Bill Which Creates Hefty Sentences for DUI Deaths Advances

Montana Legislators are pushing for changes to DUI laws – laws that Rep. Braxton Mitchell, R-Columbia Falls, calls a national embarrassment.

Mitchell is carrying House Bill 267, known as “Bobby’s Law” in honor of 21-year-old Bobby Dewbre, who was killed by a drunk driver in Columbia Falls in 2023. The driver served the maximum 18-month sentence.

Under HB 267, if a driver kills someone while registering a blood alcohol content of 0.16 or higher, twice the legal limit, they would be charged with aggravated vehicular homicide and serve no less than three years in prison. The bill advanced on a 92...