DALLAS (AP) -
North Texas lawmakers plan to try again to introduce a sobriety
checkpoints bill in the new legislative session.
Similar legislation failed in earlier sessions. The checkpoints
have been banned since 1994.
The Dallas Morning News reported Saturday that Rep. Todd Smith,
R-Euless, said a bill identical to one that stalled last year is
being drafted.
That bill, which passed the Senate but was never voted on in
House, would have allowed sobriety stops in cities with populations
over 500,000 or for sheriff's departments that operate in counties
with more than 250,000 people.
Texas has one of the highest proportions of drunken driving
deaths in the country, including a string of high-profile
fatalities in the Dallas area.
The Legislature reconvenes in January.