NASHVILLE (AP) - The Senate has passed a bill to make it illegal to park cars on highway ramps.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Diane Black, a Gallatin Republican, passed on a 24-0 vote.

Sen. Douglas Henry, a Nashville Democrat, said the bill would penalize people who need to stop momentarily before proceeding with their trips.

"If I'm driving down the Interstate, and have a need to get off for some reason just temporarily, and I get off and park and do whatever it is I have to do and then drive on. Is that illegal under this bill?" he asked.

Black responded that the measure would make exceptions for emergencies, and said the bill would only extend the law already in place for highway shoulders to the entrance and exit ramps.

"It looks like we pass laws up here that are just inconveniences to people from time to time," said Henry, who abstained on the vote. "I reckon I just don't understand these things."

The companion bill was scheduled for a hearing in a subcommittee of the House Transportation Committee on Tuesday.

Read SB2833 on the General Assembly's Web site at http://www.legislature.state.tn.us

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