---
type: "Bill"
title: "Criminal Offenses - As enacted, creates the Class C misdemeanor, punishable only by a fine of up to $50.00, for a person to knowingly operate a motor vehicle in any marked school zone in this state, when a warning flasher or flashers are in operation, and talk on a hand-held mobile telephone while the vehicle is in motion; makes it a delinquent act, punishable only by a fine of up to $50.00, for a person under the age of 18 to operate a motor vehicle and talk on a mobile phone that is equipped with a hands-free device while the vehicle is in motion; creates certain exceptions. - Amends TCA Title 55, Chapter 8."
description: "Criminal Offenses - As enacted, creates the Class C misdemeanor, punishable only by a fine of up to $50.00, for a person to knowingly operate a motor vehicle in any marked school zone in this state, when a warning flasher or flashers are in operation, and talk on a hand-held mobile telephone while the vehicle is in motion; makes it a delinquent act, punishable only by a fine of up to $50.00, for a person under the age of 18 to operate a motor vehicle and talk on a mobile phone that is equipped with a hands-free device while the vehicle is in motion; creates certain exceptions. - Amends TCA Title 55, Chapter 8."
jurisdiction: "us/states/tn"
legislature: "Tennessee General Assembly"
session: "110"
identifier: "SB 954"
citation: "Tennessee SB 954 (110)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Criminal Offenses"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Holsclaw", "Tracy"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 53
vote_count: 3
first_action: "2017-02-08"
last_action: "2017-05-23"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/c70fa44b-665e-46e1-a669-178e9bd88632"
source_url: "http://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/default.aspx?BillNumber=SB0954&GA=110"
source_hash: "3f1531736cc7860fe1bba24e36650684a30a3e671b0fe0e3494896dd676eb5b5"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-tn"]
---

# Tennessee SB 954 (110) — Criminal Offenses - As enacted, creates the Class C misdemeanor, punishable only by a fine of up to $50.00, for a person to knowingly operate a motor vehicle in any marked school zone in this state, when a warning flasher or flashers are in operation, and talk on a hand-held mobile telephone while the vehicle is in motion; makes it a delinquent act, punishable only by a fine of up to $50.00, for a person under the age of 18 to operate a motor vehicle and talk on a mobile phone that is equipped with a hands-free device while the vehicle is in motion; creates certain exceptions. - Amends TCA Title 55, Chapter 8.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Current Version** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/110/Bill/SB0954.pdf)

## Votes

- FLOOR VOTE: THIRD CONSIDERATION AMENDED 4/27/2017 Passed (1) — **26–1** (pass) · upper
- SENATE TRANSPORTATION AND SAFETY COMMITTEE: Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 6, Nays 2 PNV 1 4/17/2017 Passed — **6–2** (pass) · upper
- FLOOR VOTE: PASSAGE ON THIRD CONSIDERATION 5/4/2017 Passed (1) — **68–11** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Holsclaw — primary (person)
- Tracy — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2017-02-08** Filed for intro. `introduction, reading-1`
- **2017-02-09** Introduced, Passed on First Consideration `introduction`
- **2017-02-09** Filed for introduction `introduction, reading-1`
- **2017-02-09** Intro., P1C. `introduction`
- **2017-02-13** Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Transportation and Safety Committee
- **2017-02-13** P2C, ref. to Transportation Committee-- Criminal Justice `referral-committee`
- **2017-02-14** Assigned to s/c Transportation Subcommittee `referral-committee`
- **2017-02-28** Placed on Senate Transportation and Safety Committee calendar for 3/6/2017
- **2017-03-06** Action deferred in Senate Transportation and Safety Committee to 3/27/2017
- **2017-03-14** Placed on Senate Transportation and Safety Committee calendar for 3/20/2017
- **2017-03-20** Action deferred in Senate Transportation and Safety Committee to 3/27/2017
- **2017-03-21** Placed on Senate Transportation and Safety Committee calendar for 3/27/2017
- **2017-03-22** Placed on s/c cal Transportation Subcommittee for 3/29/2017
- **2017-03-27** Action deferred in Senate Transportation and Safety Committee to 3/29/2017
- **2017-03-28** Placed on Senate Transportation and Safety Committee calendar for 3/29/2017
- **2017-03-29** Action deferred in Senate Transportation and Safety Committee to 4/3/2017
- **2017-03-29** Placed on s/c cal Transportation Subcommittee for 4/5/2017
- **2017-03-29** Action Def. in s/c Transportation Subcommittee to 4/5/2017
- **2017-04-05** Placed on cal. Transportation Committee for 4/11/2017
- **2017-04-05** Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to Transportation Committee `referral-committee`
- **2017-04-11** Placed on Senate Transportation and Safety Committee calendar for 4/17/2017
- **2017-04-11** Action def. in Transportation Committee to 4/18/2017
- **2017-04-12** Placed on cal. Transportation Committee for 4/18/2017
- **2017-04-17** Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 6, Nays 2 PNV 1
- **2017-04-18** Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Criminal Justice Committee `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2017-04-19** Placed on cal. Criminal Justice Committee for 4/26/2017
- **2017-04-25** Placed on Senate Regular Calendar calendar for 4/27/2017
- **2017-04-25** Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways & Means Subcommittee for 4/26/2017
- **2017-04-25** Assigned to s/c Finance, Ways & Means Subcommittee `referral-committee`
- **2017-04-25** Rec. for pass; ref to Finance, Ways & Means Committee `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2017-04-26** Rec. for pass; ref to Calendar & Rules Committee `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2017-04-26** Placed on cal. Finance, Ways & Means Committee for 4/26/2017
- **2017-04-26** Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to Finance, Ways & Means Committee `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2017-04-27** Engrossed; ready for transmission to House
- **2017-04-27** Sponsor(s) Added.
- **2017-04-27** Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 26, Nays 1 `passage`
- **2017-04-27** Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 1 - SA0446)
- **2017-05-01** Rcvd. from S., held on H. desk.
- **2017-05-02** Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 5/2/2017
- **2017-05-03** H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 5/4/2017
- **2017-05-04** Passed H., Ayes 68, Nays 11, PNV 1 `passage`
- **2017-05-04** Am. withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - HA0499) `amendment-withdrawal`
- **2017-05-04** Subst. for comp. HB.
- **2017-05-04** Sponsor(s) Added.
- **2017-05-04** Comp. SB subst.
- **2017-05-05** Enrolled and ready for signatures
- **2017-05-09** Signed by H. Speaker
- **2017-05-09** Signed by Senate Speaker
- **2017-05-11** Transmitted to Governor for action.
- **2017-05-18** Signed by Governor. `executive-signature`
- **2017-05-23** Pub. Ch. 416
- **2017-05-23** Effective date(s) 01/01/2018
- **2017-05-23** Comp. became Pub. Ch. 416

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/c70fa44b-665e-46e1-a669-178e9bd88632`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Tennessee legislature records).