Governor Fallin signed a bill into law which is meant to keep drunk drivers from repeating the offense in different jurisdictions. House Bill 3146, the Impaired Driving Elimination Act (IDEA), prohibits municipal prosecution of a driving under the influence charge unless that municipality has a court of record.
Before HB 3146, repeat DUI offenses could occur in different towns, but would be treated as first time or only time offenses. Under the new law which takes effect on November 1, 2016, DUIs will be prosecuted in courts that are connected, therefore, allowing the prosecutors to know how many times a person has committee or been accused of committing a DUI.
Oklahoma City and Tulsa are the only municipalities with courts of record.
“This is an important tool for prosecutors to be able to better flag and appropriately prosecute repeat drunk drivers,” said Rep. Mike Sanders, the House author of the bill. “The security of Oklahoma families when they are driving on our roads should always be a top priority in public safety.”
Senator Greg Treat was the Senate sponsor for HB 3146.
“This bill closes a loophole that has put Oklahomans’ lives in danger by allowing repeat drunk drivers to get multiple DUI convictions in various jurisdictions without being held accountable,” said Treat. “There are 350 courts not of record in Oklahoma that don’t report DUI convictions to a statewide database. Therefore, someone could get arrested twenty or more times in multiple jurisdictions for DUI and because those convictions aren’t put on their record they’re treated like a first time offender and receive only minimal punishment.”
So, what is the process if someone is accused of DUI in Guymon?
This article is very confusing.