Lawmakers in Tennessee this week approved a bill that would force drunk drivers who kill a parent to pay child support to the minor children they leave behind.
Families who lose loved ones can already pursue the avenue through civil cases, but House Bill 1834 would enable criminal courts to order a defendant to pay restitution with similar guidelines as child support.
“This legislation takes the shackles off of the [district attorney] and the judges,” state Rep. Mark Hall, a Republican who sponsored the legislation, said on the House of Representatives floor before its passage.
“I wish we’d have thought of it years ago … because there are children growing up all over this state that don’t have a parent to tuck them in at night, to pay for their food and lodging, to help care for them throughout their childhood due to the selfish, selfish decisions of someone else,” added state Rep. William Lamberg, a Republican. “I think it’s extremely appropriate that they should have to pay child support for the child whose parents they took.”
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