Governor Signs NEW AZ Drunk Driving Law

Governor Napolitano signed into law a bill that would increase penalties for drunk driving and drunk boating in Arizona. Under the new drunk driving laws, a person with a drunk driving conviction will have to undergo a mandatory alcohol or drug screening program as a condition of getting his or her driver’s license reinstated.

The law on operating a boat or watercraft while drunk is said to be one of the toughest in the nation. There is a mandatory 10 day jail sentence for a person convicted of drunk driving in a boat, or “drunken boating”.

An earlier version that the governor vetoed would have reduced the requirement for an ignition interlock device on a 1st offense drunk driving conviction to 6 months, from 1 year. That change was left out of this version, so the required period will remain at 1 year.