English Only in Tennessee?

March 16, 2010

A bill that will require the written portion of the drivers license exam to be administered in English only passed out the State House Public Safety Subcommittee last week. The legislation was last run in 2007, and the Senate was successful in passing it with an overwhelming 22-5 vote. However, some House members blocked the measure in a House subcommittee, and the bill died on a tie vote.

In 1984, Tennessee adopted a law making English the official language of the state. The law reads in part, All communications and publications produced by governmental entities in Tennessee shall be in English. The Tennessee Department of Safety (TDOS) does not apply the phrase to drivers license examinations or drivers license study guides, however. Currently, TDOS administers the test in English, Spanish, Korean, and Japanese.

While safety is the overriding reason for the bill, supporters argue there are sound fiscal reasons as well. Last year the General Assembly’s fiscal review committee found that the Department of Safety spent $64,500 just to print drivers license study guides in Spanish. In 2008, the General Sessions Courts language interpreter coordinator scheduled 6,838 court interpretations in the State of Tennessee costing taxpayers OVER $1-million dollars statewide for court interpreters.

Having passed out of the House Public Safety Subcommittee for the first time, House Bill 262 will next be heard in the full House Transportation Committee. - WMSR

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Written by Michael Lansing · Filed Under News

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2 Responses to “English Only in Tennessee?”

Below are the latest GROWING HAIR blogs. | Growing Hair .net on March 16th, 2010 11:00 am

[...] English Only in Tennessee? : WGNS Radio [...]
Old Bill on March 16th, 2010 11:40 pm

Please, Only English, and correct grammar, in Tennessee.

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