Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed a bill prohibiting local governments from limiting the ability of law enforcement agencies to conduct routine traffic stops on Thursday.
The bill, SB 2572/HB 1931, was sponsored by State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) and State Representative John Gillespie (R-Memphis).
“Moments ago Governor Bill Lee signed my bill precluding local governments from banning routine traffic stops. I want to thank the Governor for listening as I’ve worked to Make Memphis Matter to pass crime-fighting legislation,” Taylor said on Thursday.
Routine traffic stops are an important way to establish law and order and make felony arrests. MPD can make routine traffic stops effective immediately.
Trusted. Conservative. Leadership.
— Senator Brent Taylor (@SenBrentTaylor) March 28, 2024
The bill says:
[Prohibits] a local governmental entity or official from adopting or enacting a resolution, ordinance, or policy that prohibits or limits the ability of a law enforcement agency to conduct traffic stops based on observation of or reasonable suspicion that the operator or a passenger in a vehicle has violated a local ordinance or state or federal law. A resolution, ordinance, or policy that is adopted in violation of this amendment is null and void.
The Memphis City Council recently passed an ordinance prohibiting the Memphis Police Department from initiating pretextual traffic stops for minor traffic violations.
With the governor’s signature, the city council’s ordinance is now null and void.
“Routine traffic stops are an important way to establish law and order and make felony arrests. MPD can make routine traffic stops effective immediately,” Taylor said.
Taylor introduced the bill this legislative session, along with many other bills related to crime and bail, as part of his ongoing effort to “make Memphis matter.”
Last month, Taylor told Michael Patrick Leahy, the editor-in-chief and CEO of The Tennessee Star, that Memphis will become the “butt of every joke” and the “example of a failed city” if its bail system and crime crisis are not addressed, adding that he will not “sit idly by” and watch the city “slide into chaos.”
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
