Capitol News Update

 

May 16, 2008

 

Drunk Driving & Budget Repair

For the past month at the State Capitol, two topics have dominated the rest: drunk driving penalties and the budget repair bill.

In late April, an Oconomowoc woman, her unborn child and her ten-year old daughter were killed when their car was hit by an intoxicated driver who had been convicted of driving under the influence three times before.  The incident has sparked a statewide debate on how to improve Wisconsin’s drunk driving laws.

I am part of a bipartisan group of legislators working on new laws to address this issue.  The new law would mandate vehicle impoundment and license revocation for third time OWI offenders, and prevent individuals from getting behind the wheel by sending them directly to jail following sentencing.

Over the years, the Legislature has strengthened laws dealing with OWI offenders, but we must continually push for effective improvements.  Current penalties available to judges include license revocation, vehicle immobilization and the use of ignition interlock devices (IID).  While the courts generally prefer to be allowed discretion in the use of these tools, many legislators frustrated by the drunk driving crisis are looking to mandate those penalties.  It’s unfortunate that incarceration is the only way to prevent some people from making horrific decisions, but not nearly as tragic as seeing innocent people injured or killed.

The other big story from the Capitol is the recent passage of the “budget repair bill.”  As you may recall, Governor Doyle’s state budget had a $650 million deficit only months after it became law.  Instead of taking this opportunity to make real spending cuts, the Legislature passed a budget repair bill that relied on borrowing, fund transfers and refinancing.  It was a short-term, short-sighted ‘solution’ that missed an opportunity to get our fiscal house in order.

A slowing economy already foreshadows a $1.7 billion deficit in the next budget.  By not making tough spending decisions today, the state budget is set up for more shortfalls tomorrow.  Credit card spending and accounting tricks don’t solve recurring budget deficits.  Spending cuts do.

While the people of Wisconsin are at their kitchen tables today making tough decisions about their family budgets, the state is putting off its own tough decisions for tomorrow.