Post by Logan on Feb 17, 2016 3:28:48 GMT -6
Assembly overwhelmingly adopts bill making 4th OWI offense a felony
The Assembly early Wednesday morning overwhelmingly adopted a bill that would crack down on repeat drunk drivers by making all fourth-time offenses a felony, despite a warning that it could cost the state more than $100 million a year to imprison more drunk-driving convicts.
Currently, a fourth offense committed more than five years after a third is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail; otherwise felony charges don’t kick in until a fifth offense. The bill also heightens the severity of fifth and sixth drunk driving offenses.
The bill is one of several proposals introduced this session to strengthen Wisconsin’s drunken driving laws, which are, by several measures, among the nation’s most lenient.
But the cost of the bill could be a stumbling block. A fiscal estimate from the Department of Corrections said it would cost between $98 million and $129 million a year to house more drunk-driving inmates as a result of the bill.
Read more: host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/assembly-overwhelmingly-adopts-bill-making-th-owi-offense-a-felony/article_34d0fecd-e279-52f8-aaeb-e82e897cb5ea.html
The Assembly early Wednesday morning overwhelmingly adopted a bill that would crack down on repeat drunk drivers by making all fourth-time offenses a felony, despite a warning that it could cost the state more than $100 million a year to imprison more drunk-driving convicts.
Currently, a fourth offense committed more than five years after a third is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail; otherwise felony charges don’t kick in until a fifth offense. The bill also heightens the severity of fifth and sixth drunk driving offenses.
The bill is one of several proposals introduced this session to strengthen Wisconsin’s drunken driving laws, which are, by several measures, among the nation’s most lenient.
But the cost of the bill could be a stumbling block. A fiscal estimate from the Department of Corrections said it would cost between $98 million and $129 million a year to house more drunk-driving inmates as a result of the bill.
Read more: host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/assembly-overwhelmingly-adopts-bill-making-th-owi-offense-a-felony/article_34d0fecd-e279-52f8-aaeb-e82e897cb5ea.html