It\u2019s been more than four decades yet Rhonda Campbell\u2019s voice still quavered as she stood before a row of television cameras recalling the day in 1981 when a repeat drunk driver killed her 12-year-old sister. She remembers her father crying as he told her what happened, still hears her mother\u2019s scream when the coffin lid closed.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor our family, 45 years means 45 years of missed birthdays, missed holidays and that empty chair at our table for every holiday gathering. Grief does not fade, it just becomes part of who you are,\u201d Campbell, victim services manager for Mothers Against Drunk Driving California, said Thursday at a press conference.<\/p>\n
Campbell joined other victim relatives, lawmakers, advocates, a police chief and a trauma surgeon on a Capitol building stage, all there to build momentum for what\u2019s shaping up to be the biggest legislative effort to address dangerous driving in a generation.<\/p>\n
Next to them as they spoke was a table filled with photos of people killed on California\u2019s roads and one old pair of gym shoes belonging to Campbell\u2019s sister.<\/p>\n
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\u201cBehind every statistic that you will hear today, someone is loved and irreplaceable,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
A bipartisan coalition of state lawmakers has so far introduced 10 bills this year as part of an unprecedented legislative package aimed at confronting California\u2019s permissive roadway safety laws. Many of the proposals directly address issues CalMatters uncovered as part of the ongoing License to Kill<\/a> series, which revealed how the state has routinely allowed dangerous drivers to stay on the road as its roadway death toll has skyrocketed.<\/p>\n Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris, a Democrat from Irvine, called the package of bills \u201cCalifornia\u2019s largest and most significant anti-drunk driving and anti-DUI push in over two decades.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis crisis is an urgent call to action,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Her colleague on the other side of the aisle, Assemblymember Tom Lackey of Palmdale, said \u201cit\u2019s time.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe are failing, folks, and I\u2019m so heartened by this big coalition of people. I\u2019ve waited 12 years for this,\u201d he said, referring to his time in the legislature after decades as a CHP officer.<\/p>\n Lawmakers said to expect a few more bills next week before the deadline to propose new legislation. Several Republican legislators also asked for a formal audit into DMV records and Democrats plan to propose a separate audit of how the state spends its traffic safety funds.<\/p>\n At Thursday\u2019s event, lawmaker after lawmaker stepped to the podium to discuss their proposals and call on colleagues to join them in doing something about traffic deaths. They were often followed by grieving parents, there to talk about unfathomable loss.<\/p>\n For one father, Anatoly Varfolomeev, it was almost too much. He struggled to address the audience, at one point gripping the podium and lowering his head, overcome with emotion before gathering the strength to continue.<\/p>\n Varfolomeev said he\u2019d planned to cite some of the statistics regarding motor vehicle fatalities but it was clear listening to the speakers that they were well known.<\/p>\n \u201cThat means that this legislative initiative is long-time overdue,\u201d Varfolomeev said.<\/p>\n His daughter and her childhood friend, both 19, were killed in November 2021 by a drunk driver going more than 100 miles per hour, Varfolomeev said. The driver served just three and a half years behind bars, Varfolomeev said.<\/p>\n As we reported last year<\/a>, vehicular manslaughter isn\u2019t considered a violent felony in California, meaning drivers who kill can serve only a fraction of their sentence behind bars.<\/p>\n \u201cSo this is not a violent crime,\u201d he said, holding up a picture of the mangled, charred remains of a car. \u201cIf this is not a violent crime what is?\u201d<\/p>\n One of the bills in the package would add vehicular manslaughter to the state\u2019s list of violent felonies.<\/p>\n A mom, Kellie Montalvo, was there to support the change and the rest of the bill package. Her son Benjamin Montalvo had just turned 21 and was riding his bike when a woman with prior reckless crashes ran him over and fled the scene.<\/p>\n The woman who killed Benjamin \u2013 \u201cBean Dip\u201d as his family affectionately called him \u2013 is due to be released from prison as early as this weekend. She called on Governor Newsom to do something.<\/p>\n \u201cPlease come out now publicly and support these bills. You have an opportunity to lead the charge in supporting victims,\u201d she said. \u201cHis name was \u2018Bean Dip\u2019, and he mattered.\u201d<\/p>\n Together, the bills are aimed at strengthening the state\u2019s enforcement system and keeping many reckless drivers from behind the wheel for years longer. The package would bring the state more in line with much of the country, particularly when it comes to handling drunk and drugged drivers.<\/p>\n California saw a more than 50% spike in DUI-related deaths over the most recent 10 years for which federal estimates were available, an increase more than twice as steep as the rest of the country. As our investigation<\/a> has shown, California currently has some of the weakest DUI laws in the country.<\/p>\n \u201cSafer roads are not a partisan or political issue. They are the basic responsibility we owe to every family that travels upon our roadways,\u201d said Alex Gammelgard, past president of the California Police Chiefs Association.<\/p>\n Yet, even as the number of deaths on our roads soared, California leaders have previously failed to confront<\/a> these issues.<\/p>\n Many of the bills are sure to face significant challenges in the months to come. Financial concerns, for example, have helped doom previous efforts to pass expanded use of the in-car breathalyzers known as ignition interlock devices. A proposal to bring California in line with much of the rest of the nation is back on the table as part of the current package. Increasing criminal penalties could also be a tough sell in a legislature that\u2019s been so focused in recent years on criminal justice reforms and alternatives to incarceration.