Ohio House wants to increase penalties for drunk driving

Killing someone while driving drunk in Ohio could soon lead to higher fines and more jail time.

A bill to increase penalties for people who kill someone while driving under the influence passed the Ohio House on Wednesday and heads to the Senate.

House Bill 37 creates a new system that increases the mandatory minimum prison sentence based on the number of prior offenses and their severity. For example, there would be a mandatory minimum sentence of up to eight years for aggravated vehicular homicide if the person had no prior offenses and had a blood alcohol content between 0.08% and 0.17%.

If someone has committed two OVI offenses in the past twenty years, they can face a prison sentence of up to twenty years.

Currently, the maximum fine for aggravated murder resulting from an OVI violation is $15,000 for someone with no prior offenses or $20,000 for someone with prior offenses.

The bill would increase all fines to $25,000.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Mark Johnson, R-Chillicothe, and Rep. Kevin Miller, R-Newark, passed the Ohio House 92-0.

Rep. Johnson said he was inspired to advance the legislation after being contacted by two of his constituents who lost their 22-year-old daughter in an OVI crash where the other driver had a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit.

Erin Glynn is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations in Ohio.

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