New laws going into effect January 1, 2016
JACKSON, Tenn.—It is almost 2016, and as with many new years, new laws come into effect.
On Friday, the state’s seat belt law is changing. Fines for not wearing your seat belt will increase from $10 to $25, and repeat offenders will now be fined $50 instead of $20.
Lieutenant Brad Wilbanks with the Tennessee Highway patrol said the state issued more than 107,000 seat belt citations in 2015.
“It’s not raising money for the department we won’t see anything from this this is just trying to get people to comply with the law and it’s another one of the tools that we use to do it,” Lt. Wilbanks said.
Tennessee will also be the first state in the country to establish an animal abusers state registry, similar to the sex offender registry,
Some other laws going into effect Friday:
No one under the age of 18 will be allowed to buy cough syrup containing Dextromethorphan.
Tennessee’s inheritance tax is also going away. The tax was between 5.5% and 9.5% of the estate left behind.
Also beginning in 2016, Tennessee drivers will now only have to renew their licenses every eight years instead of five.
While you may not have to renew your license as often, when you renew your tags you will be asked to show proof of your liability insurance.
