AUGUSTA, Maine -- A bill requiring anyone who is criminally convicted of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol to pay the costs of emergency responders advanced 18 to 16 in the Maine Senate today.
Supporters of the bill say Maine cities and towns should be reimbursed up to $2,500 when law enforcement, fire and emergency medical teams are called in to an incident involving a drunken driver.
But Sen. Geoff Gratwick, a Bangor Democrat, said that, from a practical perspective, the bill would accomplish little.
"And the difficulty with this is these people frequently have relatively little in the way of money to pay these fines, and this is an extra thousand dollars," Gratwick said. "What it's going to do is jam up the courts. You cannot get extra blood from a turnip."
Supporters of the measure said it will encourage personal accountability. Among them is Augusta Sen. Roger Katz, a Republican.
"The question is, where is the cost going to lie?' Katz said. "It's going to lie in one of two places: It's either going to lie with the taxpayers of the jurisdiction that had nothing to do with causing the accident; or the burden is going to fall on someone who has been convicted of operating under the influence."
The bill faces additional votes in both houses.