Lawmakers Ready To Pass Sobering Legislation Rules Would Crack Down On Drinking In Capitol, Stiffen Penalties For Drunken Drivers

Reeling from bad press following last year’s boozy final night, House leaders have decided to clamp down on members who drink on the job through new limits rather than an outright ban on alcohol.

The Republican-controlled chamber this week plans to quietly pass a new House rule that says lawmakers cannot drink alcohol in any House facility unless the person or group that furnished the drink has received a “banquet permit” from the state Liquor Control Board.

House Speaker Clyde Ballard, R-East Wenatchee, said he believes the new rule, to be part of the House’s permanent rules, will greatly diminish drinking on the job by House members. Ballard, a nondrinker himself, is cool to the idea of an outright ban on booze in the Capitol, saying it might be overkill.

The approach further dims the prospects of a House measure, HB1068, that would ban possession or consumption of alcohol in legislative buildings. A hearing on the measure, sponsored by Rep. Mark Sterk, R-Spokane, is scheduled for today.

Rep. Tim Sheldon, D-Hoodsport, pushed for the rule change rather than a ban on drinking after concluding the latter was impractical.

“What a ban would do is prevent alcohol at events like the governor’s inaugural ball or at other functions when use of alcohol might be appropriate,” he said.

The idea, Sheldon added, is to create an environment for responsible drinking rather than no drinking.

“I think this rule change will do it. Somebody will have to sign for the permit, and they’ll be responsible. The trouble now is, nobody’s responsible. We get lobbyists bringing in liquor, and members bringing in liquor, and nobody is responsible for what happens with it,” he said.

Responsible drinking was decidedly not the case last March 7, when several House members, only hours away from adjourning the session, were seen drinking on the floor amid consideration of major tax and spending bills, Sheldon and others said.

At least a few had slurred speech and staggered when they left their seats.

Across the Rotunda in the Senate, there are no plans to impose new rules to restrict drinking, said Lt. Gov. Brad Owen.

“We already have tighter rules than the House,” he said, noting that senators are not allowed to drink or eat anything on the floor.

The Senate, by tradition far less lively than the House, did not engage in the sort of revelry seen in the House last year. In other developments Monday:

Drunken driving

People caught twice in seven years for drunken driving could permanently lose their drivers’ licenses under a bill filed this week by state Sen. Don Benton.

“We tend to treat drunk driving much differently than attempted murder. Why? Because they use a car instead of a gun?” said Benton, R-Vancouver.

Under current law, people convicted of drunken driving twice in five years lose their licenses for 15 months.

Benton’s bill, SB5239, would permanently revoke an offender’s license and double the minimum fine from $500 to $1,000 for a person who has offended a second time within seven years and whose blood alcohol content measured less than .15 percent.

If a second-time offender’s alcohol concentration was greater than .15 percent, the fine would double to $1,500 and the license would be revoked.

The bill also includes about $250,000 for electronic advertisement - such as television ads - to inform the public about the consequences of driving drunk.

The measure has been sent to the Senate Law and Justice Committee.

Benton proposed an even tougher version of the bill two years ago when he was a representative in the House, but the measure didn’t pass.