DUI Penalty Bill Awaits Governor’s Signature

The Brianna Taylor Act has passed both the Senate and House for stiffer DUI penalties.

The bill pushes the “look-back period” for prior drunken driving convictions from five to 10 years. If Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin signs off on the legislation it will be implemented immediately. Should the governor not sign or veto the bill after 10 days, it also will become law.

The bill is named after 17 year-old Brianna Taylor of Elizabethtown, who died in a June 2014 drunken driving crash at the intersection of Patriot Parkway and Deckard School Road. The driver of the truck that slammed into Taylor’s Mustang, 34 year-old Michael Todd Hilton, previously had been convicted six times of DUI.

Currently in Kentucky, a fourth DUI conviction in a five-year period is a Class D felony, punishable by up to five years in prison. Currently the Commonwealth strikes DUI convictions from a driving record after 5 years.

The Brianna Taylor Act will allow convictions to stay on a person’s record for 10 years for repeat offenders, allowing a jury to hear about prior DUI convictions. However, the change does not create new penalties or punishments.

Kentucky law offers community service and fines as an alternative to jail for first-offender drunk and drugged drivers. A second offense earns jail time of one week to six months. A third offense buys one month to one year in custody. A fourth conviction within 10 years is a Class D felony. The minimum punishment is eight months in custody.

Aggravating circumstances can add to an offender’s time in custody. Those include driving in the wrong direction on a limited-access roadway, speeding more than 30 miles per hour above posted limits, registering a blood alcohol level above .15 (.08 is the legal limit), refusing a sobriety test, having a child as a passenger or causing a crash resulting in injury or death.

Last year, a jury sentenced Hilton to life in prison for murder and assault; Brianna Taylor’s death and the injuries inflicted upon her friend, Mickayla Harig of Radcliff. He must serve at least 20 years before he is eligible for parole.
Source: WAVE