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Bill to mandate ignition devices for first-time DUI offenders moving forward

Victoria Pickering
/
Flickr / Creative Commons

An effort to prevent repeat D-U-I offenses in California is advancing in the state Legislature.

The bill would require ignition interlock devices for every single first-time DUI involving alcohol. Right now, judges can choose whether to require them.

Murrieta Republican Senator Kelly Seyarto supports the bill. He addressed opponents who argue low-income offenders won't be able to afford the monthly costs.

"This notion that somehow somebody can't afford the $54 to rent this thing for the six months that they need to rent if for, " said Seyarto, "they spend more than that on the alcohol that they buy. Drunk driving is a scourge."

The bill has passed the Senate Public Safety Committee. It moves next to Appropriations.