Washington Senate approves felony DUI bill

Today (Wednesday) could be the final day of this year’s Washington legislative session.

Lawmakers are making last minute changes to bills and passing those bills between the chambers. One such bill, sponsored by Spokane Representative John Ahern, would make Driving Under the Influence for repeat offenders a felony.

The bill got a late start in the legislative process, getting through the House of Representatives only last week. Republicans tried to bring it directly to the Senate floor for an immediate vote, but were rebuffed. The bill, though, got a quick hearing and vote of approval in the Judiciary Committee on Monday, setting the stage for last night’s consideration.

Seattle Senator Adam Kline, who chairs the Judiciary Committee, gave it a quick endorsement.

“We’re one of the nine states that does not yet have a felony D-U-I law. We’ve discussed doing this. I myself have talked about doing this bill before. The fiscal note has been the obstacle. But I think it’s about time we overcame that and passed this bill.”

Ahern’s bill would make a fifth D-U-I within a seven-year period a felony, subject to much more stringent penalties, up to ten years in prison. Officials estimate more than 400 repeat offenders a year would be sentenced to much longer terms of incarceration, increasing the cost to the state. This bill calls for the state to allocate money to cover those costs.

Whatcom County Senator Dale Brandland, a former county sheriff, says it’s the right approach.

“For many, many years, we’ve been tough on D-U-Is and we’ve handed the bills to our counties and we’ve said, ‘You pay the bill. We’ll pass the law, you pay the bill.’ You felt it was important and you stepped up and you paid for it and I want to thank you very much.”

The Senate then sent the bill to the governor’s desk with a 45-to-nothing vote. The only gripe came from Kent Senator Stephen Johnson, who complained the new law wouldn’t take effect until next year.