However, the legislative climate has changed as lawmakers heard from constituents about the human cost of DUI accidents that touched many lives, Waring said.

The interlock requirement was added to a Waring-sponsored bill to require 45 days of consecutive jail time for first-time extreme DUI offenders with a blood-alcohol content of .20 or higher.

Currently, a first-time extreme DUI conviction requires 30 consecutive days of jail, but a judge can suspend all but 10 of the 30 days.

Freshman Democratic Rep. David Schapira of Tempe authored the amendment that added the interlock requirement, saying the devices ``will go a long way to helping save lives in Arizona.''

A spokeswoman for a national group that represents restaurant chains that sell alcohol said lawmakers should be focus on repeat DUI offenders and those with high blood-alcohol levels, not casual drinkers who make isolated mistakes that they likely won't repeat.

``Everybody wants drunken drivers off the road. There's nobody who has an interest in keeping drunken drivers on the road. What we're interested in is sensible legislation that solves the problem and that's not what this is,'' said Sarah Longwell of the Washington-based American Beverage Institute.

Longwell said the Washington-based industry group fears that the idea of a broadened interlock mandate could spread to other states and gradually lead to requirements for all vehicles.

New Mexico advocates contend the interlocks have helped, and the number of alcohol-related traffic fatalities is down since the requirement was implemented in 2005. But New Mexico also has been stepping up enforcement with more DWI checkpoints and has imposed tougher penalties for repeat offenders.

Though both chambers of Arizona Legislature approved the interlock bill by big-margin votes, some lawmakers at the time voiced reservations about the interlock requirement and said they hoped that a House-Senate conference committee would scale back the mandate.

``I agree that we need to enforce DUI laws as strictly as possible. I agree with the sentiments that we need to focus on prevention, but I also we need to make sure we're not unfairly and unduly placing an economic burden on people that have made a mistake for the fist time and most likely won't repeat that mistake,'' said Rep. Chad Campbell, D-Phoenix.

However, the bill became law as-is when Waring said he pulled the plug on three weeks of efforts to forge a compromise when it became clear there was no consensus among House members.

This information is courtesy of http://ktar.com/