Funding for a bill that increases penalties for drunken driving offenders may cost Wisconsin over $70 million per year, according to a new estimate from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.
Original estimates on the drunken driving bill that passed through the Assembly were closer to $40 million, assuming fourth-time Operating While Intoxicated offenders were sentenced to probation rather than prison.
The report from the LFB proposed increasing the tax on hard liquor by 50 cents per liter, which could generate as much as $25 million annually. The LFB also suggested eliminating the annual appropriation of $20 million from beer and liquor tax revenues to help pay for increased costs related to the drunken driving legislation.
The Assembly bill makes a first offense a misdemeanor if a child under age 16 is in the car, and makes a fourth drunken driving offense a felony. The proposal from the LFB requested increasing a third OWI offense term of imprisonment from 30 to 45 days.
The Senate Committee on Judiciary, Corrections, Insurance, Campaign Finance Reform, and Housing supported increasing the liquor tax during a panel meeting Tuesday night.
The Senate bill could cost significantly less than the report's estimates if the liquor tax is passed.
