The federal government bullied the states into lowering the blood alcohol level at which point a driver is considered drunk to .08 years ago by threatening to remove federal transportation funds for state that didn’t comply. Now the feds want to go even lower, taking the legal limit down to .05 BAC. WASHINGTON — States…
North Dakota Has The Highest Number Of Bars Per Capita
According to data compiled by the Helena Independent Record, North Dakota has a total of 422 bars, an average of one bar for every 1,500 people. That’s the highest state-level concentration in the nation. Learn About Tableau That’s an interesting, though not entirely surprising, revelation. There are no doubt several factors contributing to it. First,…
Mother Who Pushed For Tougher DUI Laws In North Dakota Gets Picked Up For Alcohol-Related Offense
Back during the legislative session proponents of tougher DUI laws went to lengthy theatrics to get their point across. The twisted wreckage of a high-profile DUI crash was installed on the capitol steps. Tombstones were put outside the legislative chambers. The family of DUI victims were put on display as absolute moral authorities on the…
House Passes Tougher DUI Bill
The House today concurred with the Senate’s version of the DUI bill, sending it to Governor Jack Dalrymple for signature. Here’s what it does: For a first offense the fine goes from $250 to $500 along with mandatory addiction treatment. Unless you have over a 0.16 blood alcohol level, in which case the fine goes…
Guest Post: ND Legislators Used Phony Statistics To Support Bottle Rockets Ban
It is unfortunate that HB1257, which would have lifted the ban on bottle rocket sales in North Dakota, failed on the Senate floor yesterday despite all of the available data that proves bottle rockets aren’t as dangerous as opponents would like you to think. Instead, the Senate voted to punish a product rather than people…
ND Bill Would Give Judges The Option Of Suspending Hunting, Fishing Licenses For The Guilty
This bill flew under my radar until a reader emailed me about it this morning. HB1169 would add to the sentencing alternatives available to judges in North Dakota Century Code 12.1-32-02 to allow the suspension of hunting and fishing privileges. Here’s the pertinent text from the bill: Every person convicted of an offense who is…
SAB's Top Posts For The Last Week, Open Thread
These were the top posts, by page views, on SayAnythingBlog.com for the week that was: Democrat Legislator Jessica Haak Calls Republican Majority Leader A “Nazi” – Rep. Jessica Haak – (D-Jamestown) got caught posting nasty things, untrue things about Republicans on Twitter. When House Majority Leader Al Carlson confronted her about it, she called him…
Laws Named After Children Should Require A Super Majority To Pass
Just as the North Dakota legislature is considering tougher DUI laws for the state, the North Dakota Department of Transportation has launched a new ad campaign featuring the victims of high-profile drunk driving incident from last year. Because that’s not at all political, right? And the state’s media, most notably Forum Communications, has hyped a…
Three ND Legislators Convicted Of Alcohol-Related Traffic Offenses
Over the weekend the Fargo Forum ran a story about “lead foot legislators,” correlating speeding offenses with the legislator’s positions on speeding fines. That was an interesting story, but an even bigger story went overlooked by the Forum, and I wonder if it had to do with the involvement of Rep. Josh Boschee who has,…
Without Debate, ND Senators Approve Tougher DUI Laws
Earlier in the legislative session proponents of tougher DUI laws in the state parked, on the steps of the state capitol, a car in which a family was killed by a drunken driver. The intent of the manipulative spectacle was to silence any dissent to tougher DUI laws. The message, you see, is that if…