A defeat in the state legislature this year doesn’t discourage Mothers Against Drunk Drivers from pushing for a tougher drunk driving standard. A spokesman and lobbyist for MADD, Mike Boland of St. Louis, worked the State Capitol hard on behalf of .08 legislation, a proposal to drop the legal level of intoxication from a blood alcohol content of .10 to .08. Boland says his optimism didn’t fade until the final hours of the final day. The legislation died on the last day when it failed to come before the Senate for a vote. Boland says Missouri could have reaped $3-to-5 Million in federal funding by passing .08 legislation, multiple millions more if lawmakers would have combined that with passage of repeat offender and open container legislation. Boland vows to return to Jefferson City to renew the fight next year.
