Sponsored by prosecutors and MADD, Senate Bill 907 closes legal loopholes for repeat DUI offenders.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman called on state lawmakers to pass a bipartisan reform package aimed at dramatically increasing penalties for repeat drunk drivers and vehicular manslaughter.
The legislation, known as Senate Bill 907, advanced to the State Assembly Public Safety Committee after securing a unanimous 36-0 vote in the State Senate on May 26, 2026. Authored by Senator Bob Archuleta, D-Los Angeles, and co-sponsored by Mothers Against Drunk Driving alongside the Orange County District Attorney’s Office and the CA Safe Roads Coalition, the bill introduces severe sentencing enhancements for chronic offenders.
A central component of the package is designated as “Braun’s Law” to honor Braun Levi, an 18-year-old Loyola High School student killed by a repeat drunk driver, Jenia Belt, in Manhattan Beach last year.
The provision mandates that any motorist whose driving-under-the-influence charges are dismissed or reduced to a lesser offense must still receive a formal “Watson Warning.” This advisory formally notifies drivers that operating a vehicle while intoxicated is inherently dangerous to human life, establishing the legal groundwork to file second-degree murder charges if they subsequently cause a fatal crash.
Beyond closing the advisory loophole, SB 907 targets repeat offenders by implementing automatic sentencing enhancements for any individual convicted of a new felony driving-under-the-influence offense or gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated who holds a prior felony conviction on their record.
The bill also boosts prison sentences for drivers who commit a hit-and-run causing injury or property damage if they have been convicted of an impaired driving violation, a wet reckless charge, or vehicular manslaughter within the preceding 10 years.
