COLUMBIA - A leader of Mothers Against Drunk Driving says a bill approved by the state House on Wednesday will help to reduce alcohol-related traffic deaths.

After a routine third reading, the bill heads to the Senate where lawmakers have been debating a vastly different and less-harsh version of the bill.

The bill, approved by the House on a 106-6 vote, would lower the legal blood-alcohol limit for drunken driving from the current 0.10 percent to 0.08 percent.

Another provision would require an immediate 30-day driver's license suspension for anyone behind the wheel with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 percent or greater. Current law allows licenses to be revoked at .15 percent.

The bill also makes it easier to prosecute DUI cases. Under current state law, a prosecutor must prove a driver is impaired even if his blood-alcohol level is above the legal limit. The new law would allow a jury to convict someone of DUI exclusively on blood-alcohol levels.

The bill also stipulates that people who have had prior convictions for driving under the influence during the past 10 years will have their licenses suspended for 60 days if a test shows an alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent or greater.

"MADD is very pleased," said Betsy Lewis, executive director of the organization's S.C. branch.

Several lawmakers spoke out against the bill, angry that the federal government has threatened to take away highway money from states that don't pass the lower levels.

The state shouldn't act just because the federal government is twisting arms, said Rep. Grady Brown, D-Bishopville

"I am ready to tell the government to take it and shove it," Brown said.