WA Senate hands proposal to reduce drunk driving limit to .05 over to House Dems

(The Center Square) – The Washington State Senate passed a bill on Wednesday lowering blood alcohol limits for impaired driving that critics warn may increase legal exposure for servers and bartenders.

The chamber passed Senate Bill 5067 by a 26-23 vote, with six Democrats voting against the proposal and two Republicans siding with the majority. If approved this session, it would lower the state’s blood alcohol concentration, or BAC, threshold for drunk driving from .08% to .05%, just like Utah did in 2017.

The proposal claims that a reduced BAC limit won’t affect vendor liability, but opponents argued during public hearings last year that a .05% threshold could drive up legal exposure for bars and restaurants.

Servers can be held liable when a drunk driver crashes after leaving their business. If someone with a .05% BAC cra...