Legislature passes bill to soften DUI law

 by Matt Culbertson
 published on Tuesday, April 29, 2008

A bill passed last week by the Arizona Legislature aims to reduce penalties for convicted first-time drunken drivers.

House Bill 2395, approved by the Legislature Thursday, will reduce the amount of time a first-time DUI offender is required to keep a Breathalyzer device in his or her vehicle.

Currently, the minimum amount of time a convicted DUI offender must use a Breathalyzer is one year. But, if signed by Gov. Janet Napolitano, the bill will allow motorists who successfully completed a diversion program and did not attempt to drive drunk with the interlock device to shorten that amount of time to six months.

Arizona first enacted a law in September 2007 that requires convicted DUI offenders to have a Breathalyzer interlock system installed in their vehicle.

House Speaker Jim Weiers, R-Phoenix, sponsored the bill that passed Thursday, which passed in the House 35-15.

A spokesman for Weier's office, Barret Marson, said the requirement that motorists with a blood alcohol content of 0.15 percent or above, or "extreme" under state law, serve 30 days in jail provides a strong legal incentive to drive soberly.

"They stay clean. They stay off alcohol," Marson said. "This is only for people who successfully complete diversion programs."

But he added that even with more emphasis placed on treatment, Arizona will still have some of the strongest DUI laws in the country.

"The plain fact is, Arizona will still be incredibly tough on both first-time DUI offenders and repeat DUI offenders," he said.

The bill also calls for stiffer penalties for operating a boat while under the influence and mandates a 30-day jail sentence for motorists with blood alcohol contents of 0.15 percent or higher.

According to a national report released Wednesday, about 15 percent of adult Arizona drivers drove while intoxicated in 2007 — bringing the state just under the national average. Arizona ranks No. 27 nationally in terms of annual intoxicated drivers.

Pete Rios, D-Hayden, said he voted against the bill because Arizona's current DUI laws have not yet been given a chance to work.

"At some point, we need to allow the laws that are already in the books to work," Rios said.

Rios' sister, Carmen, was killed by a drunk driver in 2000, he said, and his daughter, Rebecca, who is also an Arizona state senator, was hit by a drunk driver in the 1980s.

"I want to get drunk drivers off the road as much as anybody else," he said.

But Bill Weigele, president of the Arizona Licensed Beverage Association, said Weier's bill did not go far enough to reduce penalties for DUIs.

"I, as much as anyone in this industry, want the carnage to stop, but we need to get to the user-abuser, and we're not doing it effectively," he said.

Several police departments contacted for this story declined to comment, saying that the legislation was ongoing and not yet finalized.

Political science junior Derek Lawson said he supports tough penalties for people convicted of DUI because it takes dangerous drivers off the road.

Lawson added that he would be fine with letting DUI offenders cease using Breathalyzers earlier, provided they passed the requirements.

"It's kind of like letting people out of jail for good behavior," Lawson said.

Reach the reporter at: matt.culbertson@asu.edu.