§ 55-50-501 — Mandatory revocation of licenses - Causes - Suspension of license until judgment for personal or property damage paid

(a) The department shall forthwith revoke the license of any operator or chauffeur upon receiving a record of the operator's or chauffeur's conviction of any of the following offenses, when the conviction has become final: (1) Manslaughter resulting from the operation of a motor vehicle. The period of revocation in this instance shall extend for the term of the sentence received by the convicted person. If the person is released on parole prior to the end of the sentence, an operator's license may be reissued on petition of the person's probation and parole officer and upon satisfactory completion of a complete licensing examination, subject to the approval of the commissioner. In the case of a conviction for vehicular homicide, the department shall revoke the license for the period of time the court prohibited the person from driving a vehicle pursuant to § 39-13-213(c) ; (2) Driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of an intoxicant, or while under the influence of narcotic drugs, or while under the influence of drugs producing stimulating effects on the central nervous system. For the purpose of this section, "drugs producing stimulating effects on the central nervous system" includes the salts of barbituric acid, also known as malonyl urea, or any compound, derivatives, or mixtures thereof that may be used for producing hypnotic or somnifacient effects, and includes amphetamine, desoxyephedrine or compounds or mixtures thereof, including all derivatives of phenolethylamine or any of the salts thereof, except preparations intended for use in the nose and unfit for internal use; (3) Any felony in the commission of which a motor vehicle is used; (4) Failure to stop and render aid as required under the laws of this state in the event of a motor vehicle accident resulting in the death or personal injury of another; (5) Knowingly displaying or causing or permitting to be displayed or having in possession any cancelled, revoked, suspended, fictitious or fraudulently altered operator's or chauffeur's license, or displaying or representing as one's own any operator's or chauffeur's license not issued to the person or using a false or fictitious name in any application for an operator's or chauffeur's license, or knowingly making a false statement, or knowingly concealing a material fact, or otherwise committing a fraud in any such application, or willfully making a false statement to the division under any law relating to the ownership, application or renewal of a motor vehicle operator's or chauffeur's license; (6) Conviction, or forfeiture of bail not vacated, upon two (2) charges of reckless driving committed within a period of twelve (12) months; (7) Possession by a driver of five (5) or more grams of methamphetamine, as scheduled in § 39-17-408(d)(2) while operating a motor vehicle in this state. A motor vehicle is in operation if its engine is operating, whether or not the motor vehicle is moving; or (8) Conviction of violating an out-of-service order and failure to pay a civil penalty assessed by the department under § 55-50-405 . (b) In the event any final judgment for damages to property or personal injury resulting from the negligent operation of any motor vehicle is recovered, and in the event the final judgment is not fully paid, satisfied and discharged within sixty (60) days from the date the judgment becomes final, the department shall forthwith suspend the license of any chauffeur or operator of the motor vehicle against whom the judgment was rendered; and the license shall not be restored to the operator of the vehicle until the final judgment has been fully paid, discharged and satisfied. (c) The commissioner shall revoke the license of any operator or chauffeur upon receiving the record of the operator's or chauffeur's conviction of the theft of a motor vehicle or any part thereof; and the commissioner shall not consider the convicted person's application for reinstatement for the revoked license until the expiration of the full term of the sentence imposed, whether served during actual imprisonment, probation, parole or suspension. It shall be grounds for the revocation of any such person's parole or probation if the person operates a motor vehicle while the person's license is in revocation pursuant to this subsection (c). It shall be within the discretion of the trial judge who imposed sentence upon the person convicted of the theft of the motor vehicle or any part thereof to reinstate the person's driver license after a reasonable time. (d) The commissioner shall permanently revoke a school bus endorsement held by any operator or chauffeur upon receiving the record of such operator's or chauffeur's conviction for using a portable electronic device while operating a school bus, as prohibited by § 55-8-192 .

Legislative History

Amended by 2016 Tenn. Acts, ch. 1036,s 2, eff. 7/1/2016. Acts 1937, ch. 90, § 11; impl. am. Acts 1939, ch. 205, §§ 2, 3; Acts 1939, ch. 205, § 5; C. Supp. 1950, § 2715.19 (Williams, § 2715.24); Acts 1961, ch. 94, § 2; 1968, ch. 428, § 1; 1970, ch. 368, § 1; 1978, ch. 504, § 1; 1978, ch. 660, § 1; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 59-712; Acts 1986, ch. 842, §§ 1, 2; T.C.A., §§55-7-112, 55-7-501; Acts 1998, ch. 1049, § 64; 2005, ch. 209, § 1; 2010, ch. 1005, §§ 1, 2; 2010, ch. 1037, § 10.