‘Mike’s Law’ aims to change state DWI laws
Mike Clampitt and Ellen Pitt were close friends who have worked together to advocate for the reform of impaired driving laws for over a decade.
Donated photo
A second bill bearing the name of the late Western North Carolina state house Rep. Mike Clampitt has been introduced in the General Assembly.
Titled “Mike’s Law,” the bill aims to reform the state’s approach to both drunk driving and how courts function. Late last month, another bill, titled “Mike Clampitt 1st Responder Tax Fairness Act,” was introduced.
That law, if passed, would broaden the tax exemption criteria for vehicle title transfer to include volunteer fire departments and rescue squads.
Clampitt, who’d represented Jackson, Swain and Transylvania counties in the House, died in March following a battle with a rare blood and bone cancer. Despite receiving a grueling course of treatment, the longtime representative continued his work in the General Assembly as long as he could, always keeping highway safety, first responders and combatting impaired driving as top priorities.
Mike’s Law, which has primary sponsors from both major parties — including his replacement, Rep. Anna Ferguson — largely mirrors the Sober Operator Act, which was introduced during last year’s session but ultimately didn’t make it out of committee. It will seek to allow the roadside portable breath test result to be used for probable cause determination by a judge. In addition, it would allow for law enforcement to screen for narcotics other than alcohol while driving. It would also allow for civil driver’s license revocation for drivers impaired on narcotics; right now, such a statute only exists for drunk drivers.
Notably, while the previous iteration of the Sober Operator Act would have lowered the legal blood alcohol content for someone operating a motor vehicle from .08 to .05, that will be proposed in a standalone bill. Mike’s Law will also feature new additions to the previous Sober Operator Act. First, in cases where a magistrate determines there is not probable cause to charge someone with a DWI, it would require a documented reason for that decision, basically a means by which those magistrates can be held accountable for their decisions. It also would also make it illegal for drivers for hire to operate a vehicle with a paying passenger while under the influence of any amount of alcohol or unprescribed controlled substances.
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While legislators are pushing the bill in the House, the driving force behind the effort is Ellen Pitt, who heads up the Western North Carolina DWI Taskforce, made up of law enforcement leaders, legislators, experts and advocates. Pitt was also one of Clampitt’s closest friends who sat beside him and held his hand on the day he died, quietly assuring him that she would continue the fight against impaired driving.
“Mike was working on all of this almost up to his last breath,” Pitt told The Smoky Mountain News, “up to the point where he couldn’t do it anymore.”
The next step now that bill is introduced, Pitt said, is to gain the support necessary to get the bill out of committee and on the House floor for a vote. At this point, along with having bipartisan sponsors, she said the North Carolina Sheriff’s Association is supportive, and she hopes to bring the Conference of District Attorneys onboard.
Pitt said that while Clampitt hoped to live long enough to see the bill become law, she wants to finish the work he started to ensure all those hours and long trips back and forth from Swain County to Raleigh weren’t in vain. She wants to make it happen for her friend.
“I would have done this anyway,” Pitt said. “But I want to do this now because it’s the right thing for him.”
