Trying again: Rep. Jim Ott to introduce seven bills that would increase penalties for drunk driving

MADISON (AP) — A Wisconsin lawmaker is set to introduce seven bills increasing penalties for drunken driving in the only state where a first-time offense is not a crime.

Republican Rep. Jim Ott says his bills would increase punishments for drunken driving offenses. And one would require first-time offenders to appear in court.

Ott says he also decided to reintroduce half a dozen other bills that died last session to increase minimum sentences for drivers who injure or kill another person and offenders found driving drunk on more than one occasion.

Frank Harris, a lobbyist for Mothers Against Drunk Driving, says the bills don't do enough.

Spokeswomen for Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, a Rochester Republican, and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, a Juneau Republican, say they hadn't decided whether they'd support the measures.