Washington Solons Nix 0.5 BAC Limit

A bill introduced in the Washington State Senate to loweer the threshhold for getting arrested for DWI to 0.5BAC from 0.8% BAC died despite being supported by Gov. Jay Inslee.

Proponents argued the lower limit would sav e lives, and asserted the prospect of more money flowing to state  coffers had nothing to do with it.

Washington State's independent wineries and brewery owners said they feared the impact a 0.5% BAC limit would have on tasting rooms. So they opposed it.  Washington Hospitality Association, the Washington Brewers Guild, and the Washington Wine Institute also opposed it.

Washington Trucking Association, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the National Safety Council, the Washington Association for Substance Misuse and Violence Prevention (WASAVP), and the WA Association of Sheriffs & Police Chiefs testified in support of the bill.

Although the bill was defeated this year, you can be sure it will be reintroduced next year.