"The law must be stable, but it must not stand still." -Roscoe Pound

MADD has served a vital role in determining legislation by assisting in the passage of more than 2,300 anti-drunk driving and underage drinking laws since its founding.  The organization’s most well-known legislative accomplishment came in 1984 when a federal law required all states to increase the legal drinking age to 21 or else e lose highway funding.  MADD continues to press for legislation that will help fulfill its mission to stop drunk driving, support the victims of this violent crime, and prevent underage drinking.

MADD NC is currently working on our legislative agenda for 2009.  Items we will be focusing on this year will include potentially mandantory interlock for first time offenders, initiatives to curb continuances and vertical drivers licences for youth under 21.  Check back to see updates on our initatives and ways you can help.  Click the following link to find our more about our Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving Initiatives and to sign our pledge: https://secure2.convio.net/madd/site/SPageServer?pagename=wp6_pledge&JServSessionIdr007=3jp0x4kz73.app1a

MADD NC request your support of House Bill #1489 http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2009&BillID=H1489

This bill is part of our overall Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving initiative.   It would require all convicted DWI offenders over the legal limit of .08 BAC to be required to have an ignition interlock on every vehicle they drive.  Help support our effort by contacting your representatives (NC Legislature link : www.ncleg.net) and ask them support this bill and others which will help keep our roadways safe.

Visit www.ncleg.net to search for other DWI or Underage Drinking legislation in this years session.

Click links to find out more about Ignition Interlock  Interlock US    Interlock QA

MADD is also asking you to support Senate Bill #158 which would require prison time for ALL drunk driving crashes involving death.

We are asking you to Read more about this Senate Bill on this link:  SB158

.08 Per Se

Law that makes it illegal to operate a motor vehicle at or above .08 Blood Alcohol Concentration.   All 50 states have a law regarding .08 BAC.

Administrative License Revocation

Used generically to indicate either Administrative License Revocation or Administrative License Suspension.  This law provides for prompt administrative license suspension of offenders who fail a BAC test by registering above the illegal limit or refuse to submit to a test.  Currently, there are nine states that do not have Administrative License Revocation.  These states are: Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Tennessee.

Child Endangerment

Law that creates a separate offense or enhances existing DUI/DWI penalties for offender who drives under the influence with a minor child in a vehicle.  Currently, 13 states do not have child endangerment laws.

Dram Shop

A term referring to liability of establishments arising out of the sale of alcohol to obviously intoxicated persons or minor who subsequently cause death or injury to third-parties as a result of alcohol-related crashes.  There are nine states without dram shop laws.

Fake ID

A statute that creates an offense for an underage person to use a fraudulent ID and provides for a driver’s license suspension for attempting to purchase alcohol using a false ID.  All 50 states have laws regarding fake ID.

Felony DUI

Law that makes DUI/DWI a felony offense based on the number of prior convictions.  There are three states that do not have felony DUI.

Graduated Drivers Licensing

Graduated Drivers Licensing: a three-tiered licensing system under which novice drivers are given full driving privileges gradually, after an extended period of education, supervised driving with nighttime restrictions and citation and alcohol-free driving record.  There are ten states that do not have graduated drivers licensing.

Happy Hour Laws

A term used to refer to reduced price or multiple drink alcohol sales practices and promotions that encourage excessive alcohol consumption.  There are 29 states without happy hour laws.

High BAC

High BAC refers to a driver who drives with a blood alcohol concentration of .15 or higher at the time of arrest.  There are 17 states without high BAC.

Ignition Interlock

A device installed in an offender’s vehicle that prevents it from starting if the driver’s BAC is above a specified set limit.  There are seven states without ignition interlock.

Lower BAC for Repeat Offender

These laws pertain to offenders who have had one or more prior DUI/DWI convictions.  Laws affecting the repeat intoxicated offender include: licensing sanctions, vehicle sanctions, addressing alcohol abuse, mandatory sentencing.  There are 47 states without lower BAC for repeat offender.

