With the start of every new year comes the enactment of new laws and new regulations. But from the perspective of State Rep. Roger Goodman, the Kirkland resident sees the new year as a time when fewer will have to die as a result of drunk drivers.

Starting with the new year, past DUI offenders will be allowed a special permit to drive once they install an alcohol interlock device on their vehicle’s ignition switch. The law also allows for a device that could continuously monitor the driver’s blood-alcohol, shutting down the vehicle at the first sign of drinking.

“Strong sentences aren’t the only answer,” he said during this year’s election campaign. “We need innovative solutions to really save lives.” He estimated that 100 lives would have been saved statewide in 2006, had the law been in effect.

Illinois, Alaska and South Carolina have passed similar measures this year.

King County officials are also handing down a few new rules of their own. Nutrition menu labeling went into effect in many King County chain restaurants on Jan. 1, allowing customers to make more informed food choices. Chain restaurants with 15 or more national locations will post calorie, saturated fat, carbohydrate and sodium information on menus and menu boards at or before the point of ordering.

Not to be out-done, Kirkland’s other 45th District Representative is preparing to introduce new legislation of his own. Rep. Larry Springer met with a working group of legislators over the last two years to craft a law that would extend protections for homeowners to deal with faulty single-family home construction. He cited the experiences of residents at Cooper’s Point in Olympia and a Bellevue family in the Somerset neighborhood -- who embarked on an expensive remodel, only to see the work result in structural damage costing over $150,000 to repair -- as constituents who needed these protections. As a first step, Springer thinks a new law would need to do three things: Tighten registration requirements to help track complaints and the extent of the problem; give homeowners a way to ensure proper credentials and certification of contractors; and provide the consumer with limited warranty protections for damages over $50,000. For less than that, the new rules would require arbitration.

“We don’t know how broad this problem is,” he said. “This will give us the systems to track it.”

Around the country, state lawmakers enacted 31,000 laws in 2008. One of the more popular state-level initiatives is the minimum wage, with 12 states modifying the standard in 2009. Washington will raise the wage to $8.55 an hour, an increase of 48 cents and the highest overall in the country. (The state minimum wage applies to agricultural and non-agricultural jobs in Washington, including tipped employees, as Washington law does not recognize a tip credit).

Staff Writer Kendall Watson can be reached at kwatson@kirklandreporter.com.

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