a tool to make it easier for prosecutors ... to make it easier for jurors to understand what it means when it’s illegal to sell alcohol to someone who is visibly intoxicated.” Aside from his legislation, Faulk said the most important decision he’ll make this year is on Gov. Phil Bredesen’s proposed $29.3 billion budget. Faulk, a freshman lawmaker, insisted he is reading the 800-page budget document. “I made a commitment to myself that I was not going to vote for any bill that I hadn’t read and at least tried to absorb and understand,” he said. He talked about Bredesen’s attempt to show lawmakers where state government’s financial situation will be two years after $5 billion in federal stimulus funds runs out. When asked where the budget pain will be after the stimulus money dries up, Faulk said: “Higher education takes a huge cut, especially in those out years. TennCare (the state’s multi-billion-dollar Medicaid program) will be flat. There certainly won’t be opportunities for any additional services for folks who have to rely on TennCare for health care services. Everyone gets hit some.” Faulk was also asked about the possibility that the state’s higher education system will be restructured. Under the current system, there are the University of Tennessee and public schools under the control of the Tennessee Board of Regents. Overseeing both systems is the Tennessee Higher Education Commission. “There is duplication, and to some extent it needs to be lessened,” Faulk said of the higher education setup. “Government institutions tend to preserve themselves, and once created self-preservation becomes one of the unwritten goals. ... What we’re talking about is a different model for governance. “I can see a model that has one board that governs four-year institutions that can deal with those specialization of degrees, which are the research institutes and which are the medical schools ... and a separate board of governance for the community college system.” Faulk also indicated he supports Bredesen’s proposal to use bond funding for bridge repair and reconstruction. “I break from many of my Republican brethren on the use of bonds,” Faulk said. “I think the governor is right. We have historically low bond rates. ... The stimulus package the president has passed through Congress clearly is going to have the construction industry heating up.” Faulk’s appearance on “Legislative Chat” will air Sunday at 11 p.m. on WETP-TV, Channel 2, and WKOP-TV, Channel 15.
To comment, you must register and verify your email address by telephone.
Comments are the sole responsibility of the registered user participating in online discussions. You agree not to post comments off topic, abusive, obscene, defamatory, vulgar, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned.
- Teacher arrested after pulling gun on teens
- Va. woman devours 181 chicken wings in NY contest
- Memorabilia, equipment from Skoby’s auctioned; Vaughn accuses Shipley of ‘posturing in legislature’;Free ‘green jobs’ training to be offered in SW Virginia
- Corker, Alexander among 25 wealthiest in Congress
- Construction boomlet: Even with the sour economy, three large building projects are under way in Johnson City
- Obesity often begins in Tenn with overweight mother
- Tenn. 2nd-most medicated state, despite reforms
- Average price for a used three-year-old vehicle in July was 10% higher than last year
- Want cheapskates to spend? Hawk gizmos that save
- Economy's looking up for now as double-dip fears ease
Most Popular News
Today | Week | Month | Year
Featured Blogger
Computer Crash!
By Elaine Riner - 9-8-2010
If you are waiting to hear if you've won one of the prizes for the first NIE updater, you'll have to wait a little more. NIE has had a co...Most Discussed
Today | Week | Month | Year
topjobs
Browse Premiere Local Businesses
Home | Login | Local News | Obits | Sports | Business | Opinions | Blogs | Classifieds| Business Profiles
Web Feeds/RSS | Contact Us | Customer Service | Privacy Statement | Common Questions | E-Edition | Subscriptions | Site Map
© 2010 Kingsport Publishing Corporation - Innovation by Times Digital Group
I believe what you meant to say is "Whoops, you got me." Right?
Couldn't you have just been happy we agree for once, and leave things not in this story out of your comments? I think you and I both know that bill had nothing to do with watering down the constiutional protections of American citizens, but instead protecting them. How about staying on-topic next time.
So, Mr. Provost, as a "constitutional conservative" you are opposed to a repeat DUI offender registry, but yet you were supportive of Tony Shipley's plan to water down the probable cause clause of the 4th Amendment. Very interesting juxtaposition, that. (For the record, I think this DUI Registry is a poor idea as well).
I would be okay with requiring them to have special license plates, but a searchable registry? That's a bit much. I'm OK with the sex offender registry - it protects our neighborhoods and our children. But DUI? That's just a bit too much for this constitutional conservative to stomach.
Bob e Lee you got it right. Since Dui in most cases is a misdemeanor--Faulk needs to request a misdemeanor registry instead--then everybody can be listed. Of course it wouldn't be complete without a photo and the address of the charged before they are convicted like the park stings currently all the rage. Tennessee set to be the laughing stock of the nation again! What else is new?
why stop there Mike? how about creating a Repeat Red-Light Runner registry or Repeat Speeder's Registry. We could upload the photos right from Kingsport's automated cash-cows directly to the web page. Maybe we should push for a Repeat Adulterer's Registry? After all, it can't do anything but improve public safety.
You know what they need is a registry for gov people that have a crimanl background .
Do these people just sit and think of things to waste money they don't have on?