Manendo tries again for .08 drunken driving law

Monday, March 15, 1999 | 10:35 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Assemblyman Mark Manendo, D-Las Vegas, renews his effort today to toughen drunk driving laws by reducing the blood alcohol level to .08. An attempt failed two years ago, but Manendo figures the bill has a good chance of passage this time.

Manendo has changed the bill so that the .08 measurement would apply only in cases of injury or property damage. And the Nevada Resort Association, the organization of Las Vegas casinos that successfuly fought the measure last time, has dropped its opposition.

"The number one argument is saving people and protecting people," said the third-term assemblyman. The bill, to be introduced today in the Assembly, has at least 20 co-sponsors, and Manendo said he has lined up the Nevada Highway Patrol, the Nevada Parent-Teachers Association, STOP DUI and MADD to support the measure.

Currently, drivers with blood alcohol levels of .10 can be charged with drunken driving. That would continue. But under the Manendo bill, drivers involved in traffic accidents that cause injury or property damage could be charged with drunk driving if the alcohol level in the blood is only .08.

The law would also apply to those who drive boats.

Manendo's bill would also raise the minimum fine for first offense for drunken driving to $500 from $200. Maximum penalty would still be six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Minimum fine for a second offense would rise from $500 to $750. Maximum sentence for a second offense in a seven-year span would be at least 10 days' confinement with a maximum of six months in jail, a $1,000 fine and 200 hours of community service. Manendo's bill takes away judges' discretion to reduce community service for extenuating circumstances.

There have been a number of attempts in past year to lower the blood alcohol to .08, and the Nevada Resort Association has always opposed it. Jim Mulhall, director of governmental relations for the association, said it decided it would be neutral this time around.

The association is involved this session in fighting a proposed tax increase and other legislation.

Gov. Kenny Guinn, according to his chief of staff Peter Ernaut, has not supported the lower level for drunken driving in the past, but it was not clear whether he would support Manendo's changed proposal.

Manendo said the law needs to be toughened to make drivers who have been drinking take responsibility for their actions.

"If you're not at the legal limit and you crash into somebody's car, I don't know if they can get you for driving under the influence," he said. "Now it's just, 'I swerved off the road, I hit your car, the insurance company takes over and everything is fine."'

One concern of Manendo's is the money. His proposal in 1997 would have cost the state $600,000 to send more people to prison on the charges. Manendo says he doesn't know the fiscal impact of his modified version. "It may be different than in the past," he said.

The bill two years ago died in the Assembly Ways and Means Committee, which also expressed concern at the cost.

He said the .08 laws enacted in other states have reduced deaths. "We can get these people off the street earlier."