ATLANTA, Ga. -- Should DUI offenders get a second chance?
There's a new proposal at the state legislature to change Georgia's DUI law back to what it used to be, so that people convicted of Driving Under the Influence of alcohol or drugs would get their convictions erased from the books if the offenders keep a spotless record for five years.
The debate has already begun.
"I think the five-year punishment is a lot for some people not to get the job they want or not be able to get into law school," said Rep. Rusty Kidd, (R) Milledgeville, who introduced the bill. "Give them five years. If they keep their nose clean for five years, that's a long time. Then give them another chance."
"I know a lot of times people say, well, DUI is a youthful indiscretion," said Harris Blackwood, the Executive Director of the Governor's Office of Highway Safety. "Well, sometimes youthful indiscretions have adult consequences. And this is one of those cases."
"I don't condone anybody getting a DUI or driving while they're drinking," Rep. Kidd said. "But I think we ought to give people a second chance, sometimes."
"There are about 40,000 DUI arrests in Georgia every year," Blackwood said. "It has serious consequences, it endangers the lives of people, and it makes a hazard on our roads that can be stopped."
Blackwood said there's a federal requirement to keep certain DUI records on the books for decades.
"There's a requirement from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration [which regulates truckers and other commercial drivers] that all states maintain DUIs on the driving record for 55 years. That's a federal regulation that we have to adhere to. Anybody potentially could be a commercial driver.... And it would put us out of compliance and would potentially cost us consequences from the federal government" if Georgia were to erase any DUI convictions for any reason.
Kidd said he is open to making any changes to his bill that would resolve the debate, help it pass, and put a "second chance" back into the state's DUI law.
"If it needs to be amended because of a federal law for commercial drivers, then yes, I'm sure we can change it to do that. If certain members of the legislature want to make it just apply to minors, we can do that."
Barry Martin, the Executive Director of the Georgia Chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, opposes Kidd's bill.
"There's no distinction in his bill between a first-timer and a repeat offender," Martin said. And Martin wondered if people who commit vehicular homicide while driving under the influence would be able to get their DUI convictions erased under the provisions of the bill if it were to become law.
"We'd rather see the legislature focused on things like requiring first-time DUI offenders to have ignition interlocks on their cars to verify their sobriety before being able to start their cars." State law currently requires ignition interlocks for drivers with more than one DUI conviction.
"In Milledgeville," Kidd said, "a kid, 17, 18 years old, had a date with his girlfriend, went to his girlfriend's house on New Year's Eve. Her parents were there and her daddy opened up a bottle of champagne, and gave everybody one or two small glasses, the little, plastic glasses of champagne. Not enough to make anybody high or drunk."
But, Kidd said, when the young man was driving home, he was stopped by a police officer because his tail light was out.
Kidd said one of the questions the officer asked, was, "'Son, have you been drinking? It's New Year's Eve.' 'Yes, Sir, I had two, small glasses of champagne.' 'Son, would you mind blowing in the breathalyzer?' 'No, Sir, I don't mind at all.' He blows in the breathalyzer, he blows .001. Now, if it was you or me, the police would say, go on home. But because the individual was a minor, he should not register anything.... And that DUI, under current law, will stay on his record forever.... And he probably won't be able to get a good job because that DUI is on his record."
Kidd cites other cases, such as a 26 year old man who was hired for a job after looking for months. But the subsequent background check "revealed he had a DUI eight years ago. No offenses since then. They said, 'I'm sorry, we can't hire you.' That's not right, we need to give people a second chance."
Kidd's bill will be assigned to a committee, which could take several weeks to consider it and possibly amend it before deciding whether to let the bill come to a vote in the full House.
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Read the one-page bill, in a .pdf format: click here
Contact the sponsor of the bill, Rep. Rusty Kidd (R) Milledgeville, click here
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