Mandatory Alcohol Assessment/Treatment

Mandatory alcohol assessment and treatment: law that mandates that convicted DUI/DWI offenders undergo an assessment of alcohol abuse problems and participate in required treatment program.  There are 11 states without mandatory alcohol assessment/treatment.

Mandatory Alcohol Education

A law which mandates that convicted DUI/DWI offenders complete an alcohol education program before driving privileges can be reinstated.  There are 13 states without mandatory alcohol education.

Mandatory BAC Testing for Drivers who Survive

Mandatory blood alcohol testing of all drivers involved in serious injury crashes who survive.  There are 11 states without mandatory BAC testing for drivers who survive.

Mandatory Jail 2^nd Offense

A statute that mandates an individual who has been convicted of a second offense of DUI/DWI receive a jail term as part of the sanctions he/she receives.  There are four states without mandatory jail 2^nd offense.

Open Container Law that is TEA-21 Compliant

Open container laws prohibit the possession of any open alcoholic beverage container and the consumption of any alcoholic beverage in the passenger area of a motor vehicle.  Since every state has laws to prevent and punish impaired driving, open container laws can serve as an important tool in the fight against impaired driving.  There are 12 states without open container law that is TEA-21 compliant.

Preliminary Breath Tester

Portable breath testing device used to determine BAC of suspected DUI/DWI offenders.  There are 20 states without preliminary breath tester.

Primary Belt Law

Law allowing police to stop and ticket a driver for non-use of safety belt without requiring that the driver commit or be cited for another offense.  There are 28 states without primary belt laws.

Repeat Offender Law that is TEA-21 Compliant

Repeat offenders are those offenders who have two or more drunk driving offenses.  In order to comply with TEA-21, the statute must include the following four penalties:

1. A minimum one-year hard license suspension
2. Impoundment, immobilization of the installation of an ignition interlock device on all vehicles owned by the offender
3. All offenders must undergo an assessment of their degree of alcohol abuse and the law must authorize the imposition of treatment as appropriate
4. There must be a mandatory minimum sentence.

There are 12 states without repeat offender law that is TEA-21 compliant.

Selling Alcohol to Youth

Usually enforced by the state’s alcohol beverage commission (ABC), these laws empower the ABC to rescind the license of any business that knowingly sells alcohol to an underage individual.  All 50 states have selling alcohol to youth laws.

Sobriety Checkpoints

An enforcement program that allows officers to stop all or predetermined vehicles to check for sobriety of the drivers.  There are ten states without sobriety checkpoints.

Social Host

Social Host liability: statute or case law that imposes potential liability on social hosts as a result of their serving alcohol to obviously intoxicated persons or minors who subsequently are involved in crashes causing death or injury to third-parties.  There are 19 states without social host laws.

Vehicle Confiscation

Seizure of the vehicle operated by an offender at the time the alcohol-related offense was committed.  There are 24 states without vehicle confiscation.

Vehicle Impound

Seizure and impoundment of the vehicle operated by a DUI/DWI offender for a predetermined period of time.  There are 24 states without vehicle impound.

Vehicle Sanctions while Suspended

Seizure and sale of the vehicle operated by an offender at the time the alcohol-related offense was committed.  There are 31 states without vehicle sanctions while suspended.

Vehicular Homicide

Statutes which allow a homicide charge to be brought against an individual who kills another person through the operation of a motor vehicle, either intentionally or negligently.  There are four states without vehicular homicide.

Victim Rights Constitutional Amendment

An amendment to the Constitution of the U.S. or a state, that guarantees a crime victim the right to be notified of, present at, and heard at, all stages of the criminal justice process at which the defendant has such rights.  These rights should also include the right to restitution and the right to be notified of an inmate’s escape or release from prison.  There are 18 states without Victim Rights constitutional amendments.

Youth Attempt at Purchase

A statute which makes it illegal for a person younger than 21 years of age to attempt to purchase alcohol.  There are 14 states without youth attempt at purchase.

