OLYMPIA, Wash. — For the second straight year, Washington state legislators are exploring lowering the legal threshold to determine when a driver is impaired.
House Bill 2196, would lower the standard in the state from a blood alcohol content of .08 to .05.
Safety officials, including the Washington State Patrol Chief John Batiste, testified in favor of the move as a way to potentially reduce deaths on state roads.
The latest preliminary figures for 2023 revealed 800 people died in traffic crashes in Washington state, the highest number since 1990, according to the Washington Traffic Safety Commission.
Linda Thompson, whose three-year-old son, Travis Pierce, was hit and killed by a drunk driver in 1986. Thompson urged legislators to act.
“I ask you to be bold, be brave, pass this bill and save lives,” Thompson said Thursday.
Utah is the only U.S. state to use the .05 limit.
Opponents of the bill included lobbyists for restaurant owners and beer and wine industry representatives.
Trent House with the Washington Hospitality Association said servers would have a hard time determining if someone is impaired at the .05 level.
“Both the business, the employee are liable in that situation and subject to significant fines and penalties including criminal citation,” said House.
On Monday House members heard testimony from an inmate serving a 51-year sentence for a 1996 murder.
Travis Comeslast had 17 years added to his sentence because of crimes he committed as a 17-year-old.
Last year the state prohibited those mandatory sentences for adults with juvenile convictions in future cases.
House Bill 2065 would require resentencing for the more than 1,000 inmates already serving additional adult time for those prior convictions.
”I served my punishment for these bad decisions, but yet I'm still being punished,” Comeslast said, “This has increased my sentence by 17 years, giving me a harsher punishment than anyone sees today.”
Proponents said adults should not be punished for crimes committed before their brains are fully developed.
Representative Jenny Graham, R-Spokane, said the state should focus on the victims.
Her sister, Debbie Estes, was killed by the Green River Killer.
Graham said someone who kills knows the severity of their crime, sometimes directly from their victims.
”Crying, screaming, begging, bleeding, pleading, ‘Please don’t hurt me. Please don’t kill me,’” said Graham, “I don’t care what the age of somebody is, they understand that language.”
Bills that could pass out of committee the week of Jan. 29 include House Bill 2153 requiring car dealers to inscribe vehicle identification numbers on catalytic converters, and Senate Bill 5795, moving the state to year-round Pacific Standard Time.