JARED MILLER and JOSHUA WOLFSON Star-Tribune staff writers | Posted: Tuesday, February 19, 2008 12:00 am
CHEYENNE - A legislative committee Monday refused to support a bill that would have required accused drunken drivers to sober up before they could be released from jail.
The Senate Judiciary Committee, on a 3-2 vote, killed Senate File 59 because of technical, constitutional and fiscal concerns, said committee chairman Tony Ross, R-Cheyenne.
"I appreciate the fact that it's a difficult issue, but at the same time I was disappointed," said the sponsor of the legislation, Sen. Bill Landen, R-Casper, after the defeat. "I felt like it was reasonable to ask that anyone arrested for drunken driving be sober before we let them out."
SF 59 was drafted in response to a grisly incident late last year when a Casper man suffered massive internal injuries after being dragged underneath a sport utility vehicle. Police say the SUV was driven by a Lander man suspected of driving drunk soon after his release from Natrona County Detention Center on an earlier DUI arrest.
Some Wyoming sheriffs, who operate county jails, already require sobriety before they will allow DUI offenders to be released, but others insist they don't have that power under current state law.
Natrona County Sheriff Mark Benton, who pushed for the legislation along with Casper Police Chief Tom Pagel, said he was disappointed the bill died.
"I think it is important, and I think every sheriff in the state would agree with me," Benton said. "I felt like we had some pretty broad support."
Benton held out hope the legislation would be considered again in the future.
"We've probably seen the last of it for this session, but it will be back next year," he said.