It’s been more than four decades yet Rhonda Campbell’s voice still quavered as she stood before a row of television cameras recalling the day in 1981 when a repeat drunk driver killed her 12-year-old sister. She remembers her father crying as he told her what happened, still hears her mother’s scream when the coffin lid closed.
A woman who, while driving and texting, killed a 21-year-old bicyclist and then fled the scene is scheduled to be released after serving less than a third of her nine-year sentence. The victim’s mother is livid.
“How can you do this, be a repeat offender, kill somebody and serve two and a half years of a nine-year sentence?” said Kellie Montalvo, referencing the offender’s time in custody after being sentenced. “It’s completely outrageous to us.”
California lawmakers introduced a bipartisan legislative package to crack down on drunk driving in the state.
"California is the epicenter of America's drunk driving crisis," said State Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris, who authored one of the bills.
In addition to longer license suspensions and increased training for law enforcement, the bill package aims to require first-time offenders to install an interlocking ignition device, which requires a breathalyzer test to start a car. Petrie-Norris has tried to push the bill through the state legislature twice before.
California lawmakers are taking aim at the state's dangerous driver problem with a new package of bipartisan legislation announced Tuesday. The proposals seek to address roadway safety issues uncovered by CalMatters' investigative "License to Kill" series, which revealed how weak laws and enforcement have contributed to rising traffic deaths across the state.
Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris and Orange County Coastkeeper hosted a river channel cleanup on Saturday, Jan. 31 at the Santa Ana-Delhi Channel near Upper Newport Bay. Volunteers collected nearly 1,000 pounds of trash ranging from large bulky items to plastic bags, bottles, cigarettes and other micro plastics that would otherwise end up in Upper Newport Bay and along the coastline.
Even after the exceptional reporting by CalMatters in its License to Kill series, which demonstrated how California is failing its residents through lax enforcement and weak traffic safety laws, the 2025 Legislature still failed to pass Assembly Bill 366.
A bipartisan group of state Assembly members today announced a package of bills to crack down on dangerous drivers and address some of the roadway safety issues CalMatters uncovered as part of its ongoing License to Kill series.
Californians convicted of driving under the influence (DUI) must make alterations to their vehicles in 2026 to comply with new laws aimed at reducing collisions on the roads.
Why It Matters
California's Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) reports impaired driving as a major cause of severe crashes in California, making the program’s extension vital for safety. The law encourages safer driving habits and aims to address more than 1,300 yearly alcohol-impaired driving deaths, as cited by California's Office of Traffic Safety in figures updated July 2025.
Orange County elected leaders, businesses, environmentalists and community members spoke out loudly against the U.S. Department of Interior’s offshore oil and gas drilling proposal at a people’s hearing event in Costa Mesa on Monday, Dec. 8.
More than 100 people attended the event organized by Orange County Coastkeeper, Surfrider Foundation and Oceana.
Several new laws impacting Golden State drivers will go into effect starting Jan. 1, 2026., according to the Department of Motor Vehicles.
From new probation mandates for drivers convicted of vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated to heavy fines for altered license plates, here's what to know:
New Rules For Drunk Driving Convictions
At least two new laws going into effect next year target people who have been convicted of driving under the influence.