Legislature passes stricter DUI penalties

Under House Bill 2053, motorists who are arrested with a blood-alcohol content of .18 percent or greater would face more penalties than before - including installation of an ignition interlock device in their vehicles.

"The way to combat the problem is to get the people who are a problem off the road," House Speaker Jeff Groscost, R-Mesa, told lawmakers before they passed the DUI measure by a 42-16 vote.

The House action comes on the heels of a U.S. Senate vote yesterday that would call on states to enforce a BAC of .08 percent as the minimum cutoff or face losing part of their federal highway funding. Arizona, which sets its limit at .10 percent, could lose money.

Groscost disputed the prudence of the U.S. Senate plan, calling Washington lawmakers "pint-sized potentates on the other side of the Potomac."

"It is not the people at .08, .06 and .05," Groscost said. "It is those people who are falling down drunk and get in and drive."

The proposed interlock system would prevent drivers from starting their vehicles unless they give a breath sample to prove their blood-alcohol concentration is below a certain point.

Rep. Roberta Voss, R-Glendale, voted for the measure but stated her reservations about the Department of Motor Vehicles having discretion to set the interlock devices' triggering level.

"I'm concerned about it going forward with DMV making the policy decisions," Voss said.

A similar measure, House Bill 2156, would have stipulated drivers be at a .05 percent BAC for the interlock device to kick in. It received preliminary approval from the House yesterday, but the bill's future remains uncertain in light of House Bill 2053's passage.

During floor debate, Groscost also took issue with federal legislation passed 62-32 by the U.S. Senate yesterday that would withhold highway funds from states, including Arizona, where drunken driving is legally defined at a BAC of .10 percent.

"I take huge offense at that," said Groscost, who has long said that heavy drinkers, not casual ones, are the main threats on the road.

The U.S. Senate bill would call on all states to set .08 percent as the minimum BAC cutoff or face losing 5 percent of their share of federal highway spending, with the penalty later going up to 10 percent.

"It is a political ploy," Groscost said of the U.S. Senate measure. "I want to stop the people that are killing my family and your family."

Currently, 15 states enforce BAC of .08 percent, while the other 35 states, including Arizona, set the drunken driving standard at .10 percent.

The bill, which easily passed the House, now moves to the Senate where its fate is unclear.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.