Youth Purchase

Laws that make it an offense for an individual younger than 21 years of age to purchase alcohol and provide for significant penalties including driver’s license suspension.  All 50 states have laws regarding youth purchase of alcohol.

Zero Tolerance

Law that makes it illegal for drivers under the age of 21 to operate a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol level of .02 or more.  All 50 states have zero tolerance.

For other Stats & Resources: www.madd.org/Drunk-Driving/Drunk-Driving/laws/State.aspx?state=North%20Carolina

MADD-NC LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES

Victims of Crime Act

Alcohol related deaths have decreased by more than 40 percent since MADD’s founding, but drunk driving still remains the nation’s most frequently committed violent crime.   The Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) is the only federal grant program supporting direct assistance services to victims of all types of crimes.  Some 4,400 local programs now depend on VOCA assistance grants annually to provide services to nearly 4 million crime victims. 

The Administration plans to wipe out VOCA funds that support victim services in the FY 2006 proposed budget, although VOCA funds do not rely on taxpayer-generated revenue.  VOCA money comes from the Crime Victims Fund that is made up entirely of collections from Federal criminal fines, forfeitures, and special assessments.

MADD is the nation’s largest crime victims’ assistance organization, so funds provided through VOCA are vital to MADD’s success.  MADD uses VOCA money to fund victim advocates and victim services.  Without VOCA funding, thousands of victims of drunk driving would go unprotected.  This funding is critical to protecting victims’ rights, and MADD needs your help to convince Congress to reject the Administration’s attempt to zero out the Crime Victims Fund.

We need you to:

• Forward this alert to your MADD cohorts, friends, family, and any one else you think has an interest in making sure that victims’ rights are protected.
• Email your representatives at https://secure2.convio.net/madd/site/Advocacy?id=125
• Fax a letter to your representatives (you can find their faxes at their home pages at www.house.gov and www.senate.gov)
• If you would like to get more involved, call your representative and senators and tell them you would like them to support the bill (you can find their phone numbers on these Web pages as well).

Regulating the Sale of Malt Beverage Kegs

Underage drinking is America ’s number one youth drug problem, killing 6.5 times more young people than all other illicit drugs combined.  The dangers of underage drinking include:

• Damage to growing brains
• Alcohol dependence
• Violence
• Dropping out of school
• Drinking and driving
• Riding with drinking drivers
• Unplanned and unsafe sex
• Fatalities and injuries from drowning, burns, falls, homicides, suicides, and crashes

To combat underage drinking, MADD is making Senate Bill 476 and House Bill 892 priority issues.  One law that aid underage drinking law enforcement is keg registration proposed in H892 by Representatives Insko and Hackney.  This simple and low cost step encourages sellers to be responsible, discourages adults from purchasing alcohol for underage drinkers, and deters young people from attempting to purchase alcohol.  As a result, keg registration laws are associated with a significant decrease in traffic fatalities.

Sponsors: Senators Graham and Dannelly  S476

                Representatives Insko and Hackney  H892

MADD-NC

Is  happy to announce that our efforts to make the 'Open Container Law' that was due to expire September 30, 2006 permanent, have gained support from members of the senate and legislature.  We appreciate everyone's support in contacting their legislator in support of this valuable law.

MADD of North Carolina would like to thank everyone involved in helping make sure that House Bill 1048 became law.  MADD staff and volunteers along with lawmakers across the state have worked hard over the past 3 years through the Governors DWI Taskforce, which made the recommendations for this legislation.  Over the past 6 months as well as hosted our MADD day at the Legislature where we distributed over 1200 ice cream sandwiches, nutty buddies and ice cream bars while promoting our initiatives.  We appreciate the tremendous support from our volunteers and thank each of the lawmakers that voted in support of this legislation, which will save lives.  To learn more about this bill Click Here

Ways you can help MADD legislative initiatives :

• Forwarding alerts to other MADD members, friends, family, and anyone else who wants to stop drunk driving, support the victims of this violent crime, and prevent underage drinking.
• Email or write a letter to your state senators and representatives.
• Call your senators and representatives to express your opinion on new bills and legislation.