<\/p>\n It was a challenge some on the stage alluded to.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to align myself with the idea of compassion. I think California has done a lot to try to be on the compassionate side of the justice system,\u201d said Assemblymember Dawn Addis, a Democrat from San Luis Obispo.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I think, in this moment,\u201d she added, \u201cwe have tragically failed.\u201d<\/p>\n Lawmakers have a little more than a week before the deadline to introduce new legislation for the session.<\/p>\n The bills highlighted at Thursday\u2019s press conference would:<\/p>\n Make vehicular manslaughter a violent felony and increase DUI penalties<\/p>\n (Introduced<\/a> by Senator Bob Archuleta, a Democrat from Norwalk.)<\/p>\n Issue: Vehicular manslaughter isn\u2019t considered a \u201cviolent\u201d felony under state law, our reporting<\/a> showed, allowing people convicted of the crime to serve only a fraction of their time behind bars.<\/p>\n Proposed changes: This bill would add vehicular manslaughter with \u201cgross negligence\u201d to the list of violent felonies. It would also add prison time for crashes with multiple victims and drivers with a prior felony DUI within 10 years. Finally, the bill would stiffen penalties for hit-and-run collisions where the driver had a prior DUI and expand so-called \u201cWatson advisements\u201d that make it easier to charge repeat DUI offenders with murder if they kill someone.<\/p>\n Close the DMV point loophole for drivers who get diversion after a deadly crash<\/p>\n (Introduced<\/a> by Assemblymember Lori Wilson, a Democrat from Suisun City.)<\/p>\n Issue: Recent criminal justice reform laws made it easier for judges to wipe misdemeanor convictions \u2014 including vehicular manslaughter \u2014 from criminal records. In practice, that means some California drivers can get points added to their license for speeding, but not for killing someone, our reporting<\/a> has shown.<\/p>\n Proposed change: Ensure the DMV adds points to a drivers license in vehicular manslaughter cases where a driver gets off with misdemeanor diversion instead of a criminal conviction.<\/p>\n Ensure deadly drivers don\u2019t get their licenses back as soon as they get out of prison<\/p>\n (Wilson plans to introduce.)<\/p>\n Issue: License suspensions or revocations often start at the time of a conviction and can actually end before someone is released from prison.<\/p>\n Proposed change: Require license suspensions and revocations to start when a driver is released from incarceration as opposed to at the time of a conviction, potentially keeping licenses away from dangerous drivers for years longer than the current law.<\/p>\n Increase DMV points for fatal crashes\u00a0<\/p>\n (Introduced<\/a> by Assemblymembers Tom Lackey, a Republican from Palmdale, and Cottie Petrie-Norris, a Democrat from Irvine.)<\/p>\n Issue: California drivers currently get the same number of points<\/a> added to their license for killing someone as they do for non-injury DUIs and hit-and-run collisions.<\/p>\n Proposed change: Increase the number of points a vehicular manslaughter conviction adds to a driver\u2019s license from the current two points to three.<\/p>\n Allow prosecutors to charge DUIs as a felony on second offense\u00a0<\/p>\n (Introduced<\/a> by Lackey)<\/p>\n Issue: It currently takes four DUIs within 10 years<\/a> to be charged with a felony in California. Many other states allow prosecutors to charge a felony after two or three offenses.<\/p>\n Proposed change: This would allow prosecutors to charge a second DUI offense within 10 years as a felony.<\/p>\n Allow prosecutors to charge DUIs as a felony after third offense, increase repeat DUI penalties<\/p>\n (Introduced<\/a> by Assemblymember Nick Schultz, a Democrat from Burbank)<\/p>\n Issue: Habitual repeat DUI offenders often face few added penalties<\/a>.<\/p>\n Proposed change:\u00a0Similar to Lackey\u2019s bill, Schultz\u2019s would let prosecutors charge a driver with a felony for their third DUI in 10 years. Increase the time some repeat DUI offenders need to have an ignition interlock device installed on their car and the amount of time their driving privileges are revoked.<\/p>\n Revoke the licenses of repeat DUI offenders for longer\u00a0<\/p>\n (Introduced<\/a> by Lackey)<\/p>\n Issue: California takes away repeat DUI offenders\u2019 driving privileges for three years, less time than many other places. Some other states revoke licenses<\/a> for up to 15 years, or even issue lifetime bans.<\/p>\n Proposed change: Increase the amount of time the DMV can revoke the driving privileges of someone who gets a third DUI to eight years.<\/p>\n Bar people convicted of serious or repeat DUIs from purchasing alcohol<\/p>\n (Introduced<\/a> by Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom, a Democrat from Stockton.)<\/p>\n Issue: California\u2019s current system allows many repeat DUI offenders to stay on the road with few safeguards.<\/p>\n Proposed change: Let judges essentially bar people convicted of serious or repeat DUIs from purchasing alcohol by adding a \u201cNO ALCOHOL SALE\u201d sticker to their driver\u2019s licenses, similar to a law<\/a> recently enacted in Utah. A \u201cSevere DUI\u201d would be defined as an offense with a blood-alcohol level at least twice as high as the legal limit , conviction for two DUIs within three years, or a DUI causing great bodily injury, death, or major property damage.<\/p>\n Mandate in-car breathalyzers for all DUI offenders<\/p>\n (Introduced<\/a> by Petrie-Norris)<\/p>\n Issue: Most states already require all DUI offenders to install an in-car breathalyzer. California does not<\/a>. State law currently requires the devices, which a driver must blow into for their car to start, for people convicted of two or more DUIs, or a DUI that results in injury.<\/p>\n Proposed change: Require the breathalyzers for all DUI offenders. (A nearly identical measure<\/a> was gutted late in the legislative process last year after the DMV said it did not have the technology or funding to implement the changes.)<\/p>\n Expand law enforcement DUI training<\/p>\n