Tougher DUI measure passes Assembly panel

Scott Reeder

Friday, April 9, 1999 | 10:32 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A bill that would lower the legal threshold for drunken driving has cleared the Assembly Judiciary Committee and now goes to another committee.

Assembly Bill 559, passed by the committee Thursday with only one opposing vote, represents a compromise in lowering the blood alcohol level required to be considered drunk while driving from 0.10 to 0.08. It would lower the DUI limit only for those involved in accidents.

It now goes to the Assembly Ways and Means Committee, where Committee Chairman Morse Arberry, D-Las Vegas, has said the cost of putting more people in prison because of a tougher DUI law is too high.

Even with the compromise, the measure, which has failed repeatedly in past sessions of the Legislature, has garnered stiff opposition.

Harvey Whittemore, a lobbyist for the Nevada Beer Wholesalers Association, has said this legislation is nothing more than an attempt to move the state back toward the days of Prohibition.

In addition to the Nevada Beer Wholesalers, the Nevada Restaurant Association and the Nevada Hotel Motel Association have expressed opposition to the legislation.

The powerful Nevada Resort Association, which represents major Las Vegas casinos, has not taken a stand on the bill.

Assemblyman Mark Manendo, D-Las Vegas, the bill's sponsor, said he expects a tough fight as AB559 moves through the Legislature.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.