here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cOver the course of the last year, we\u2019ve heard heartbreaking testimony from families across California who have lost loved ones due to drunk driving.\u00a0These are completely preventable deaths, and yet the statistics show that California is falling behind in the fight to stop a growing epidemic,\u201d said Assemblymember Schultz, Chair of the Assembly Public Safety Committee.\u00a0\u201cGovernor Newsom\u2019s signature on AB 1546 strengthens the penalties for repeat DUI offenders, and it\u2019s a positive step forward in our effort to improve public safety in all of our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a former California Highway Patrol sergeant, I have seen firsthand the heartbreak and devastation that impaired driving can leave behind. When someone makes the reckless decision to drive under the influence, the consequences can be irreversible,\u201d said Assemblymember Lackey. \u201cIn an instant, a family can lose a parent, a child can lose a mother or father, and a life that should have continued is gone forever. No family should ever have to suffer that kind of loss because someone chose to drive drunk. These bills are about preventing those tragedies before they happen, and to keep impaired drivers off our roads. I thank Governor Newsom for signing these measures into law. We may come from different political parties, but protecting innocent lives and making sure every Californian has the chance to make it home safely is something we should all stand behind.\u201d<\/p>\n
Strengthening California\u2019s leadership<\/p>\n
Together, the bills reinforce California\u2019s approach to crack down on repeated offenders and deter future drinking and driving incidents. By:<\/p>\n
\u2705 Strengthening criminal penalties for repeat DUI offenders.<\/p>\n
\u2705 Imposing longer license revocation and ignition interlock device mandates for these repeat offenders.<\/p>\n
\u2705 Increasing DMV violation points from two to three for convictions of vehicular manslaughter and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.<\/p>\n
\u2705 Extending the timeframe for how long the DMV can revoke a person\u2019s license after they have been convicted for their third DUI from three to eight years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Prioritizing public safety<\/p>\n
Under Governor Newsom, California has prioritized prevention, education and enforcement to keep impaired drivers off the road.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So far this year, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) has made over 50,900 DUI arrests, conducted 75 sobriety checkpoints and 154 saturation patrols statewide, and delivered 64 traffic safety presentations statewide.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Across the state, partnerships with local law enforcement have also removed impaired drivers from streets and highways. For example, in July 2026, the CHP awarded more than $41 million in cannabis tax-funded grants<\/a> to 183 organizations statewide for impaired-driving enforcement, public education, officer training and forensic testing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Today\u2019s signed bills also include:\u00a0 Assembly Bill 1546 by Assemblymember Nick Schultz (D-Burbank) \u2014 Vehicles: driving under the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":475510,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8],"class_list":["post-475509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475509","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=475509"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475509\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/475510"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=475509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=475509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=475509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}