Committee passes bill to close OWI law loophole
by WBAY
MADISON, Wis. (WBAY) - A bill that would make significant changes to Wisconsin's OWI law has passed committee and could go before Wisconsin's full Assembly.
On Wednesday, the bill passed the Assembly Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety on an 11-0 vote.
The bill's author, Rep. Andre Jacque (R-De Pere), is trying to get a vote scheduled in the full Assembly.
The bill was written in response to our Target 2 Investigates reports on residents who take advantage of a loophole in the law.
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Current Wisconsin law fails to lump together OWI offenses on boats, ATVs, UTVs, snowmobiles, and cars. That means operators get different OWI totals for each vehicle.
Target 2 found nearly 30 percent of people arrested for drunk boating in Northeast Wisconsin in the last two years had also been arrested for drunk driving.
More than half had third and fourth OWI offenses on his or her record.
Jacque's bill makes the law more consistent. It treats every OWI in the past five years the same, regardless of what you're operating.