SB 174

Under current law, a person who commits a seventh, eighth, or ninth offense

related to drunken driving or driving under the influence of an intoxicant or other

drug (OWI) is guilty of a Class G felony. The penalty for a Class G felony is a fine not

to exceed $25,000 or imprisonment not to exceed ten years, or both. The confinement

portion of a bifurcated sentence imposed on a person convicted of a seventh, eighth,

or ninth OWI may not be less than three years. A person who commits a tenth or

subsequent OWI is guilty of a Class F felony. The penalty for a Class F felony is a

fine not to exceed $25,000 or imprisonment not to exceed 12 years and 6 months, or

both. The confinement portion of a bifurcated sentence imposed on a person

convicted of a tenth or subsequent OWI may not be less than four years.

This bill specifies that a person who is convicted of a seventh, eighth, or ninth

OWI must be given a bifurcated sentence and that the confinement portion of the

sentence may not be less than three years and that a person who is convicted of a

tenth or subsequent OWI must be given a bifurcated sentence and that the

confinement portion of the sentence may not be less than four years.

Current law specifies that a person who is convicted of causing injury to another

while committing an OWI or while operating a commercial motor vehicle while the

person has an alcohol concentration of 0.04 or more but less than 0.08 must be fined

not less than $300 nor more than $2,000 and may be imprisoned for not less than 30

days nor more than one year in the county jail. This bill specifies that the convicted

person must be imprisoned for not less than 30 days nor more than one year.

Current law also specifies that a blood draw for alcohol or other controlled

substance testing may be performed only by a physician, registered nurse, medical

technologist, physician assistant, or person acting under the direction of a physician.

This bill adds phlebotomists and other medical professionals who are authorized to

draw blood to the list of persons who may perform a blood draw.

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.