Requiring a mandatory minimum sentence for causing bodily harm to another while driving while intoxicated and providing a penalty. (FE)

Under current law, if the person has committed a prior OWI-related offense, causing an OWI-related injury is a Class H felony, and the person may be fined up to $10,000, imprisoned for up to six years, or both. Current law doubles the applicable maximum fine and term of imprisonment for these offenses if the person has a passenger who is under the age 16 in his or her vehicle at the time of the offense.

If a person causes an OWI-related injury that results in great bodily harm to another person or to an unborn child, the person is guilty of a Class F felony, and may be fined up to $25,000, imprisoned for 12 years and six months, or both.

Current law requires a person who is sentenced to prison for a felony to serve a bifurcated sentence, with a portion of the term of imprisonment to be served confined in prison, and the remainder to be served under supervision in the community.

Under this bill, if a person causes an OWI-related injury and the injured person suffers bodily harm, the offender who caused the OWI-related injury must serve at least six months in jail. If the injured person suffers substantial bodily harm, the offender is guilty of a Class H felony and must serve at least two years confined in prison, and if the injured person suffers great bodily harm, the offender is guilty of a Class F felony and must serve at least three years confined in prison.

Under the bill, a person with a prior OWI-related offense is guilty of a Class H felony and must serve a minimum of one year confined in prison if the OWI-related injury causes bodily harm, and a minimum of three years confined in prison if the OWI-related injury causes substantial bodily harm.

Under the bill, if the injured party was a passenger in the person's car, a court may sentence the person to less than the minimum if the court finds that the best interests of the community will be served and that the public will not be harmed. If the court sentences a person to less than the minimum, the bill requires the court to put its findings in writing. The bill eliminates the doubling provisions for causing an OWI-related injury that results in bodily harm or substantial bodily harm and eliminates the opportunity for a reduced sentence in exchange for completing a period of probation that includes drug or alcohol treatment.

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.