Toughened DWI restrictions approach legislative finish line

— UPDATED at 2:55 p.m. May 17 following Senate action

A bill born from a tragedy is likely to become law.

Inspired by an incident in which a drunken driver with several prior convictions for driving while impaired killed two people on a restaurant patio and injured several others, Rep. Larry Kraft (DFL-St. Louis Park) crafted HF2130, a bill that would expand the state’s ignition interlock program.

Ignition interlock is something like a breathalyzer that won’t allow a vehicle to start until the driver has proven they’re not impaired.

After passing the House earlier this month and doing the same in the Senate with some additions, a conference committee met for 20 minutes on Thursday to reconcile the differences between the two bills and sent its report on to both chambers. The House passed the report 126-5 on Friday, the Senate 66-0 Saturday, and it's on its way to the governor’s desk for his signature.

“This is a great bill,” Kraft said. “It will save lives.”

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;
• allow someone to pay the law’s $680 reinstatement fee for a standard license in installments;
• require someone with one DWI (driving while impaired) offense over a 20-year period to use the interlock device for two years, with the required length of time increasing if further offenses happen; and
• maintain the existing license revocation requirements for those with no prior incidents, but extend the lookback period for prior offenses from 10 years to 20 years.