1-4-19 republican lawmakers introduce bills to make 1st offense owi a crime

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Two Republican legislators are continuing their quest to crack down on drunken driving, reintroducing bills Thursday that would make a first offense a crime and impose stiffer penalties on repeat offenders.   Rep. Jim Ott and Sen. Alberta Darling have been working for nearly a decade to create stiffer drunken driving penalties in Wisconsin, the only state that treats a first offense as a civil violation rather than a crime. Drunken driving is rampant in the state — an average of one person was killed or injured in an alcohol-related crash every 2.9 hours on Wisconsin roads in 2015, according to the state Department of Transportation — but the two lawmakers have had little success working against a deeply ingrained drinking culture and a powerful tavern league lobby.  Nevertheless, Ott and Darling began circulating a package of legislation for co-sponsorship Thursday, three days before new legislators are sworn in for the 2019-21 session.  The highest profile proposal is a plan to make all first offenses misdemeanors punishable by up to $500 in fines and 30 days in jail. First offenders who don’t commit another operating-under-the-influence offense for five years could ask a judge to vacate the conviction and amend the record to a civil violation.   “This bill shows that Wisconsin is taking drunk driving seriously, while at the same time offering a second chance to those who do not reoffend within five years,” Ott said in a news release.   Ott and Darling introduced a similar bill in 2012 that would have made a first offense a misdemeanor if the driver’s blood alcohol content was 0.15 percent or higher. The new measure doesn’t include minimum BACs.    The lawmakers have a new ally this time around: Democratic Gov.-elect Tony Evers, who told reporters Wednesday that he wants to criminalize first offense in hopes of deterring drunken driving. Evers made the remarks after a suspected drunken driver struck and killed a firefighter who had stopped to help a driver during a snowstorm in Madison on New Year’s Eve, making headlines in the state’s capital city.