Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Dui Ignition Interlocks topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Utah Senate approves SB18 to expand ignition-interlock requirements for DUI offenders
Summary
The Utah Senate passed SB18 to require ignition-interlock devices for second-or-higher DUI convictions and for license refusals, require offenders to pay device costs and keep the device installed for three years; sponsor cited federal Motor Carrier Improvement Act compliance to avoid withholding highway funds.
The Utah Senate voted to advance Senate Bill 18, tightening ignition-interlock requirements for drivers with repeat DUI convictions and for those who refuse sobriety tests. Sponsor Senator Walker said the measure makes interlocks mandatory for second-or-above offenses and for refusal of breath testing, requires offenders to pay for devices and keeps the requirement on the driving record and in the license database for three years.
Walker told senators that the federal Motor Carrier Improvement Act requires states to implement related provisions or risk reductions in federal highway funds; he said noncompliance could cost the state 5 percent of federal highway funds in the first year and 10 percent in the second. He described ignition interlocks as a way to let offenders remain employed while preventing impaired driving and to reduce incarceration costs.
The bill also continues an option for plea and abeyance for DUI cases for an additional two years while the state collects data on its effectiveness. Walker said interlocks have been endorsed by Mothers Against Drunk Driving and that prosecutors and courts agreed to extend the plea-abeyance observation period to gather more information.
On a roll-call vote the Senate recorded 28 yes, 0 no and 1 absent; the bill will be transmitted to the House for further action.
The measure’s immediate effect is procedural: the Department of Public Safety and courts will apply the interlock and database changes once implementing rules and administrative steps are in place. The sponsor said the interlock is required for a defined three-year period and that the device must be installed on vehicles the offender drives.
Next steps: the bill proceeds to the Utah House for consideration and, if enacted, state agencies will implement the database and enforcement changes described in the measure.
