By: Associated Press//May 14, 2013//
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The state Assembly has passed a Republican bill that would ensure repeat drunken drivers spend time behind bars.
The bill would require judges to impose 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 while driving drunk and commercial drivers with a blood-alcohol content of 0.04 percent to 0.08 percent who cause an injury.
The bill comes after a state appeals court ruled last month current law leaves a judge free to decide whether to impose prison time.
The Assembly approved the measure Tuesday on a 95-1 vote. The bill now goes to the state Senate.