Posted on Wed, Nov. 29, 2006

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Group considers changes to state DUI laws

By RICK BRUNDRETT

rbrundrett@thestate.com

Suspected drunken drivers who refuse to take blood-alcohol tests would lose their licenses for a year under a proposal by a study group looking at rewriting state DUI laws.

The proposal was generally supported, though not formally adopted, during a meeting Tuesday of the S.C. Impaired Driving Prevention Council.

The council, comprised of representatives from various state agencies and organizations involved with highway safety, took no action on recommendations.

Under current law, drivers who refuse to take blood-alcohol tests face 90-day license suspensions, though they can get temporary licenses pending appeals.

Col. Russell Roark, head of the state Highway Patrol, expressed concerns about the one-year proposal.

“Quite frankly, it will result in more hearings, which will result in more (trooper) time off the roads,” he said.

The proposal is one of many being considered by a study group subcommittee drafting proposed DUI legislation. The main plan, modeled after a Pennsylvania law, would replace existing DUI laws with a tiered system that would tie sentences and fines to the level of intoxication.

Council chairman William Bilton, executive director of the S.C. Commission on Prosecution Coordination, said he hopes the council votes on proposed legislation by the first week of January. The goal is to introduce a bill when the General Assembly convenes Jan. 9.

Jeff Moore, chairman of the study group subcommittee, said leading DUI defense attorneys were invited to participate in the process to improve the chances of passing a bill.

“The concessions we’ve made we think are reasonable,” said Moore, executive director of the S.C. Sheriff’s Association.

Critics contend the current illegal per se law, which makes it illegal to drive with a blood-alcohol content of .08 percent or more, isn’t being enforced because it has too many loopholes.

Proposals under consideration include:

• Eliminating the requirement that Miranda warnings be given before physical sobriety and blood-alcohol tests. South Carolina is the only state to require the warning against self-incrimination be given before physical sobriety tests, according to Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

• Keeping the 10-year window for DUI convictions to be considered as prior offenses. Defense lawyers wanted to shorten it to five years.

• Giving magistrates and municipal judges the authority to hear all DUI cases that carry maximum 90-day sentences. Under current law, those judges generally are limited to cases that carry maximum 30-day sentences.

Reach Brundrett at (803) 771-8484.

UNDERAGE DRINKING

State Sen. Joel Lourie, D-Richland, and Rep. Ted Pitts, R-Lexington, will unveil a bill aimed at combatting underage drinking.

Lourie said Tuesday the bill “deals with underage drinking on several different fronts,” though he declined to discuss specifics.

A news conference is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Dec. 12 at the State House.

An investigation by The State newspaper published Oct. 1 found South Carolina’s underage drinking laws are among the weakest in the nation.

The recent alcohol-related deaths of a Dutch Fork High School senior, two Lexington High students and a recent White Knoll graduate have brought the issue to the forefront.

— Rick Brundrett