California lawmakers weigh alcohol ban for repeat DUI offenders
By CBS Bay Area
It’s a sobering statistic. Police say more than 1,300 people die in California each year due to drunk driving crashes.
Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom is introducing a bill that would ban selling booze to repeat DUI offenders.
“California already has the ability to restrict driver’s licenses, and we should do so with the alcohol sales,” Ransom said.
The proposal would allow judges to place a “no alcohol sales” label on a person’s physical driver’s license as part of their probation.
It would apply to people caught driving with a blood alcohol limit twice the legal limit and two DUI convictions within three years or a crash involving major injury or death.
“This is not about punishment for its own sake,” said Alex Gammlegard, with the California Police Chiefs Association. “It’s about intervention before lives are lost.”
The bill is supported by law enforcement and Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), which says DUI deaths have gone up 50% in the last decade.
“These are not accidents,” said Rhonda Campbell, victim services manager with MADD. “They’re choices and they’re certainly preventable.”
How would the alcohol sales ban be enforced?
All customers at bars, restaurants, and stores would be required to show their license, even if they look of age, before alcohol could be sold.
Bartenders will have to manually check every ID before a drink is served.
“It wouldn’t be something we would necessarily look forward to doing, but we’ll do it if that’s what we have to do,” said Scott Manley, owner of Last Stop Saloon in Sacramento.
Supporters say the alcohol prohibition would only impact people who’ve committed crimes in the past and it’s necessary to reduce drunk driving rates.
“Responsible adults have nothing to fear from a bill like this,” Ransom said. “This is about public safety, prevention, accountability and saving lives.”
Drivers would have to forfeit their current DMV ID and pay the cost of getting a new one. A similar law went into effect in the state of Utah on January 1.
