Lower standard for DUI in Washington sputters after committee declines to take action

OLYMPIA – Washington will not join Utah and impose a stricter standard for driving while intoxicated, at least not this year.

Legislation to lower the state’s blood alcohol content limit to 0.05% appears to have died in committee on Tuesday afternoon after the House Community Safety Committee failed to take action ahead of a Wednesday deadline , effectively killing the legislation this session.

The Washington Senate previously approved the legislation on a 26-23 vote. Most Democrats backed the bill, though six Democrats opposed it. Most Republicans voted no, but two supported it.

Washington would have joined Utah and become the second state in the country to have a lower limit. Around the world, more than 150 countries, including France, Germany, Italy, South Korea and Australia, have implemented lower standards, while some others have zero tolerance policies for alcohol.

The effects from driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.05% include reduced coordination, difficulty steering and a reduced response time, according to the traffic safety commission.

Nathan Olson, a senior policy adviser for the governor’s office, told the House Community Safety Committee last month that the bill had the backing of Gov. Bob Ferguson.

“DUIs aren’t caught by noticing that somebody is drunk. They’re caught by noticing that dangerous driving, and this bill won’t change that. It just updates the blood alcohol level in the law to a number that we know is impaired based on what we know from research today,” Olson said. “This bill will make our roads safer and ensure that Washingtonians don’t get behind the wheel when it would be dangerous to do so just because they’re under 0.08.”

The legislation faced an uphill battle in the House after similar attempts to impose the stricter standard died in recent years.

Last week, Speaker of the House Laurie Jinkins, D-Tacoma, told reporters during a media availability that while she was supportive of the legislation, “we just have to see where the caucus is at.”

During a Feb. 19 hearing in the House Community Safety Committee, state Rep. Dan Griffey, R-Allyn, wondered how lowering the limit could worsen the state’s existing backlog of DUI samples. In a December report, the Washington State Patrol reported it had a backlog of 16,870 samples and that the average turnaround time was between 12 and 21 months.

“Prosecutors won’t even charge for the crime, maybe up to 22 months, or moreover, they usually won’t charge at all,” Griffey said. “Because they can’t get the evidence in a reasonable amount of time.”

Bill sponsor state Sen. John Lovick, D-Mill Creek, said that the bill was compatible with efforts to reduce the state’s backlog of DUI samples.

“We don’t anticipate that there would be more arrests because of this,” Lovick said. “I think when we do the public awareness campaign, and we do all of the things that we’re going to do, that people will just simply realize that this is not the right thing for me to do.”