Senator Charles J. Fuschillo, Jr. announced that the New York State Senate passed legislation that would increase penalties for motorists who are convicted of dangerous and unlawful driving. The bills are part of a package, submitted by Governor George Pataki earlier this month, designed to crack down on dangerous drivers. Two other bills introduced as part of the dangerous driver package were passed by the Senate earlier this month.

"Drivers who blatantly disobey traffic rules and cause accidents that claim innocent lives should be appropriately punished. We cannot allow these criminals to escape justice through legal loopholes," said Fuschillo. "I applaud Governor Pataki for advancing this legislative package and I hope the Assembly will join the Senate in passing these bills."

The legislative package would:

* Require consecutive sentences to be imposed on someone who commits two or more criminal offenses through a single act that causes death or physical injury to more than one person.

* Strengthen existing penalties for motorists who injure or kill people as a result of dangerous and unlawful driving, and also creates a new class D felony for Vehicular Manslaughter in the Third Degree.

* Raise the penalty for Vehicular Manslaughter in the Second Degree from a class D to a class C felony. People who drive while intoxicated and cause the death of another person may also be charged with this crime.

* Requires people convicted of aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle to be fingerprinted. Current state law does not permit the fingerprinting of someone who is convicted. As a result, someone arrested for a second offense does not have the crime elevated from a misdemeanor to a felony.

* Raises penalties for first, second and third degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and reduces the number of prior suspensions needed to prove the first degree offense from ten to five.

* Establishes a presumption that a person with three or more suspensions imposed on separate dates knows that his or her license is suspended.

* Establish criminal sanctions, mandate license revocation and require successful completion of approved defensive driving courses for people convicted of a road rage offense.

The bills were sent to the Assembly.

Senator Fuschillo continued his efforts against drunk driving by cosponsoring legislation, which passed the New York State Senate, that would create new and tougher penalties for motorists who drive under the influence.

"Drunk drivers show a blatant disregard for the law and needlessly endanger the lives of all motorists," said Fuschillo. "The State must do everything it can to remove intoxicated and impaired drivers from the roads, and appropriately punish these criminals for their reckless actions."

The legislation would:

* Create a new offense of Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated for motorists who have a .20 Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) or higher. A .20 BAC is two and a half times higher than the legal limit

* Create a new offense of driving while ability impaired by the combined effects of drugs and alcohol.

* Establish the misdemeanor crime of evasion of a police officer. A person is guilty of this offense when he or she attempts to evade a police officer after being directed by the officer to stop the motor vehicle, as long as the officer's motor vehicle was conspicuously marked with police decals and the emergency lights and siren were activated. If the officer or another person sustains physical injury, the driver would be subject to a class E felony.

* Permit the State Police, along with other state employees and officials, to participate in local STOP-DWI programs and assist other agencies in promoting public safety.

* Broaden existing law to enable officers to temporarily detain youths suspected of violating the zero tolerance law for the purpose of carrying out a chemical sobriety test.

* Allow judges to impose consecutive sentences on drunk driving offenders who kill or seriously injure more than one person, regardless of whether the injuries or deaths occurred during the same criminal act.

Fuschillo also cosponsored legislation that would impose additional penalties on motorists who commit a DWI offense with a child in the car.

The legislation would allow people convicted of a drunk driving offense while transporting a minor to be charged with the additional penalty of endangering the welfare of a child.

"Drivers whose irresponsible actions endanger a child's life should receive an additional punishment," said Fuschillo. "This legislation will enhance the protection of children and will provide another deterrent against drunk driving."

Both pieces of legislation were delivered to the Assembly.