The National Highway Traffic Administration has confirmed that Tennessee has moved back in compliance with federal zero-tolerance standards for drunken drivers under the legal drinking age.
Republican Governor Bill Haslam hastily called a special legislative session last week to repeal a new state law that threatened to cost the state 8 percent, or $60 million, in federal road money.
The repeal of the law meant that the state no longer stood to lose the money starting on October 1.
Sponsors of the original legislation said it aimed to give tougher penalties to all drivers over age 18. But the law also sought to set the maximum allowable blood alcohol content at 0.08 percent for those drivers. The federal standard for drivers under age 21 has been set at 0.02 percent.
