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Legislature urged to lower drunk-driving standard
by Tom Scheck, Minnesota Public Radio
October 30, 2003

Gov. Pawlenty says lowering the standard of being legally drunk will help protect Minnesotans from drunk drivers. You can listen to his news conference by selecting the audio link. (MPR Photo/Tom Scheck)

Gov. Pawlenty says he'll encourage the Legislature to pass a bill next session that would lower the legal blood alcohol limit from .10 to .08. Pawlenty says lowering the legal limit will reduce the number of drunk drivers on the roads. The state will also receive millions of dollars in federal highway money that was only going to states that have the .08 standard. The Legislature failed to pass the bill in previous sessions. Opponents argue the lower limit could hurt business for bars, restaurants and bowling alleys.

St. Paul, Minn. — Minnesota is one of five states that haven't set a .08 percent blood alcohol limit. Flanked by law enforcement officials and others who have backed the legislation, Gov. Pawlenty said the time has come to pass the bill.

"States that have moved the blood alcohol concentration level from .10 to .08, on average have experienced a five- to 12-percent decline in drunk driving fatalities in their states," he said.

	Not a fan of .08

Pawlenty says there's also a financial incentive to pass the legislation. The federal government has withheld about $6 million in federal highway money from Minnesota to date. The state can recoup that money if lawmakers pass the bill. If they don't change the standard by 2007, the state could lose $66 million in federal highway money.

The bill passed through one committee in the Minnesota Senate last session, but never reached the floor. The Minnesota House didn't take up the bill at all. Committee hearings in previous sessions have been acrimonious.

Public safety personnel and victims of drunk driving-related accidents testified next to bar and restaurant owners who are concerned that they'll lose a significant amount of business.

Sen. Mark Ourada, R-Buffalo, voted against the legislation in previous sessions. He says he's concerned that the federal government is forcing state lawmakers to pass the bill.

Ourada says he doesn't think the state should bow to the financial pressure. He also questions whether the law is targeting the right people.

"The problem is the person who's .12, .15 and above. That's where the real problem is and that's where we should be focusing our attention on. What some of the policemen on the street tell me is if I pull somebody over and they blow an .08, I have no choice. I am now off the street for several hours processing that. Instead I could have been out there trying to find the guy that I really want to get," Ourada said.

Joe Bagnoli, with the Minnesota Licensed Beverage Association, says he's not sure whether the group will oppose the legislation this year. The association has been a vocal and active opponent to the bill in previous years.

Bagnoli says he thinks it's likely that lawmakers will pass the bill in order to preserve federal highway money.

"We recognize that this is an inevitability. Like the governor said, 45 other states in the union have already done this. There is a gun, a financial gun to his head that it's hard for us to responsibly to ask the governor to ignore," according to Bagnoli.

Several lawmakers who have pushed to pass the legislation in recent years applaud the governor but are still worried it might not pass. House Minority Leader Matt Entenza says he's pleased the governor is pushing the bill. The St. Paul DFLer says he hopes Pawlenty can exert some influence on the Republican-controlled House.

Entenza says House Republicans have repeatedly defeated the legislation in recent years. "He could have done it anytime last year when we had a .08 bill and he didn't do it and we should have passed it then. He was very well aware that we were out there trying to pass it so I guess I'm not confident when the governor puts out a press release that it's going to lead to action."

Lawmakers return to the Capitol this February.

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