21-04-2025
DWI-related bills working way through legislative session
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Several DWI-related bills are making their way through the Texas legislature this session.
The one with the most movement involves implementing a minimum five-year sentence for anyone convicted of intoxication manslaughter. The current punishment range is 2-20 years with various provisions.
Susan Davis spoke in favor of this bill – HB1760 – as the Committee on Corrections took it up.
'Nine years, four months and 20 days ago, I received a phone call that no parent wants to get. 'Your child has been involved in an accident and it's critical you get to the hospital as quickly as possible,'' she said.
Davis said her son and daughter-in-law were hit and killed by a drunk driver as they crossed the street on their way to a Dallas Mavericks game. Davis said prosecutors originally told her they wouldn't allow a plea deal because this was an 'open and shut' case. According to her testimony, that driver – whose blood alcohol content was twice the legal limit – ultimately did get a plea deal and served 120 days spread out 'at his convenience' over five years of probation.
'This was a slap in the face to our children and their forever grieving families,' she said.
The Committee on Corrections has made a recommendation in favor of this bill.
Erin Crawford-Bowers, an executive board member for Mothers Against Drunk Driving, works every session to push legislation like this through.
She has her own personal connection to this topic.
'When my parents were killed back in 1985, the offender only served three months in jail and did three months of probation,' she said. 'The ripple effects it has on families and kids, and all from making one small decision in your life.'
For her, legislative change is more than what's on paper – it's the underlying message it represents.
'If we can just change the mindset of Texans to say it's not okay to have a couple of drinks and get behind the wheel. Because until it happens to you you don't understand the repercussions it has on you, your family, the mental health aspect,' she said.
Other bills up this session include one that would make it more difficult to disprove someone was under the influence and another that would help maintain the quality of roadside DWI memorial signs.
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