LOCAL/STATE The Michigan Daily - Friday, September 25, 1998 - 5 ew drunken driving bill sent to Engler Lean on me Engler: State gets tough on violence LANSING (AP) - Repeat offenders would face tougher, more inconvenient sanctions if they break drunken driving ,and other traffic laws under bills head- d for Gov. John Engler's desk. The Legislature yesterday over- whelmningly adopted final pieces of a 20-bill package that's been negotiated over the past two years with little debate. Engler spokesperson John Truscott said the governor would sign the bills immediately once he gets them. The blls, would then take effect Oct. 1, 1499. "We've only called for this for two ears. We're glad to see it pass," Tr sPott said. Some differences between House and Senate versions and political party philosophies clashed during negotia- tions. Democrats didn't like the so- called Scarlet plate idea proposed by Engler and that wasn't part of the final package. While the bills aren't designed to mbarrass people, some red faces could Wesult as those who are convicted of drunken driving a second or third time. Those repeat offenders would have their cars booted outside their homes for a mandatory 24 days and 6 months, respectively. The bills keep the laws fairly lenient on first-time drunken driving offenders. They won't be subjected to immobilization, vehicle forfeiture, ignition interlock devices, temporary vehicle plates or a felony conviction like second or third time offenders. The bills also would prohibit repeat offenders without a driver's license to obtain vehicle plates. The bills are aimed at saving several hundred lives a year, said Rep. Frank Fitzgerald (R-Grand Ledge) who spon- sored two bills in the package. "This is the day many of us have been working toward for a long time. We've always believed that driving is a privilege, not a right;' he said. "When individuals fail to meet minimum levels of responsibility, and continually endanger others, they must lose those privileges." According to state statistics, 544 people were killed on Michigan roads last year by drunken driving. That rep- resented about 38 percent of all traffic fatalities in 1997. Last year, more than 61,000 peo- ple were arrested for drunken dri- ving, and nearly 44,000 Michigan drivers have had three drunken-dri- ving convictions. Other major provisions of the pack- age include: - Require drug and alcohol treat- ment for second convictions and igni- tion interlock devices for licenses restored after revocation. - Allows Secretary of State to sus- pend licenses without court order and to issue restricted licenses. LANSING (AP) -_Michigan's counties have tough, uniform standards to deal with the perpetrators of domes- tic violence, Gov. John Jingler said yes- terday. "Around the country, people look at us as a model state for prevention and treatment of domestic violence," Engler said. "The long arm of the law is around the shoulders of those who are battered." Englermade the remarks as part c the 20th anniversary of the state's D)omestic Violence Prevention and Treatment Board. Engler and others wore white rib- bons and shared cake in the Capitol Rotunda to celebrate the board. Engler also presented new recom- mendations from the batterer interven- tion task force he convened last year. The group includes judges, police offi- cers and abuse prevention specialists. Among the group's recommenda- tions were: Closer communication between courts and victim services, including mandatory reporting of violations of court orders to courts, police and victim services. N Establishment of minimum levels of violent behavior for which interven- tion will be mandated. Mandate comprehensive evalua- tions for any batterer who needs treat- ment, including substance abuse and mental health screenings. Set criteria for successful comple- tion of batterer intervention programs, including no reported incidents of vio- lence and acknowledgment of responsi- bility 1or abuse. IEingler said he would take the group's recommendations to the state Supreme , Court, which will help implement them across the state. Lt.. Gov. Connie Binsfeld, who helped, pass the state's first series of domestic violence bills 20 years ago. said the task force shows how far the state has come. "It was from those first public hear- ings in 1978 that the public begatn to come forth and tell their stories anId we realized what a widespread problem domestic violence was," Binsfeld sid. "Women had very little security- in those days. They didn't have the check- book, they didn't have the health card.' Michigan and Minnesota were the first two states to have such legislation, Binsfeld said. Engler and Binsfeld also