(a) A public official or public employee shall not establish or maintain, formally or informally, a plan to evaluate, promote, compensate, or discipline a law enforcement officer solely by the issuance of a predetermined or specified number of any type or combination of types of traffic citations.

Attorney's Note

Under the Tennessee Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
class B misdemeanorup to 6 monthsup to $500
For details, see Tenn. Code § 40-35-111
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 39-16-516

  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Government: means the state or any political subdivision of the state, and includes any branch or agency of the state, a county, municipality or other political subdivision. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Law enforcement officer: includes a sheriff, sheriff's deputy, and, only for purposes of the enhancement of a crime, a deputy jailer. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Person: includes the singular and the plural and means and includes any individual, firm, partnership, copartnership, association, corporation, governmental subdivision or agency, or other organization or other legal entity, or any agent or servant thereof. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) A public official or public employee shall not require or suggest to a law enforcement officer that the law enforcement officer is required or expected to issue a predetermined or specified number of any type or combination of types of traffic citations within a specified period.
(c) Nothing in this section prohibits a municipal corporation, a political subdivision, or any agency of this state from establishing performance standards for law enforcement officers that include issuance of traffic citations but do not require issuance of a predetermined or specified number or any type or combination of types of citations as the sole means of meeting the performance standards.
(d) A violation of this section is a Class B misdemeanor, subject to fine only.
(e) As used in this section:

(1) “Public employee” means any person holding a position by appointment or employment in the service of a public employer;
(2) “Public employer” means:

(A) The state of Tennessee; or
(B) A county, city, town, municipality, or any other political subdivision of the state;
(3) “Public official” means a person elected to any office or entity of state or local government; and
(4) “Traffic offense” means an offense under title 55.
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