Senator Bob Archuleta, District Attorneys and MADD Partner to Advance Tougher DUI Laws to Protect California Families in 2026
Sacramento, CA – Senator Bob Archuleta (D-Pico Rivera) has announced the introduction of SB 907, which will strengthen California’s DUI enforcement and sentencing laws, particularly for repeat offenders. Having lost his eldest grandchild to a drunk driver, Senator Archuleta hopes to use his families’ tragedy to improve California’s DUI laws for other families. Partnering with Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman and Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer and Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD), SB 907 will prevent future drunk driving deaths and hold offenders meaningfully accountable for the harm they do to others.
“No family should ever have to endure what my family experienced during the holidays last year, or what the Levi family is facing now,” said Senator Bob Archuleta. “We must strengthen California’s laws to better support law enforcement, and most importantly, we must stand with and support the families who are devastated by drunk drivers. These are preventable tragedies and California must step up. Thank you to Mothers Against Drunk Drivers and District Attorneys Hochman and Spitzer for partnering with me to make real change for California.”
SB 907 will implement five necessary fixes to California’s DUI laws. The first of which, “Braun’s Law,” will ensure Watson warnings are read to all offenders who plea down from a drunk driving charge to a hit and run. After receiving a Watson Warning, an individual who drives drunk again and kills someone faces second degree murder charges.
18-year-old Braun Levi, a nationally ranked high school tennis star from Loyola High School, was struck and killed by a suspected drunk driver while walking in Manhattan Beach, California on May 4, 2025. Notably, while the accused had previously been arrested for a DUI offense, in that case the individual was plead to a hit and run and subsequently did not receive a Watson Warning, a loophole that SB 907 closes.
“Our son was killed by a repeat DUI offender that the system failed to stop. No family should ever have to experience that kind of loss and pain. This bill is about protecting lives and ensuring that individuals who choose to drive impaired face real consequences before another tragedy happens. We owe it to every parent, every family, and every community to put public safety first.,” said Jennifer Levi, victim.
In addition to Braun’s Law, SB 907 goes after repeat, serial offenders with enhancements for prior felony DUI convictions upon a new felony DUI and increases the punishment for hit and runs if the driver has a prior DUI conviction within 10 years.
“California’s DUI laws are among the weakest in the nation, and the results are devastating; alcohol-related roadway deaths have surged more than 50 percent in the last decade, twice the national rate,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said. “I see that human cost in our courtrooms, where repeat offenders cause catastrophic crashes and families lose loved ones forever. That’s why I’m proud to co-sponsor this bill and thank Senator Bob Archuleta for leading this effort. Along with my office’s dedicated DUI Training and Prosecution Section, we will continue to aggressively prosecute impaired driving. “This legislation closes dangerous loopholes, strengthens penalties for chronic drunk drivers, including those with prior felony DUI convictions, and treats vehicular homicide with the seriousness it demands, putting public safety first and delivering consequences that reflect the irreversible harm caused on our roads.”
Other provisions of the bill include adding gross vehicular manslaughter and vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated to the violent felony list, which closes a loophole where someone who kills someone while driving drunk can serve less time than someone who injures another person.
“Life is such a precious gift that must never be taken for granted, yet when a driver under the influence takes a life, California laws have fallen short in being able to hold those drivers accountable in a way that values the true tragedy of a death caused by drunk or drugged driving,” according to Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. These drivers are not just taking a single life through their selfish actions; they are creating a ripple effect of death and devastation across families, workplaces, neighborhoods, and entire communities who grieve the loss of a loved one who should still be here on earth.
“Everyone knows about the deadly dangers of impaired driving, and yet countless families continue to be destroyed because someone gets behind the wheel after drinking or using drugs. We as Californians must stand up against drunk and drugged driving by demanding full accountability for impaired drivers and the shattered lives they leave in their wake. Thank you to Senator Archuleta for continuing to lead the charge against impaired driving in the hopes of saving priceless lives.”
Lastly, inspired by the killings of Anya Varfolomeev and Nikolay Osokin in Orange County, SB 907 includes a provision to allow for full term consecutive sentencing for multiple violations of gross vehicular manslaughter and vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. Under “Kolya and Anya’s Law,” California will effectively be able to charge and sentence individuals who kill multiple victims in one accident.
“Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) thanks Senator Archuleta, the Los Angeles District Attorney's office, and the Orange County District Attorney's office, for authoring this lifesaving measure that will help provide justice for victims and survivors of impaired driving,” said MADD California Regional Executive Director Patricia Rillera. “Braun’s Law will close many loopholes in our sentencing laws that allow impaired drivers to evade justice and leave victims and survivors revictimized. MADD is in full support of this proposal that will help make California a leader in impaired driving prevention.”
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Senator Bob Archuleta currently represents the 30th Senate District, which includes portions of Los Angeles County and Orange County. He is the Chair of the Senate Committee on Military and Veterans Affairs, and a member of the following Standing Senate Committees: Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee, Government Organization Committee, Transportation Committee, as well as the Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency Management. Senator Archuleta also sits on the Senate Special Committee on International Sporting Events: Olympics and World Cup Soccer. Website of Senator Bob Archuleta: https://sd30.senate.ca.gov/