State Lawmaker Warns it's a "Game-Changer" for Drunk Drivers - Valley News Live - KVLY/KXJB - Fargo/Grand Forks

A North Dakota state lawmaker says he's lining up bipartisan support for a new bill he says will be "a game-changer" when it comes to the state's drinking and driving laws.

DFL State Representative Ed Gruchalla says he's got the parameters in place for the bill, which would substantially toughen penalties for drunk drivers.

The new bill calls for a thirty-day stint behind bars and a five thousand dollar fine for first-time offenders.

For the third offense in ten years, it goes up to a hundred thousand dollars, plus five years in prison.

Gruchalla says the laws right now just aren't working.

"I think if we're going to make any progress, we're going to have to focus on being tougher on offenders, and make them sit back and say, I'm not going to do that, because the penalties are just too severe."

Anti-drunk driving activists agree with Gruchalla.

They say our dui rates have risen for the second year in a row, and that people arrested for D.U.I. most often blow a blood alcohol of point one eight or higher.

Gruchalla says the bill would give offenders the chance to modify terms of their sentence by using an ignition interlock system, which would cut dollars and jail time for offenders by requiring them to do a breath-test every time they start their car. Gruchalla says the bill is still not in its final state, and that he's taking input from other lawmakers about what to include in it.