With 5 alcohol-related convictions and a BAC of .208, another menace kills a father and two sons.
— George Brauchler (@GeorgeBrauchler)
George Brauchler, the district attorney for Arapahoe and surrounding counties, got riled up Wednesday night after he read a newspaper article about a fatal car crash in Weld County in January. Investigators say the driver had a blood-alcohol content of nearly three times the legal limit, along with five previous DUIs. But there he was behind the wheel.
House Bill 1043 would make a third DUI in seven years a felony if there were aggravating circumstances, such a hit-and-run or a minor in the car, which likely means prison, a halfway house or a treatment facility. The bill to the House Finance Committee on Feb. 5. It it gets an OK there, it goes to the House floor, and then possibly on the Senate to start all over. If the two chambers disagree, even a little, they have to work that out in a specially appointed joint committee, and then the House and Senate have to vote on the compromise. You start to get the picture of why Brauchler and fellow supporters, including Gov. John Hickenlooper, are getting antsy.
The bill’s path isn’t easy. My colleague John Frank analyzed that .
House Bill 1043 for Thursday’s Finance Committee meeting or either of two meetings next week.
Finance doesn’t have a simple task, though. Because a lot of formerly classified traffic offenders could see whole different kind of incarceration for this, a this to cost up to nearly $2.4 million is this fiscal year, up to roughly $2.4 million in 2015-16, then $7.9 million in 2016-17 and up to $13.4 million in 2017-18. The range of estimates is broad, though.
The Bill is co-sponsored by Reps. Beth McCann, a Democrat from Denver, and Lori Saine, a Republican from Firestone, which is in Weld County, coincidentally. The Senate sponsors are Republican John Cooke of Greeley and Mike Johnston from Denver. Cooke is the former Weld County sheriff and McCann is a former city and state prosecutor who’s in 2016.
The summary of states:
Under current law, a DUI, DUI per se, or DWAI is a misdemeanor offense. The bill makes such an offense a class 4 felony if the violation occurred: (1) After 3 or more prior convictions for DUI, DUI per se, or DWAI; vehicular homicide; vehicular assault; or any combination thereof; or (2) not more than 7 years after the first of 2 prior convictions
for DUI, DUI per se, or DWAI; vehicular homicide; vehicular assault; or any combination thereof, if the violation included at least one of the following circumstances:
One or more persons less than 18 years of age were present
in the person’s vehicle at the time of the violation;
! In committing the violation, the person caused damage or injury to any property or persons;
! After committing the violation, the person fled the scene;
or
! At the time of the violation, or within 2 hours after the violation, the person’s BAC was 0.15 or higher.
Under current law, aggravated driving with a revoked license is a class 6 felony. The bill changes the penalty to a class 1 misdemeanor but requires a sentencing court to ensure that an offender spends a minimum of 60 days in the custody of a county jail.
Under current law, a person whose privilege to drive was revoked for multiple convictions for any combination of a DUI, DUI per se, or DWAI must hold an interlock-restricted license for at least one year following reinstatement prior to being eligible to obtain any other driver’s license. The bill expands this period to a minimum of 2 years and a maximum of 5 years.
The bill repeals provisions relating to the crime of aggravated driving with a revoked license when the offender also commits DUI, DUI per se, or DWAI as part of the same criminal episode. The bill makes conforming amendments.
