Earlier this year, Wisconsin's Assembly passed a bill that would impose tougher penalties on certain repeat drunk drivers. Today that bill will become law.
After passing the Senate, the measure passed the Assembly 95-1.
The new law makes a fourth offense OWI a felony regardless of when someone is arrested and the charge is filed. Currently, a fourth offense is only a felony if it's committed within five years of a third.
The bill will also change the way prosecutors can charge drunk drivers with injuries.
Under previous law, an OWI-related injury was defined as "bodily injury that causes a laceration that requires stitches, staples, or a tissue adhesive; any fracture of a bone; a broken nose; a burn; a petechia; a temporary loss of consciousness, sight, or hearing; a concussion; or a loss or fracture of a tooth."
Now prosecutors will be able to charge drunk drivers with any injury caused while under the influence..
