Bill > S914

This bill proposes to amend existing law regarding motor vehicular homicide by establishing progressive penalties, meaning the severity of the punishment increases with repeat offenses. Specifically, it redefines and categorizes offenses related to causing death while operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or operating recklessly or negligently. For a first offense of causing death while under the influence, penalties range from two and a half to fifteen years in state prison or one to two and a half years in jail, with a mandatory minimum of one year served before eligibility for parole or other sentence reductions, and a ten-year license revocation. Subsequent offenses will result in a lifetime revocation of the driver's license. The bill also clarifies the definitions of "recklessly" in this context, defining it as consciously disregarding a substantial and unjustifiable risk to public safety.