House passes increased requirements for repeat DWI offenders

If you’re arrested for driving while impaired — especially if it’s happened more than once — getting back behind the wheel could soon prove more difficult.

Sponsored by Rep. Larry Kraft (DFL-St. Louis Park), HF2130 would alter several requirements for repeat offenders, including increasing the use of ignition interlock systems, a sort of built-in breathalyzer that won’t allow the vehicle to start unless you pass a breath test.

On Thursday, the House passed the bill, as amended, 123-5 and sent it to the Senate.

Kraft said the bill was inspired by an incident last September in which a drunken driver drove onto a St. Louis Park restaurant patio killing two people and injuring nine others. It was revealed that the driver had a blood alcohol content over four times the state’s legal limit and six prior DWI convictions on his criminal record.

“From a National Highway Safety Administration study, 43% of those convicted of a DWI in Minnesota were repeat offenders,” Kraft said. “And, according to the [Centers for Disease Control], ignition interlocks reduce repeat DWI offenses by about 70% while installed.”

The bill would specify the time a person must participate in the ignition interlock program before becoming eligible for reinstatement of a standard driver’s license, and allow someone to pay the law’s $680 reinstatement fee for a standard license in installments, rather than in one lump sum.

It would also require someone with one DWI over a 20-year period to use the interlock device for two years, with the required length of time increasing if further offenses happen. The offender would have to use one for six years for two offenses, and for 10 years for three or more. The state’s current maximum is six years for four or more offenses.

Under the bill, license revocation requirements would be consolidated into one section of law. It would maintain the existing revocation requirements for those with no prior incidents, but extend the lookback period for prior offenses from 10 years to 20 years.

“No one should have to worry that their night out could turn deadly because someone with a history of impaired driving was able to keep driving,” said Rep. Jeff Witte (R-Lakeville). “If it saves one life and saves a family from having to go through a situation like this, it’s worth it.”