(The Center Square) — New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte is calling on lawmakers to close the “DUI loophole” by increasing the penalties for refusing to take a breathalyzer test.
A bipartisan proposal approved by the Senate last month would tighten the state’s drunk driving laws by doubling the administrative license suspension penalty for test refusal from six months to one year.
The bill is currently pending before the state House of Representatives, and Ayotte is urging House lawmakers to move quickly to approve it and send it to her desk.
“Every fatal crash caused by impaired driving is tragic, but it is also preventable,” Ayotte, a Republican, told reporters at a Tuesday briefing. “While New Hampshire is the safest state in the nation, we have one of the highest breath alcohol test refusal rates — closing the loophole that encourages people not to cooperate when stopped for a DUI will save lives.”
Since 2018, New Hampshire has lost more than 260 lives to alcohol-related crashes, and the state’s test refusal rate is nearly 70% each year — the second highest in the nation, according to the Ayotte administration.
The state Senate has approved similar legislation in previous sessions, but the House has declined to take them up, citing concerns about infringing on the individual rights of drivers.
State Sen. Bill Gannon, a Sandown Republican and lead sponsor of the bill, said the proposal would “make our roads safer and discourage people from making the dangerous choice to drive under the influence” and urged fellow lawmakers to approve the legislation.
“Closing the DUI refusal loophole will help save lives and keep New Hampshire the safest state in the nation,” he said Tuesday.
Rep. Joe Sweeney, a Salem Republican, called the legislation a “commonsense public safety measure that encourages compliance with the law and helps protect Granite Staters.”
“We must strengthen New Hampshire’s impaired driving laws by removing the incentive for drivers to refuse testing for suspected impaired driving, and I will be leading the charge in the House to get this done,” Sweeney said.
The push to tighten the DUI laws is backed by the state law-enforcement officials, including New Hampshire State Police Col. Mark Hall, who called it an “essential modernization” that is “long overdue, and is grounded in decades of national safety data.”
“Granite Staters expect State policy to reinforce, not undermine, the millions of dollars we spend each year to combat impaired driving and improve road safety,” he said. “Right now, our refusal laws undermine these significant investments and promote a backwards incentive structure. Most importantly, it makes refusing to take a test a losing decision.”
Beth Shaw, a New Hampshire woman who lost her son, Tyler, to a drunk driver with three prior DUI offenses, pleaded with House lawmakers to approve the Senate plan to help prevent other tragedies.
“Losing my son Tyler to a crash caused by a drunk driver with three prior DUIs changed our family forever,” Shaw said at Tuesday’s briefing. “IIt is critical that people understand the deadly consequences of impaired driving, and closing the DUI refusal loophole is the first step to holding more people accountable and discouraging this dangerous behavior.”
