DUI bill creates buzz on the Hill

One glass of wine. One beer. Any driver who has a drink with dinner and drives home with his child in the car could be busted.

A new bill to be announced today could fundamentally change the way Utahns are allowed to drink alcohol and legally drive afterward, and the last-minute addition to an already packed legislative agenda was the topic of much conversation Monday.

The bill, expected to be unveiled by Rep. Dana Love, R-Syracuse, would allow police officers to arrest a person for DUI if he or she has a blood alcohol reading of 0.02 — which can result from one glass of wine or one beer — and has a minor in the car.

"It's never been tried in the United States," said George Van Komen, head of the Alcohol Policy Coalition and a long-time advocate for stricter laws and punishments for DUI offenders. "We hope we can convince our legislators that it's a good thing."

Also Monday, Sen. Carlene Walker, R-Salt Lake City, worked to massage SB20, a DUI bill that addresses the sticky issue of giving so-called "plea in abeyance" to DUI offenders who adhere to rigid treatment and supervision programs.

"We are still arm-wrestling on the plea-in-abeyance issue," Walker said late Monday. "Some prosecutors are for it and some are against it, and we are trying to achieve a consensus."

The debate about how best to treat DUI offenders is a philosophical battle Utah has had a hard time resolving. Treatment providers and research show DUI offenders re-offend less if they go through programs like the one offered at Taylorsville Justice Court, with strict supervision, frequent testing and alcohol prevention education.

A state committee that supervises DUI issues supported the bill, but high-profile prosecutors like Salt Lake City's chief prosecutor Sim Gill and Salt Lake District Attorney David Yocom have raised concerns.

Others agree: DUI offenders shouldn't be given a free pass, so to speak.

So although SB20 was discussed at length in recent months and was recommended by the Transportation Interim Committee, it is being amended.

Walker hopes it will be ready for committee Friday.

Van Komen's group has pushed for Love's bill, which was not discussed in lawmaking committees during the past several months.

Utah law now allows for stricter, enhanced penalties — from a class B to class A misdemeanor — if a drunken driver has a minor in the vehicle.