In an extraordinary legislative session expected to take place Dec. 16, the state Legislature will likely approve a bid calling for wide-ranging drunken- driving reform.
At a news conference Monday, state Sen. Jim Sullivan, D-Wauwatosa, and state Rep. Tony Staskunas, D-West Allis, said they have reached an agreement on restructuring and increasing the severity of penalties related to drunken-driving offenses.
""We worked to contain costs and force problem drivers to change their behavior while providing additional resources to help break the cycle of addiction and further reduce this problem,"" Staskunas said in a statement.
The reform agreement would criminalize a first operating while intoxicated offense if a minor is in the car. The new legislation would also make a fourth OWI offense a felony if the driver was charged within a five-year period for a previous OWI offense.
The agreement contains all the main provisions outlined in the separate Assembly and Senate bills. Those bills passed unanimously in both the Assembly and the Senate earlier this fall.
""As soon as the agreement we have reached between our two bills is voted on, Wisconsin will have tougher sanctions for drunk drivers and expanded prevention and treatment options,"" Sullivan said in a statement.
—Hannah Furfaro
