Nevada considers changes to DUI laws, harsher penalties
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With less than a week in the legislative session, Nevada lawmakers are considering a bill which would change the state's laws for driving under the influence.
Senate Bill 304 would eliminate the threshold of offenses for driving under the influence prosecutors need to charge someone with vehicular homicide. Current law mandates a person have three prior DUI offenses within a seven-year period before they can be charged with vehicular homicide on a fourth offense that results in death.
According to state data, half of deadly crashes on Nevada roads are caused by drunken drivers.
Sandy Heverly, cofounder and executive director of the nonprofit Stop DUI, said she believes the bill could help save lives.
"Why are we giving these people three chances to kill us?," Heverly asked. "We've reached a point where the penalty for the crime should, and must, outweigh the risks these drunken fools are willing to take."
The bill would not only allow charges on the first deadly DUI offense but the person could face more time behind bars. Some public defenders oppose the legislation, saying state law is already tough enough on people charged with DUI. They want more training for alcohol servers and providers to prevent incidents in the first place. The bill was heard in committee last week.
Alyssa Belle Yabut is the eldest daughter of Nevada State Police Trooper Alberto Felix. Felix and Nevada Highway Patrol Sergeant Michael Abbate were killed by an impaired driver while they assisted another driver in 2023. Yabut said DUIs not only take lives, they shatter families.
"Every holiday, every birthday and every ordinary day, we feel his absence," Yabut explained. "Unjustly, under the current Nevada law, that driver could not be charged with vehicular homicide because he didn't have three prior DUIs."
Yabut said she wants the bill to be a turning point for Nevada. Critics warned the bill could lead to steep financial implications for the state and perhaps significantly increase the state's prison population.
