A measure to lower the legal limit for drunk driving in Washington cleared its first legislative hurdle Thursday.

If passed, Washington would join Utah as the only state with a 0.05% blood alcohol concentration limit. Other states have considered similar legislation, but haven’t passed it.

Utah made the move in 2018. The state was also the first to lower the limit from 0.1% to 0.08% in the 1980s.

After the switch from 0.08% to 0.05%, Utah saw a 20% drop in fatal crashes, but that figure crept back up during the COVID-19 pandemic, in line with national trends.

The bill in Washington is sponsored by Sen. John Lovick, D-Mill Creek. Lovick was a longtime Washington State Patrol trooper before serving as Snohomish County sheriff. 

“I see driving behavior beyond anything I could have imagined when I started as a state trooper,” Lovick told the Senate Law & Justice Committee this week. “Drivers are speeding, following too close, passing on the shoulders, running red lights, driving aggressively. Drunk drivers have made our communities unsafe.”

Opponents argue the legislation, Senate Bill 5067, would elevate the liability risk for bars and other establishments that sell alcohol.

Traffic deaths have risen rapidly in recent years, from 538 in 2019 to 809 in 2023, according to the Washington Traffic Safety Commission. The 2023 figure was the most deaths on Washington roads since 1990.

Of those 809 deaths, impaired drivers were involved in about half.

Compared to those driving sober, drivers with a blood alcohol concentration over 0.05% are twice as likely to crash, said Mark McKechnie, the director of external relations for the traffic safety commission. When that rises to 0.07%, the risk triples.

Early estimates for the first half of 2024 showed a marked decline in deaths on Washington roads, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The lower legal limit would take effect July 1, 2026. 

As part of the legislation, the Washington Traffic Safety Commission would run a campaign to inform the public of the new legal limit. The Washington State Institute for Public Policy would have to evaluate the impacts of the new law in a report submitted to the Legislature.

By way of background

Lovick and others have tried repeatedly in recent years to lower the legal limit. The measure has never reached the Senate floor.

Last year, one of the proposal’s chief backers, Sen. Marko Liias, D-Edmonds, expressed frustration after the Senate passed over his drunk driving bill and instead took up legislation to solidify “The Evergreen State” as Washington’s official nickname.

Experts have said consuming a beer or a glass of wine with dinner wouldn’t land drivers above the lowered legal limit.

Two hours after his first drink, a 180-pound man would reach 0.05% after drinking three beers or three glasses of wine. The same is true after two hours for a 140-pound woman, after two beers or glasses of wine.

Worldwide, more than 100 countries have legal limits of 0.05% or lower. 

The concerns

As in years past, hospitality industry groups oppose the legislation. They have argued the proposal could hurt bars and other establishments that rely on alcohol sales to stay afloat.

Julia Gorton, a lobbyist for the Washington Hospitality Association, noted it’s already illegal to drive with a 0.05% blood alcohol concentration if officers see clear signs of impairment.

This legislation “will impact those who decide to stop drinking before they are impaired,” she said. “These are individuals choosing to behave responsibly, who will now be subject to the strongest and strictest DUI penalties in the country.”

The Washington Wine Institute’s Executive Director Josh McDonald said it would be hard for servers to identify impairment at the lower legal limit so they could cut off service.

Jason Lantz, of the Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, noted Colorado and New York also have 0.05% limits, but violations at that level come with lower penalties.

He recommended a similar two-tier system, with the 0.05% limit considered “driving after consumption” instead of driving under the influence.

Amy Freedheim, the chair of the Felony Traffic Unit in the King County prosecutor’s office, tried to assuage concerns. She argued the lower limit wouldn’t lead to more arrests or lawsuits against bars held liable for crashes caused by impaired drivers.

On Thursday, Sen. Phil Fortunato, R-Auburn, offered an amendment to Lovick’s bill, lowering a blood alcohol concentration limit already in state law that brings stiffer penalties. The amendment would have dropped the limit from 0.15% to 0.12%. 

Penalties for first-time offenders at the higher threshold include a minimum $500 fine and at least two days in jail, 30 days of electronic home monitoring or a 120-day 24/7 sobriety program.

Below the 0.15% level, drunk driving penalties drop to a minimum fine of $350 and at least one day in jail, 15 days of electronic home monitoring or a 90-day sobriety program.

“Right now you go from .08 to .15. There’s nothing in the middle,” Fortunato said.

Sen. Manka Dhingra, D-Redmond, said she didn’t disagree with Fortunato’s change, but recognized the political reality for the proposal.

“I think it has been very challenging to get this bill out of the Senate with even the decrease to .05,” she said. “Let’s try to focus on getting the limit to .05, and then let’s continue working toward making sure that we are addressing the penalties.”

The committee approved Lovick’s proposal without Fortunato’s amendment. 

The House version of the bill is set for a committee hearing Tuesday.