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Senate orders third reading of bill clarifying how prior DUI convictions are counted
Summary
The Senate ordered third reading of S203, a technical bill clarifying that the 20-year lookback for prior DUIs is tied to the date of violation rather than the date of conviction; the change had bipartisan committee support including prosecutors and defenders.
The Senate ordered S203 for third reading after a committee report that characterized the measure as a technical clarification to Vermont's DUI penalty language.
Senator Hashim, recognized for the committee report, said the bill clarifies ambiguity over whether the 20-year window for counting prior DUI offenses should be measured by the date of a prior conviction or by the date of a prior violation. "The language proposed in the bill clarifies that a second or subsequent offense requires a prior conviction of a DUI and that the statute of limitations is based on the date of the violation of the second or subsequent offense rather than the date of the conviction," Hashim said, adding that prosecutors, defenders and legislative counsel supported the technical change.
Hashim described DUIs as a commonly charged criminal offense in Vermont and said committee members weighed the issue as a "simple and technical bill" intended to reduce confusion for prosecutors, defense counsel and judges when defendants have prior DUI records.
After reporting, the Senate ordered the bill read a third time.
