AB 207

Under current law, a first offense for operating a motor vehicle while having a

prohibited alcohol concentration (0.08 in most circumstances) or while under the

influence of alcohol, a controlled substance, or both (OWI offense), is a civil violation.

A person who commits a first OWI offense is subject to a forfeiture of not less than

$150 nor more than $300. A second OWI offense is a crime and is punishable by a

fine of not less than $350 nor more than $1,100, imprisonment for not less than five

days nor more than six months, or both. Subsequent OWI offenses are also crimes

punishable by fines and periods of imprisonment that increase with every

subsequent offense.

Under this bill, a person who commits a first OWI offense with an alcohol

concentration of 0.15 or greater is guilty of a crime and may be fined not less than

$350 nor more than $1,100 and imprisoned for not less than five days nor more than

six months. The bill also increases the penalty for a second OWI offense to a fine of

not less than $500 nor more than $1,500, imprisonment for not less than ten days nor

more than six months, or both.

Because this bill creates a new crime or revises a penalty for an existing crime,

the Joint Review Committee on Criminal Penalties may be requested to prepare a

report concerning the proposed penalty and the costs or savings that are likely to

result if the bill is enacted.