Senate panel defies national DUI standards

Catherine Leth

Capital News Service

RICHMOND – A Senate committee has killed two bills that would have brought Virginia up to speed with national DUI standards.

With little debate, the Senate Courts of Justice Committee voted 14-1 that Senate Bill 1075 be “passed by indefinitely.” The bill would have changed the administrative license suspension period for DUI offenders from seven days to 60 days – still below the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s recommended 90-day suspension.

Forty-three states have administrative license suspension (ALS) provisions. Four have a suspension period of less than 90 days; Virginia’s is the shortest.

An administrative license suspension happens when somebody is arrested for allegedly driving under the influence – before the person is convicted. Opponents argued that revoking a license before trial is unfair and could be challenged by DUI defense lawyers.

Such objections are surmountable, said Sen. George Barker, D-Alexandria, who sponsored both of the failed bills. “Obviously other states have found they could manage that type of thing.”

Barker’s other proposal, SB 1035, failed on a 6-7 vote. It would have made possessing an open container of alcohol in the passenger area of a vehicle a $25 civil infraction.

Thirty-nine states and the District of Columbia have open container laws. Opponents on the committee cited a person’s right to enjoy an alcoholic beverage if they’re not operating a vehicle.

A federal statute making open containers illegal is already in place. States that don’t comply must redirect federal highway construction dollars to highway safety funding. According to Barker, Virginia has lost about $140 million in funding for construction projects in the past decade.

“I think there’s a reasonable chance that, at some point, that type of thing will pass – particularly given how desperate we are for transportation funding,” Barker said.

‘No’ to Ignition Interlocks

On a 7-8 vote Wednesday, the Courts of Justice Committee also defeated SB 1118, sponsored by Sen. A. Donald McEachin, D-Richmond. It would have required all DUI violators to use an in-vehicle Breathalyzer for six months.

Current law requires only repeat offenders or those with a blood alcohol content of 0.15 or higher to use the device, called an ignition interlock. At their discretion, judges can require first-time offenders to use one.

Committee members had several issues with the proposal, including availability and cost of the devices. They also questioned how the measure might affect an offender driving a work vehicle without the Breathalyzer installed. And senators were hesitant to remove a judge’s ability to make the call on first-time violators.

McEachin said he couldn’t identify a common theme among the opponents.

“A committee is nothing more than a group of 15 individuals,” he said.

But the issue of ignition interlocks isn’t dead yet.

Delegate Salvatore Iaquinto, R-Virginia Beach, is sponsoring legislation similar to McEachin’s – House Bill 1589. On Thursday, Iaquinto’s bill passed the House on a 75-23 vote. HB 1589 now moves to the Senate, putting it on a path to the Senate Courts of Justice Committee.

“Unless we can change some minds, I don’t think that bill is going to have any different fate than mine,” McEachin said.

In the House, Iaquinto cited research by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. It found that 749 DUI violators were involved in alcohol-related car accidents after their first offense in the 2009-10 fiscal year.

“Even if that number is big and they miscalculated, let’s even take that it’s 50 percent correct,” Iaquinto said. “If this bill had become law when I introduced it a couple of years ago, we would have prevented those accidents and those deaths.”

Groups that fight drunken driving, such as the Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP), say ignition interlocks are effective.

Kurt Erickson, president of WRAP, said 10 states require the devices after the first DUI offense. He said the ignition interlock is preferable to revoking an offender’s license.

“They can still earn a living, do all those things,” Erickson said. “They just can’t drive drunk.”

Underage DUI

SB 770, sponsored by Sen. Dave Marsden, D-Burke, recently passed the Senate by a unanimous vote. The bill would double the license suspension time for underage drivers pulled over with a BAC of 0.02 or higher – a “zero tolerance” policy. It also would make the offense a Class 1 misdemeanor.

A companion proposal, HB 1407, sponsored by Delegate Bill Janis, R-Glen Allen, won a unanimous endorsement last week from the House Courts of Justice Committee. That makes it likely that the legislation will become law, Erickson said.

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