Tennessee is moving forward with legislation requiring certain DUI offenders to use an ignition interlock device (IID) to operate their vehicle.

The bill, has been approved by the Senate, is not set to go to Gov. Phil Bredesen for his signature.

Ignition interlock devices are attached to the steering wheel of a car with a tube the driver must breathe into to start the motor.

Current Tennessee law allows for discretionary use of the devices for repeat offenders.

As amended, the Beavers/Shipley bill requires the use of ignition interlock devices if the offender has a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.15 percent or higher; is accompanied by a person under 18 years of age; or violates the present implied consent laws.

The legislation also provides that those convicted of drunk driving with a BAC under 0.15 have the option to install an ignition interlock device instead of being geographically restricted by a court.

The only concern about the bill on the House floor came from state Rep. Jeanne Richardson, D-Memphis.

“My concern is that we do anything that would take money out of treatment dollars, which we have been cutting for five years. … Would this program pay for itself without using part of the fines we are using in treatment?”

MADD claimed more than 320 people were killed in drunk driving crashes in Tennessee during 2008.

There are about 26,000 DUI offenders in Tennessee each year, with 20,000 of those being first-time offenders, the state’s Fiscal Review Office also noted.

Under the Beavers/Shipley bill, a person ordered to install an ignition interlock device would have to pay a one-time $40 fee for each DUI conviction. Ignition interlock device providers would be prohibited from charging more than $100 per month for leasing and maintaining a device through June 2012. By July 2012, the Tennessee Department of Safety is supposed to establish maximum fees for installing the device.

As of last January, 2,743 Tennessee driver’s license holders had an interlock restriction, while 580 license holders had an ignition interlock device installed, according to the Department of Finance and Administration.

According to MADD, 47 states use ignition interlock devices for convicted DUI offenders, and 12 states require them for all first-time offenders.