States Against Drunk Driving Act Of 2016

Congressman Stephen Lee Fincher
Congressional Record: 114th Congress
Extensions of Remarks
12 December 2016

Mr. FINCHER. Mr. Speaker, on May 31st, 2015, two 17 year old girls 
from Tennessee's 8th District, Maddie Kruse and Rachel Lynch, were 
killed when struck by a drunk driver. The man behind the wheel was out 
on bond for his sixth DUI charge when he struck the van carrying Maddie 
and Rachel. Each of the five local courts where the driver had pleaded 
guilty for DUI failed to report his conviction to State or Federal 
criminal databases. Had they reported his convictions to the National 
Crime Information Center (``NCIC''), a database accessible by law 
enforcement officers all over the country, the driver would have faced 
much stiffer penalties for his additional offenses.
  To address some of the inherently mobile and cross-jurisdictional 
nature of driving, I have introduced the States against Drunk Driving 
Act of 2016. The SADD Act of 2016 would incentivize states to require 
all court clerks to report convictions for offenses involving driving 
under the influence to the NCIC and any applicable state-run crime 
information database. The benefits of information sharing are apparent 
in this particular case. A court prepared with a complete record of a 
repeat criminal offender would be better prepared to keep those drivers 
off the road.
  As my term comes to an end with the 114th Congress, I have shared 
this story and the legislative language with my successor, 
Representative-Elect David Kustoff. It is my hope that Mr. Kustoff will 
continue to work on this important issue so that tragic events like 
this are less likely to happen in the future.