Senate advances broad DUI amendments, increases penalties and expands admissible evidence after floor fight over 'measurable' language

The Utah State Senate on Jan. 22 passed SB 4, a comprehensive set of amendments to the state’s DUI law that tightens penalties for repeat offenders, incorporates out‑of‑state convictions into Utah records, and expands courts’ options for license suspension and treatment orders.

Sponsor Senator David Steele told the chamber the bill “is not a punishment bill. It is an opportunity to remove repeat offenders from the road.” Steele walked senators through the bill’s major provisions: treating a third DUI within six years as a class A misdemeanor, making a fourth and subsequent DUI a third‑degree felony, raising the minimum fine for a suspended fourth‑offense sentence to not less than $1,500, and increasing mandatory jail time on some suspended sentences to a minimum of 1,000 hours. The bill also allows courts to order long‑term supervised treatment and to extend license suspension periods by 90 days, 180…