Bill would force drunken drivers to pay child support

The Tennessee General Assembly last week became what is believed to be the first state legislature to pass a bill that would require drunken drivers to pay child support if they kill the parent of a minor.

The bill, named “Ethan, Haile, and Bentley’s Law” after children who lost their parents to intoxicated drivers, passed unanimously in the Senate and had passed unanimously in the House in February. The measure will be sent to Gov. Bill Lee, who will review the legislation before deciding whether to sign it into law, a spokesman for the governor said.

“As I promised, I will do what it takes to protect the future of our most valuable resources, our children,” Rep. Mark Hall, who introduced the bill, said in a statement.

“Tennesseans care for each other and we will do everything in our power to hold people accountable who chose to do harm,” he added.

The bill includes the names of the children of Nicholas Galinger, a Chattanooga police officer who was struck and killed three years ago by a drunken driver. He is survived by two children, Ethan and Haile.

The 38-year-old officer was inspecting an overflowing manhole late one night in February 2019 when Janet Hinds hit him with her car and fled, according to the Associated Press. Hinds was sentenced to 11 years in prison in February after being convicted of vehicular homicide by intoxication.

If signed into law, the measure would require those convicted of such crimes involving the death of a parent to pay child support for the victim’s minor children. It would last until each child reaches 18 years of age and has graduated from high school or until the class of which the child is a member when turning 18 has graduated.

Courts would determine a reasonable amount of child support by considering the financial needs and resources of the child or children, the financial resources of the surviving parent or guardian — including the state if the child is in the custody of the department of children’s services — and the standard of living the children are used to.

Representatives in states including Pennsylvania, Alabama, Illinois, Oklahoma, and Louisiana are in the process of reading and voting on their versions of similar legislation.