Wis. Lawmakers Trying To Up Drunken Driving Penalties

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Two Republican lawmakers are trying again to increase penalties for repeat drunken driving.

Rep. Jim Ott and Sen. Alberta Darling have introduced a bill that would make a fourth offense a felony punishable by up to three years in prison. Right now a fourth offense is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail.

The measure would increase the maximum prison sentence for fifth and sixth offenses from three years to five; the maximum prison sentence for seventh, eighth and ninth offenses from five years to seven-and-a-half years; and the maximum prison sentence for a tenth offense or more from seven-and-a-half years to a decade.

The Senate's judiciary committee is set to hold a hearing on the measure Thursday. Darling and Ott introduced a similar bill last session.