(The Center Square) — New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte signed a bill Monday to close a “DUI loophole” by increasing the state’s penalties for suspected drunk drivers who refuse to take a breathalyzer test.
The new law, which passed the state Legislature with bipartisan support, increases automatic license suspension time from six to nine months for drivers who refuse DUI testing. Under current law, the suspension time for a driver convicted of a DUI is the same as a driver who refuses testing, which critics say officials created an incentive not to take the test.
Ayotte said the new law is a “critical step” towards keeping New Hampshire the “safest state in the nation” and thanked Republican and Democratic lawmakers for approving the plan.
“By increasing the administrative license suspension time when someone refuses a breath alcohol test, we’re closing a loophole in our law that has discouraged cooperation with law enforcement and kept drivers from being held accountable for DUIs,” Ayotte said in remarks Monday at a bill signing ceremony in Concord, flanked by law enforcement officials and lawmakers. “Together, we’re closing the loophole and saving lives on our roads.”
The proposal was a key campaign pledge for Ayotte who ran for office last year on a public safety platform. She had prodded lawmakers to get the legislation across the finish line earlier this month after it passed the state Senate but got hung up in the House of Representatives over changes to the proposal.
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.
Beth Shaw, a New Hampshire woman who lost her son, Tyler, to a drunk driver with three prior DUI offenses, said the beefed-up requirements of the state’s DUI laws will prevent other tragedies.
“This will save lives,” she said in remarks at Monday’s bill signing. “It will deter impaired driving.”
The bill’s primary sponsor, state Sen. Bill Gannon, R-Sandown, said the new law will “make our roads safer and discourage people from making the dangerous choice to drive under the influence.”
“For too long, people have made the dangerous choice to drive under the influence because they know there is little accountability for refusing a breath alcohol test,” Gannon said in a statement, saying the new requirements will ‘hold impaired drivers accountable, make our roads safer, and ensure New Hampshire remains #1 for public safety.”
