Senate Bill 5742 amends RCW 46.61.5055 and adds a new section to chapter 66.08 RCW. The bill restructures criminal penalties and related procedures for violations of RCW 46.61.502 and 46.61.504 by grouping penalties according to a defendant's number of prior offenses within seven years and by alcohol concentration categories (less than 0.10, at least 0.10, and at least 0.12). It sets specific minimum and maximum jail terms, alternatives that allow electronic home monitoring or 24/7 sobriety program monitoring, and fine ranges with stated portions that may not be suspended unless the offender is indigent. The bill requires offenders to pay monitoring costs set by the county or municipality, authorizes courts to require ignition interlock or other alcohol-detection devices, and requires expanded substance use disorder assessment and treatment when appropriate. The bill increases penalties as alcohol concentration and prior offenses rise. Examples shown include modest minimum jail time and shorter monitoring and lower non-suspendable fines for first-time offenses, larger mandatory jail and monitoring periods and higher non-suspendable fines for one prior offense, and substantially increased mandatory terms for two prior offenses (text for some two-prior provisions is incomplete in the provided material). For alcohol concentrations of at least 0.10 or 0.12 the bill includes a 120-day minimum jail term and 150 days of electronic home monitoring that may not be suspended except when the court finds substantial risk to the offender’s physical or mental well-being, in which case longer monitoring alternatives are allowed. Persons with three or more prior offenses within ten years are to be punished under chapter 9.94A RCW. The provided text includes a detailed list of convictions that count as prior offenses but that list is cut off and incomplete in the material supplied. Procedural changes include a requirement that courts state in writing the reasons and supporting facts whenever a mandatory minimum is suspended or converted, mandatory written findings for certain waivers, and specific probation conditions when a court imposes up to 364 days in jail (including ignition interlock, abstention and monitoring rules, and a mandatory 30-day confinement for violations of listed probation conditions). The bill adds aggravating penalties when a minor passenger under 16 was present, increasing consecutive jail time and per-passenger fines with non-suspendable amounts. The department referenced for license and interlock rules is not named in the provided text, and some cross-references and license revocation provisions are truncated. The act establishes a WSIPP evaluation requirement (new section in chapter 66.08 RCW): the Washington State Institute for Public Policy must evaluate the act’s impacts during the first two years and report by March 1, 2029 on crashes, DUI arrests and adjudications, equity outcomes for overburdened communities, and business effects on hospitality and alcohol producers; that evaluation authority expires November 1, 2029. The bill’s effective date is July 1, 2026. Several parts of the statutory text and definitions are missing or cut off in the provided excerpts, so some penalty details and definition lists could not be fully summarized.

If enacted, this bill substantially increases mandatory penalties for DUI-related convictions based on blood alcohol level and prior offenses, making longer minimum jail terms, longer or alternative periods of electronic home monitoring or 24/7 sobriety program participation, higher non‑suspendable fines, mandatory ignition interlock requirements on all vehicles the person operates, and stricter and longer license suspensions or revocations. Courts must make written findings whenever they suspend or convert mandatory minimums and must order expanded substance use disorder assessments when appropriate; having a minor passenger adds consecutive jail days and larger per‑passenger fines, and violations of mandatory probation conditions carry automatic 30‑day confinement and additional license suspensions. The people most affected will be convicted drivers, who will likely face higher out‑of‑pocket costs (monitoring and interlock devices are paid by the offender and counties/municipalities set device costs), longer loss of driving privileges, and greater risk of custody. Counties, cities, and courts will have increased responsibilities to provide or verify 24/7 program availability, determine monitoring costs, and document decisions to deviate from mandatory minimums, while the agency that administers ignition interlock and license actions will have heavier workloads. The bill requires the Washington State Institute for Public Policy to evaluate impacts within the first two years and report by March 1, 2029, and the act takes effect July 1, 2026; however, some penalty details (notably the complete two‑prior provisions) and the full new section added to chapter 66.08 RCW are missing from the provided text, so the full operational implications are uncertain.