Hey Sen. Earll: This is what I looked like getting out of the hospital after a hit-and-run. And, I’m one of the lucky ones.
First, the good news, which state Sen. Larry Farnese delivered to me today via Twitter: “SB 889 was just voted out of the Senate Transportation Comm.”
Translated to more-than-140-characters-ese: A bill that he’s championed to increase penalties for hit-and-run scumbags passed the state Senate Transportation Committee today. Much like one did in June 2010.
The lone dissenting vote today came from Sen. Jane Earll, the type of woman who hides behind concerns about the “ever escalating cost of Corrections in the state” to protect scumbags behind a veil of partisanship dipshittery.
Now, for the bad news. It won’t return for a potential full Senate vote until next year. As WHYY NewsWorks’ Mary Wilson reported:
Democratic Senator Larry Farnese of Philadelphia says he doesn’t think he’ll have to start from scratch to advance his measure next year.
“We have a chairman that sat through a hearing and understands what the needs are not only in the city of Philadelphia but also across the state to enhance these penalties,” he said Tuesday
His bill would increase the penalties for drivers who hit a person and then flee the scene. It would be the same penalty now faced by a drunken driver involved in a hit-and-run.
Farnese says it fills a gap created by a similar proposal signed into law by the governor in July.
The recently enacted law increased the maximum prison sentences for hit-and-run drivers, but not the mandatory minimum.
Sen. Mike Stack, D-Philadelphia, says the measure is a response to protests that the punishment for a driver who hits someone and leaves the scene is too low.
“This bill increases from one year to three years the mandatory minimum of hit-and-run accidents resulting in death and it creates a one-year minimum of accidents resulting in bodily injury,” he said.
Stack’s bill received the approval of a Senate committee — just not in time to get a final vote from the full Senate.
The bill will die with the end of the legislative session this year. But that’s not unusual.
The measure that went to the governor in July to increase hit-and-run penalties was a result of about seven years of legislative toiling.
Please read Farnese’s bill here (PDF). Then, find people who live in Earll’s district and tell her enough’s enough. It’s time to start treating hit-and-run drivers with the same disrespect that they have for others’ lives.
And, many, many thanks to Farnese and Stack for continuing to fight for what is right and what is just.
Previously:
Hit-And-Run Drivers Getting the Attention They Deserve [Philadelphia Weekly]
Crime: Higher penalties for hit-and-runs? [Metro]