New Tennessee Law Cuts Off the Cash Knox County Gets from Truckers for Scale Violation Tickets

Knox County officials apparently love to give tickets to truckers, but a new state law has cut off that county’s cash flow, according to CDLLife.com.

The website caters to people in the trucking industry.

County officials got this money by ticketing overweight trucks and last year gave out 1,600 citations. Last year the county made $250,000 for government officials to use, according to the Knoxville-based TV station WBIR.

Knox County operates the nation’s second busiest scale house, CDLLife.com reported.

“Under a law that went into effect on January 1, 2019, Knox County will no longer be allowed to take in revenue by ticketing overweight trucks at their scale houses,” CDLLife.com reported.

“Truckers may still be ticketed, but under the new law, that ticket revenue will bypass Knox County and go directly to the state of Tennessee.”

CDLLife.com quoted County Clerk Mike Hammond as saying his local government collects so much money because interstates 40, 75, and 81 go through there.

State Rep. Bud Hulsey, R-Kingsport, is responsible for the law. Hulsey reportedly owns the Blountville-based trucking company Burlington Logistics. CDLLIfe.com reported.

“He proposed the law after one of his drivers was ticketed in Knox County. Husley successfully argued that it wasn’t fair that truckers had to pay the criminal fine to Knox County in addition to the civil fine to the state,” CDLLife.com said.

“He also argued that it wasn’t fair that only the six counties that operate scales in Tennessee benefit from trucker ticket revenue.”

Because of this Hammond told WBIR that “the state is going to get their money, but we’re not going to get any. So we’ve basically been cut out of the equation.”

Knox County officials reportedly said they don’t know how they’ll make payroll now that the cash flow from the truckers is cut off.

According to thetruckersreport.com, the legal weight for an 18-wheeler is 80,000 pounds. The average automobile, meanwhile, weighs around 5,000 pounds.

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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Truck with Oversize Load” by ajmexico. CC BY 2.0.