House votes to lower legal blood-alcohol level

After a decade, it appears likely that Indiana will lower its legal drinking limit.\nMonday, the house overwhelmingly voted -- 89-6 -- to bring the legal blood-alcohol level down from .10 to .08. Under the bill, no further evidence of impairment would be required for a drunk driving conviction.\n"We're not going after the social drinkers or even the heavy drinkers," said state Rep. Peggy Welch, D-Bloomington, who sponsored the legislation. "But you should not be driving, if you're impaired. At 0.08, you're impaired."\nAccording to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the typical 170-pound man would have to consume four drinks in an hour to reach .08; a 137-pound woman would need three drinks.\nThe legislation will go to the state Senate, where legislators will consider a similar bill later this week authored by Sen. Tom Wyss, R-Fort Wayne. Wyss has filed such legislation in 10 of the past 11 years. But it only reached the floor once, only to die in the House in 1990.\n"It's a measure we should have passed long ago," he said, noting that the District of Columbia and 19 states already have the lower limit. "It's time we lead instead of follow."\nWyss and Welch concede enacting tougher drunk driving standards is more politically expedient this session.\nCongress passed legislation last year that will deprive states of millions of dollars of highway funding, if they fail to lower the legal blood-alcohol limit. If Indiana doesn't lower the threshold, Welch said Indiana could lose as much as $14 million in 2004. The state could receive $12 million in incentive money if it toughens its standard this year, she said.\nBut Welch insists money should not be the foremost consideration.\n"It's good public policy and good for public health," she said.\nThe legislation was not expected to sail through the House so easily. It's strongly opposed by restaurant and tavern lobbies, which say it will hurt business and targets social drinkers.\n"It will only hurt us economically for no good reason," said John Livengood, a spokesman for the Indiana Restaurant and Hospitality Association. "The argument is political and emotional -- not factual."\nThe bill was made more agreeable to skeptics with an amendment that allows judges to waive drunk driving charges against those with .08 and .09 levels on certain conditions.\nThe driver would have to be a first-time offender not responsible for any injury or property damage. Even if prosecution is deferred, the offender would still have to go through alcohol counseling and probation. Lawmakers, Welch said, are checking with the U.S. Department of Transportation to see whether the amendment qualifies with federal law.\nWyss said he's delaying floor consideration for his bill until he gets a response from Washington. In the event that doesn't comply with federal law, he said it will go to conference committee, where legislators will settle their differences.