Drunk Driving Hearing scheduled for June 2; register or testify

Greetings Partners:

Representative Tony Staskunas has long been an advocate on trying to fix what’s wrong with our system as it relates to drunk driving. Today he has introduced an omnibus bill on drunk driving which includes his ignition interlock device bill. Below is a summary of the many changes his bill makes along with a copy of the actual bill. He has a scheduled a public hearing on the bill for next Tuesday, June 2 at the State Fair Park in West Allis.
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Assembly Public Safety, 12:30 pm, Tue, June 2, State Fair Park, TGT Youth Center, Banquet Room 2, 640 S. 84th St., West Allis.
Hearing on:
AB-283. DWI (Staskunas) Penalties for drunk driving.

1 - Mandatory Ignition Interlock Devices This proposal would require the installation and use of Ignition Interlock Devices (IIDs) for all repeat drunk driving convictions and for first time high BAC (.15 or higher) convictions for at least one year. Under AB 17 the convicted drunk driver would be responsible for paying for the installation and monitoring costs of the IID. OWI offenders whose income is at or below 150% of the federal poverty level would only be required to pay half of the installation and monitoring costs. Additionally, the offender would pay a $50 fee to the DOT to cover the state’s covers for IID oversight. The costs for this legislation will be paid for by the offender, not by the state.
The ignition interlock device equipment would be required for one year from the date that an offender obtains a drivers license. Offenders will not be able to ‘wait out’ the 12 month IID requirement during their license suspension.
2 - SAFE Streets Treatment Options Program In 2005 a pilot program was created in Winnebago County to offer reduced time of imprisonment to convicted OWI offenders contingent upon successful completion of a local treatment program in conjunction with probation. Offenders can opt to participate in this program only one time.
Data collected over the first two years of the project shows that Winnebago County saved over $465,000 dollars in jail time costs for the county which has allowed the county to spend $218,000 fewer dollars in overall criminal justice spending. Perhaps most importantly, the SAFE Streets program has a record 4% recidivism rate for those completing the program, significantly reducing the likelihood of re-offence.
This provision will allow the expansion of the SSTOP program statewide. Participation would not mandatory; this proposal simply allows counties to offer such programs within their jurisdiction.
3 – Punishing Repeat Drunk Drivers – There are currently statutory mandatory minimum jail sentences for misdemeanor OWI offenses and for 5th and 6th offenses, there are not for 7th and subsequent offences. This provision would establish mandatory minimum jail sentences for all OWI offenses.
There are ten judicial districts in Wisconsin. Each one has established their own OWI sentencing guidelines. As a result a person convicted in one judicial district can receive a much more lenient sentence than a person convicted of the same OWI offense in a different district. By establishing mandatory minimum sentencing we can be confident that a person convicted of a 7th OWI will serve a minimum of three years in prison no matter which part of the state they are from.
4 - Closing .08-.099 Loophole When the prohibited blood alcohol concentration (BAC) for the operation of motor vehicles was lowered from 0.10 to 0.08 in 2003, a special exemption was created for first-time offenses falling between the old limit and the new limit. This provision would repeal those exemptions.
Under current law, in addition to other penalties, individuals convicted of operating while intoxicated are subject to a number of penalty surcharges and court fees and must comply with a drug and alcohol assessment before their driving privileges can be reinstated. However, first-time offenders who have a BAC of 0.08 or more but less than 0.10 are not subject to penalty surcharges, court fees, or drug and alcohol assessments.
5 - Probation for OWI Offenses Under current law, a Judge may not order probation as part of the sentence upon a second or third OWI conviction. This provision would add probation as an additional option for Judges when issuing OWI sentences. Giving Judges the ability to individualize sentencing to include supervision, counseling or treatment could help to rehabilitate the offender.
6 - Extending the period of revocation Currently if a driver is convicted of an OWI offense has their license suspended and is sentenced to confinement, the suspension and jail time run concurrently. So upon release from jail if he could be eligible to get his license back immediately if the jail time and suspension were for the same time frame.
The punishment of a suspended license becomes almost irrelevant if the revocation runs at the same of incarceration. This provision changes state law so that the clock doesn’t start running for driver license revocations until after the OWI offender has completed their incarceration.
7 – Penalty Enhancer for causing Injury Currently if a driver is convicted of an OWI or an OWI-homicide offense, previous OWI convictions are taken into consideration for sentencing. This is not the case for OWI-causing injury offenses. This provision would simply allow previous OWI offenses to be considered in these cases in which a drunk driver caused injuries.
8 - Fourth OWI - Felony This provision would make a fourth OWI offense a felony if the driver had a previous OWI−related conviction, suspension, or revocation within the previous five−year period.
9 – Repeat Offender Absolute Sobriety If the person has three or more prior OWI−related convictions, suspensions, or revocations, the prohibited alcohol concentration is defined as an alcohol concentration of more than 0.02. This provision changes the absolute sobriety requirement to commence after a second OWI conviction.


Lisa Maroney UW Health State Legislative Liaison (608)265-1653 (608)206-5829 cell 635 Science Drive, Suite 150 Madison, WI 53711