Washington Senate Panel Considers New Felony DUI Bill

A Washington Senate panel is weighing a measure that would make it a felony charge to drive under the influence when the driver has three prior offenses within 10 years.

The Senate Law & Justice heard testimony on Senate Bill 6090 on Monday, and will likely take a vote on it in the coming days. Under current law, a DUI is a felony only if there are four or more prior offenses within 10 years. Reducing that threshold was an idea that lawmakers considered last year but ultimately decided would be too expensive.

The bill comes from a work group created by a measure signed into law by Gov. Jay Inslee last year which toughened impaired driving laws in Washington after a spate of fatal crashes.