After years of trying, it seems that the effort to increase criminal penalties for repeated drunken driving might finally be on track to pass the legislature.
And it’s about time.
Last week, such a bill passed out of a House committee unanimously, with lawmakers saying all of the right things about why it’s needed.
“While the drunk driver is in prison, that drunk driver is not killing people,” said Rep. Daniel Kagan, D-Cherry Hills Village, according to a story in The Durango Herald.
And that is precisely the value of this bill. People who get one DUI conviction after another obviously aren’t responding to treatment offered through the judicial system and won’t stay off the road.
It’s a personal tragedy to be quietly getting drunk at home, but it becomes a safety concern when such people insist on driving.
House Bill 1043 would make a third DUI in seven years a felony if there were aggravating circumstances, such as leaving the scene or having a child in the car.
It is similar to other efforts over the years to allow a harsher punishment for repeated offenses. As it stands, the potential penalty for drunken driving in Colorado is the same whether it’s a first offense or 10th: a misdemeanor with a maximum of a year in jail.
Last year’s version of felony DUI almost made it to the finish line, but was killed by Democrats in the Senate Appropriations Committee days before the session ended. Democrats voiced concerns about the cost of incarceration, but also about elevating punishment over treatment.
Given that the Senate this year is controlled by Republicans, who have supported felony DUI, we’re hopeful the measure will survive.
On Thursday — the same day lawmakers debated felony DUI — a Grand Junction man was advised by a judge of what could be his eighth drunken-driving conviction. Last month, Longmont police arrested a man for what could be his 12th DUI since 1986.
Some people resist treatment and won’t stop driving drunk. Putting them in prison for a stretch is the responsible thing to do.
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