The state Assembly Committee on Judiciary passed a set of drunken driving bills Thursday that would impose stricter drunken driving sanctions in the state.
The bills would require first-time drunken driving offenders to appear in court, change third and fourth drunken driving offenses from misdemeanors to felonies, impose mandatory sentences for drunken drivers who injure or kill someone, and allow courts to seize drunken drivers’ cars.
Currently, people who commit their first drunken driving offense can opt to pay a fine to avoid a court appearance, but one of the new bills would require the court to issue an arrest warrant and a $300 fine to anyone who fails to appear in court for his or her first offense.
One of the bills would impose a 30-day minimum sentence for drunken drivers who injure someone, which state Sen. Jim Ott, R-Mequon, reduced from the six-month minimum sentence proposed originally.
Another bill also set a 10-year minimum sentence for drunken drivers who kill someone.
Currently, drunken drivers who kill someone are required to serve a portion of their sentence in prison, but there is generally not a minimum sentence.
Ott said at the hearing he thinks the bills will have an impact on drunken driving, and he hopes to see a measurable decrease in drunken driving in coming years.
“I hope we can come back a year to two down the road and look back at this and say what we did made a difference,” Ott said.
