Senate committee advances bill imposing mandatory minimums for DUI-related vehicular manslaughter

The Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee voted to send Senate Bill 1099 to the Senate floor with a due-pass recommendation after testimony and debate at a committee meeting (time and date not specified). The bill would require a judge to warn a person after a first driving-under-the-influence (DUI) conviction that a future DUI that causes a death could trigger mandatory minimum prison terms; it would then impose a five-year minimum if a later DUI combined with vehicular manslaughter follows a prior conviction and a 10-year minimum if the person has three or more prior DUI convictions and is charged with vehicular manslaughter.

Supporters told the committee they wrote the bill in consultation with prosecutors, sheriffs and law-enforcement groups and described it as a way to increase accountability for repeat impaired drivers who kill someone. "This bill is supported by the Idaho…