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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

New Laws Arm Police Against Drunken Drivers Locke Signs Package Of Bills Cracking Down On Killer Problem

David Ammons Associated Press

Gov. Gary Locke, joining Washington lawmakers Monday in a crackdown on drunken driving, signed a package of 13 bills that attack the killer problem with a variety of approaches.

The new laws, which one sponsor called America’s toughest, will bring tougher penalties, fewer deferred prosecutions, a lower blood-alcohol level, automatic license suspension even before going to court, an ignition interlock requirement for some drivers and impoundment of some motorists’ vehicles.

Locke called the new laws “truly the highlight of bipartisan cooperation in this last legislative session.” Drunken driving was the dominant crime issue of the election-year session, prompted in part by highvisibility road carnage.

Lawmakers from both parties and representatives of law enforcement, prosecutors, judges, Mothers Against Drunk Driving and other groups also joined Locke at a billsigning ceremony at the Capitol.

Locke said if the bills save even one life, it’s all worth it.

In 1996, the most recent year for which figures are available, 336 people died in Washington of injuries from alcohol-related accidents and drunks caused more than 12,000 accidents and did more than $500 million in property damage.

Sen. Pam Roach, R-Auburn, chairwoman of the Senate Law & Justice Committee, called the legislation “a great day for this state - an incredible bipartisan response to the problem.” She called it “easily the highlight of my legislative career.”

Roach said experts predict the measures will save at least 60 lives a year in Washington, most through the bill lowering the maximum permissible blood-alcohol level from .10 to .08 percent.

She said Washington now has the toughest, most comprehensive laws to combat drunken driving.

“It’s a real attack on a number of fronts,” said Sen. Adam Kline, D-Seattle, who used to lobby for Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

“I won’t say it changes the culture (so that people stop driving while drunk), but I do feel a lot better today. I feel more optimistic,” he said.

Democrat Locke once prosecuted DUI crimes when he was a young King County prosecutor. He summarized the practical impact of the bills this way:

“If you drink and drive, what we are telling you is we are going to take away your driver’s license immediately. We’re going to send you to jail and after we send you to jail, we’re going to send you home for electronic detention with an ankle bracelet.

“And we’re also going to put an interlock device on your car so you can’t start it unless you’ve blown into it and have demonstrated you’re free of alcohol. And then we’re only going to give you one chance, and one chance only, to get treatment and avoid all these consequences.”

It will be costly for the drunken driver in a number of ways. For the motorists to get their driver’s licenses back will cost $150 - up from the current $50 - with local governments getting the extra revenue to help offset increased costs. Vehicles can be impounded if the motorists were driving without valid licenses due to DUI or other violations.

Other costs would include chemical dependency treatment and the costs of a trial.

Most of the measures take effect next January.

Admission reopened at institutions

A measure to breath new life into the state’s institutions for the developmentally disabled was signed into law Monday by Gov. Locke.

The bill, HB6751, ends a nearly 10-year policy of gradually closing the state’s five institutions for the disabled and placing developmentally disabled people in “community-based” facilities.

Unanimously supported by members of both parties in the House and Senate, the new law reopens admissions at Rainier School, Fircrest, Yakima Valley, Lakeland Village and Francis Haddon Morgan Hall.

The measure would allow the developmentally disabled and their caretakers to choose between living in one of the institutions or in a community-based setting.

However, any choice about care will be limited by available money, said Locke’s top budget writer, Dick Thompson, who helped negotiate the measure. If there is an open slot at an institution, a qualified applicant could apply for it. In the alternative, the applicant would be entitled to an equivalent level of care in some other setting, Thompson said.

Care in either setting will be limited by available money, he said.

As it happens, the Legislature also proposed spending $68 million more this year to improve community based care for the developmentally disabled. Locke is expected on Friday to sign the additional appropriation.

Shooting-range measure vetoed

A measure to exempt shooting ranges from nuisance lawsuits stemming from noise and other problems was vetoed by Gov. Gary Locke on grounds it would be unfair to communities, his aides said Monday.

The measure, sought by the National Rifle Association and other gun-rights groups, was prompted because existing shooting ranges are facing increasing lawsuits from new neighbors unhappy about noise and possible danger from stray bullets.

Locke said he supported shooting ranges as necessary to “help teach and promote proper gun safety.”

But he said the measure, HB1541, went “far beyond addressing conflicting land uses. It would create a standard for compliance by shooting ranges that assumes that current noise and liability standards will always be adequate.”

Backers of the bill, including sponsor Rep. Bob Sump, R-Republic, said the very existence of ranges are threatened by encroaching human development.

The veto, which came Friday, is “going to have a potentially negative impact on gun safety,” said Joe Waldron, executive director of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. “Do they want people shooting at gravel pits or do they want them shooting at supervised ranges? I, for one, want them shooting at supervised ranges.”

Waldron said his Bellevue-based organization will try again next year to win passage of the proposal.

Foes said the bill amounts to state preemption of local land use, and gives special treatment to one class of landowners.

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1. COSTLY PENALTIES Drunken drivers face a number of new or increased fines. For the motorists to get their driver’s licenses back will cost $150 - up from the current $50. Vehicles also can be impounded if the motorists were driving without valid licenses due to DUI or other violations.

2. DRUNKEN-DRIVING LAWS Here is a quick look at Washington’s tough new drunken-driving laws signed by Gov. Gary Locke: SB6257 reduces the blood-alcohol threshold for drunken driving from .10 to .08. SB6142 requires license suspension for first-time drunken drivers without going to court first. HB3089 limits deferred prosecution to once in a driver’s lifetime, and strengthens the conditions of deferred prosecution. SB6293 requires electronic home monitoring for repeat offenders after they complete their jail time. It also requires DUI defendants to appear personally in court the day after arrest, rather than having a lawyer appear for them. HB1221 allows local governments to impound cars when the driver’s license has been suspended or revoked because of drunken driving or other violations. Locke vetoed a provision allowing the use of vehicle-immobilizing “boots” at the motorist’s home, citing drafting problems and difficulties with implementation. SB6187 increases fees drunken drivers must pay to get their licenses back, from $50 to $150. This revenue will go to counties and cities to help pay the cost of enforcing these new laws. SB6165 requires drunken drivers with an alcohol level above .15 to have an ignition interlock, which will prevent the car from starting unless the driver is sober. This bill is known as The Mary Johnsen Act, in memory of the Issaquah woman who was killed last year by a chronic drunken driver. At the request of law enforcement and prosecutors, Locke vetoed a section that would have required all drunken drivers to be charged and arraigned within 21 days of arrest. Locke said he didn’t want to hamstring prosecutors in cases where more time is needed for an investigation. At the request of counties, Locke vetoed sections mandating jail time and impounding for interlock violations. HB2500 authorizes law enforcement officers from other states to pursue drunken drivers across the border into Washington. SB6408 requires courts to consider the presence of passengers in the car when they sentence drunken drivers. SB6166 requires courts to verify the complete criminal history and driving record of a defendant before disposing of a drunken driving case. It also increases sentences for vehicular homicide based on prior DUI convictions. HB3070 extends to seven years from five the length of time a DUI conviction will appear on the offender’s record for purposes of mandatory sentencing, and requires the state to maintain deferred prosecution records permanently. For technical reasons, Locke vetoed a section that duplicates a section in another bill. HB2885 allows electronic home monitoring instead of jail time for first offenders. HB1254 requires district courts to keep permanent records of drunken drivers’ convictions.