DENVER | A measure to add penalties for habitual drunken drivers faces a key test Tuesday in the state Senate.
The felony DUI bill has already passed the House and was mentioned by the governor in January as a priority for the year.
Colorado is among five states where drunken drivers face only misdemeanor charges, even after repeated convictions.
The bill would make a fourth DUI a felony punishable by up to six years in prison and a fine of as much as $500,000.
A third DUI in seven years could also be a felony if it includes aggravating factors, such as having children in the car or causing major injuries.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on the measure Tuesday.
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Online:
House Bill 1043: https://bit.ly/1Ox3eql
YES….YES…let’s spend millions of dollars, spend years setting up committees to study it to figure out the obvious. YES I would say after 3 D.U.I.’s it warrants a felony.
I’m with indiana…this should have been done 20 years ago…..course the politicians might get caught up in that DUI felony…huh? can’t have that can we?
no excuse for having 15 or 20 dui’s and then killing someone while DWI
According to the Centers for Disease Control, only 1% of all DUI episodes result in
arrest. The National Transportation Safety Board reported that 71% of all
alcohol-related fatalities were committed by a driver with NO prior convictions
for DUI. HB 1043 has no strategies to address the 99% of all DUIs that
will not come into the criminal justice system because there was no
arrest. The current DUI treatment delivery system also is not as
effective as it needs to be, including a much more robust capacity to address
both alcohol addiction and co-occurring mental health issues that occurs in
more than half of people with repeat DUI offenses.