California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs reform laws targeting repeat drunken drivers

Lia Russell, The Sacramento Bee on Sep 25, 2026

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law Friday a handful of legislative bills that will overhaul how California punishes people who repeatedly drive while impaired by drugs or alcohol.

Two of the bills Newsom signed, Assembly bills 1546 and 1687, strengthen penalties against people who repeatedly drive while under the influence. They lengthen the time the Department of Motor Vehicles can revoke a person’s license after a third DUI conviction to eight years from three and increase the points added to a person’s driving record if they rack up multiple DUIs within a 10-year period.

A third bill, Assembly Bill 1685, requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to make public the records of drivers who were convicted of gross negligence or gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated within 10 years of the incident. It also increases the points added to a person’s driving record from two to three points if they are convicted of gross vehicular manslaughter.

An ongoing CalMatters investigative series found that the DMV failed to track drivers with vehicular manslaughter convictions, and often either declined to take action or reissued licenses to people who caused fatal crashes, sometimes while intoxicated.

The fourth bill Newsom signed is Senate Bill 907, known as “Braun’s Law,” named after Braun Levi, an 18-year-old nationally ranked tennis player who died in May 2025 after a car hit and killed him in Manhattan Beach. The driver, whose blood alcohol content was twice the state limit of 0.08%, had a previous DUI conviction, and her license had been suspended when she hit and killed Levi.

Braun’s Law requires the court to advise drivers whose DUI convictions are downgraded or changed to a different offense of the consequences of driving under the influence, including the possibility of being charged with second-degree murder if they kill someone. It goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2027.

Its chief sponsor, Sen. Bob Archuleta, D-Pico Rivera, said the legislation was “personal,” referring to his granddaughter Samantha, who was hit and killed by a drunk driver in December 2024.

“No family should have to endure what mine has, or what has happened to the Levi family,” he said. “These are preventable tragedies. Nothing will ever bring my Samantha back or bring Braun back to the Levi family, but in signing SB 907 California is finally stepping up for victims.”

“Getting behind the wheel when you are impaired is inexcusable — especially when it results in the loss of someone’s life. Today, we’re creating tougher laws and greater accountability for those who break the law,” Newsom said in a statement. “We will not stand by as more lives are lost, and more families are forever changed by those who choose to drive under the influence.”

AB 1685 and 1687 go into effect on Jan. 1, 2031, and AB 1546 in 2033. In an accompanying signing message, Newsom told the Legislature it should pass legislation in the interim requiring the DMV to adopt a centralized system for tracking DUI convictions.

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