presentcd a state award to Beverly Geyer of Muskegon, a survivor of domestic vio- lence who went on to open her own shelter for battered women. "When I was first battered, there was no place to go. Violence in the lnifily was a little secret that nobody talked about," Geyer said. "If we are to end domestic violence, we must protect the victims and gve them a place to learn, heal and grow and we must hold the batterers accotmt- able," NATHAN RUFFER/Daily Architecture Prof. Mete Turam sit in one of his student's creations: A cardboard chair designed without the use of glue to hold his body weight of 160 pounds. *Stupak won't endorse Fieger TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak will not endorse frelfow Democrat Geoffrey Fieger's can- didacy for governor. Stupak (D-Menominee) has sent Fieger a letter explaining his decision, pokesperson Bob Meissner said yes- ,terday. . fie said Stupak would stay neutral instead of backing Republican Gov. John Engler, with whom Stupak has clashed often in recent years. The three-term representative is among Democrats who have criticized aFieger's controversial statements, par- ticularly his attacks on Catholic leaders. Stupak is a Catholic and opposes abor- * n:rights. "I've been disturbed by his remarks, vry much so;' he said in a recent inter- view. But until this week he had been undecided on whether to support Fieger. Republican state Rep. Michelle McManus, who is challenging Stupak in the 1st Congressional District, has taunted him for delaying the decision. Spokesperson Sylvia Warner said yes- terday that McManus would continue linking Stupak with Fieger and President Clinton. "Clearly it was a political decision, or he would have done it earlier," she said. "It doesn't deprive us of an issue. It shows he's reacting to what we're doing and saying." Fieger spokesperson June West said she had not seen Stupak's letter and declined additional comment. Maureen McNulty, spokesperson for F-ngler, said Stupak's defection was no surprise. " There are many Democrats that are embarrassed that Geoff Fieger won the top slot on their ticket, and for their own political lives they recognize the need to back away as far as possible trom him," she said. On Wednesday, Vice President Al Gore also avoided mentioning Fieger by name during his visit to Michigan although he met with him privately. Most congressional Democrats From Michigan have avoided talking about F ieger. Stupak's announcement came as Democrats tried to put McManus on the defensive over a controversy involving the petitions that qualified her to enter the race. CLINTON Continued from Page 1 up there," he joked to reporters, a finger aimed at the paint- ing of himself. But the allusion was not lost on anyone. Republicans and Democrats have continually pointed to the Watergate hear- ings as a model for bipartisan action during an impeachment process. Ilyde and his boss, House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga) realize they need Democratic support for an impeachment review to overcome public opinion polls that give high ratings to Clinton's job performance and low performance ratings to GOP leaders in Congress. Yesterday, I lyde vowed that he is his own man and that he is not operating under the directions of Gingrich or other Republican leaders. "As to whether I am in charge of the investigation," he said, "all I know is, every time I give advice to Newt he nods his head a ffirmatively~ But the chair also echoed Gingrich's comment Wednesday that Republicans will be led by the Constitution rather than public sentiment. "Our guide is deliberate speed, not too fast that peo- ple can accuse us of~ rushing to judgment and not too slow so people can accuse us of deliberately stretching it out for political purposes," Hyde said. "This is one of those 'damned if you do, damned if you don't"' situa- tions. Sometime after the vote on whether to conduct impeachment hearings, which is expected to pass, the House would set a timetable for those proceedings. Lawmakers could decide to start the hearings sometigae later this year or wait until the new Congress convenesin January. Because the 105th Congress ends this year and impeachment proceedings are expected to last several months, information from hearings begun this year world be reported to the 106th Congress, which then ttuld resume the process. When Starr sent his referral on the Clinton-Lewinsky case to Capitol Hill on Sept. 9, he noted that there were other matters he was continuing to investigate. These include his original mandate to review 'the Whitewater land transactions made by Clinton and.i rst lady Hillary Rodham Clinton before they moved to- Washington.