'Five strikes' OWI bill gains momentum
Dan Peterson of Racine urged lawmakers last week to support "five strikes and you're out," a bill sponsored by Green Bay-area Reps. Eric Genrich and Andre Jacque. Peterson's son James and a friend were killed in June when an SUV driven by a man accused of being drunk plowed into the sedan carrying James Peterson and two friends. One of the friends also died in the crash, which occurred in Racine.
"It was very moving," Genrich, D-Green Bay, said of the testimony.
With the bill having had its first hearing, its Assembly sponsors are growing more optimistic the measure will become law.
Jacque, R-De Pere, said he expects state Rep. Jim Ott will schedule the Assembly Judiciary Committtee to hear the bill in December, though Ott's office said it couldn't confirm that.
The bill would enable the state to permanently revoke the driver's license of a person with five or more OWI offenses, or who has committed three or more OWIs and has two or more convictions for certain other felonies involving motor vehicles.
While supporters acknowledge that revoking the licenses of repeat offenders won't stop all of them from continuing to drive, they say taking some off the streets would be a good thing.
"Someone with five OWIs has committed a violation, two misdemeanors and two felonies," De Pere Police Chief Derek Beiderwieden said. "We need to get them off the streets. There could be real value in this."
A person whose license is revoked under the bill would not be eligible for an occupational license.
Someone who lost a license under "five strikes and you're out" could reapply for a license after 10 years, but only if he or she has not been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor in those 10 years, complies with a drug-and-alcohol assessment by an approved public treatment facility and agrees to be governed by a driver safety plan.
The measure also has the support of law enforcement groups, including the Wisconsin Professional Police Association and the Badger State Sheriff's Association. Brown County Sheriff John Gossage and Judge Donald Zuidmulder have spoken in support of the measure.
Click here for the rest of the story!!