A federal threat may not yield a tougher drunken driving law in Iowa. The feds threaten to withhold two-million dollars in road construction money from states which don’t enact a law establishing point-oh-eight (.08) as the legal “blood alcohol” limit for drunken driving. That limit stands at point-one-oh (.10) right now in Iowa. Senator Andy McKean of Anamosa is the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and gives point-oh-eight (.08) only a 50/50 chance of passing the legislature.Representative Chuck Larson of Cedar Rapids is chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, which plans to discuss the issue later this month. Larson says the committee might vote to establish point-oh-eight (.08) as the legal limit for second offense drunken driving — or when there’s an accident with injuries.Last year, the Senate Judiciary Committee endorsed the lower, point-oh-eight (.08) blood alcohol level, but the bill failed to win the full Senate’s approval or any consideration in the House.
