AN ACT Relating to impaired driving;
SB 5664 is a comprehensive impaired-driving bill that lowers Washington’s per se blood alcohol concentration threshold for driving and being in actual physical control of a vehicle, and also sets THC-based impairment thresholds for cannabis. The bill amends multiple sections of state law governing DUI, physical control, vessel operation, commercial driving, testing, implied consent, and related administrative license actions. It also creates or revises criminal penalties, mandatory minimum jail terms, ignition interlock requirements, electronic home monitoring, sobriety program monitoring, substance use disorder assessment and treatment, and license suspension/revocation periods based on prior offenses and test results.
The bill also adds a public information campaign requirement for the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, directs the Washington State Institute for Public Policy to evaluate the law’s impacts, and states that the act does not change existing civil liability rules for alcohol vendors. In addition to lowering the alcohol limit, the bill expands evidentiary rules for breath and blood testing, updates definitions of prior offenses, and applies the new penalties and administrative consequences across a broad range of driving-related offenses, including commercial motor vehicle and vessel operation.
The bill would substantially amend Washington’s impaired-driving statutes in Title 46 RCW and related provisions, lowering the alcohol concentration threshold for DUI-related offenses and adding THC thresholds for cannabis impairment. It would change criminal classifications, sentencing ranges, mandatory minimums, ignition interlock and monitoring requirements, and Department of Licensing suspension/revocation procedures, while also affecting commercial driver disqualifications and vessel-operation offenses. It further creates new state obligations for public education and post-enactment evaluation, and expressly preserves existing civil-liability law for alcohol vendors.
The bill’s stated purpose and structure reflect a strong public-safety orientation, with legislative findings emphasizing rising traffic fatalities and the need to reduce impaired driving. The overall tone is assertive and prevention-focused, and the bill includes multiple enforcement, monitoring, and treatment provisions consistent with a tough-on-impaired-driving approach. Because no committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, there is no documented legislative debate or recorded opposition in the supplied materials.
The main points of contention implied by the bill are the lowered alcohol limit, the addition of THC-based per se thresholds, and the expanded use of mandatory jail, electronic monitoring, ignition interlock, and license sanctions. Those provisions would most directly affect drivers, people who use cannabis or alcohol, courts, law enforcement, the Department of Licensing, and counties or cities responsible for monitoring costs. The bill also anticipates concerns about fairness and implementation by including affirmative defenses, waiver provisions, treatment options, and a required evaluation of impacts on equity, public safety, and the hospitality industry.