Below is a Desert News Article on New Utah DUI Law.

Proponents say that it may save lives. I believe that it will drive away tourists in favor of Colorado and other places. However, as Senator Weiler noted on twitter, may counties have a limit of .02.

However, the real problem we are facing in Utah driving under the influence of drugs, often prescription medication. This law will do nothing to address that.

For men who have 1-2 beers with dinner, this will not make much of a difference. But for a small woman, a single glass of wine or a cocktail could put her close to the limit.

More cases will go to trial and it is more important then ever to get a DUI attorney.

If signed by the govenor the bill will not go into effect until 2018.

-Tyler Williams

Deseret News

Legislature makes Utah's DUI threshold lowest in nation at .05 percent

By Ryan Morgan @RyanMor53791934

Published: March 8, 2017 8:25 p.m.

SALT LAKE CITY — Saying Utah should take the lead in discouraging drunken driving, the state Senate voted Wednesday to lower the blood-alcohol content threshold for driving under the influence to .05 percent — the strictest in the nation.

HB155, sponsored by Rep. Norm Thurston, R-Provo, passed with a 17-12 vote in the Senate on the second to last day of the 2017 Legislature. It previously passed in the House, 48-26.

Senate Majority Whip Stuart Adams, R-Layton, the bill's Senate sponsor, said any amount of alcohol can contribute to impairment and suggested that lowering the legal limit from .08 to .05 percent could save as many as 63 lives in Utah each year.

"This is not a drinking bill. It's a driving bill. It's a public safety bill," Adams said.

Sen. Jim Dabakis, D-Salt Lake City, opposed the bill, noting the disadvantages to lowering the legal limit from .08 percent — the standard in the U.S.

"Colorado and a lot of other states are ready to go after us, and they look at every opportunity," Dabakis said, warning that the change would hurt Utah's tourism industry....

Gov. Gary Herbert told reporters earlier this week that he was supportive of state lawmakers' actions on alcohol-related legislation during the session....

Sarah Longwell, the institute's managing director, said a 120-pound woman could reach the .05 percent threshold with a little more than one drink. That woman, she said, would face imprisonment "despite being less impaired than a driver talking on a hands-free cellphone."...

"You'll be safer here because people are thinking twice about drinking and driving," Niederhauser said.

Contributing: Lisa Riley Roche, Dennis Romboy