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Panel to vote on drunken driving penalties

By: Associated Press//May 7, 2013//

Panel to vote on drunken driving penalties

By: Associated Press//May 7, 2013//

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MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A legislative committee is scheduled to vote this week on a bill that would ensure repeat drunken drivers spend time behind bars.

The Assembly Judiciary Committee is set to meet on Thursday to take up the measure, which would require judges to impose a three-year prison sentence on seven-, eight- and nine-time offenders and a minimum four-year prison sentence for 10-time offenders and beyond.

Judges also would be required to impose a mandatory 30-day jail sentence on anyone who causes an injury by driving with a blood-alcohol content between 0.04 percent and 0.08 percent.

The bill comes after a state appeals court ruled last month current law leaves a judge free to decide whether to impose prison time.

Committee approval would clear the way for a full Assembly vote.

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