Day 26 -- Sweeping DUI legislation passed the House today after a debate that lasted well into the afternoon.

The Teen-age Driver Responsibility Act, H.B. 681, which had been in the works for several months, has four main goals. First to stop teenage DUI offenses, second to stop teenage driving accidents, third to use a teenager's drivers license as tool to keep them in school, and fourth have a firm but fair impact on all drivers.

Some provisions of the bill include no driving for teenagers between the hours of 1:00 A.M. and 5:00 A.M., unless: going to and from employment; school event; activity sponsored by a religious organization; medical, fire or law enforcement emergency.

No driving for teenagers with more than three other persons under the age of 21 in the vehicle who are not family members.

Teenagers could obtain a regular license at age 18 and can only move to the next level if he or she has gone 12 consecutive months without a conviction of DUI, eluding a police officer, drag racing, reckless driving, hit run, and any moving violation for which there is assessed four or more points on the driver's license.

A zero alcohol tolerance as the DUI standard for drivers age 15-21. Any blood-alcohol content of .02 percent or greater would be considered a DUI for any driver under the age of 21.

First time offenders with a blood alcohol content of .08 or more would have a mandatory jail sentence, upon conviction, of 24 hours. This provision applies for teenagers as well but they would have to be separated from the rest of the main prison population.

No teenager could obtain a license or instruction permit unless he or she is attending a public school, private school, or enrolled in home schooling authorized by law. Teenagers could also not have missed more than 10 consecutive school days of unexcused absences in any semester or any consecutive quarter without having their license suspended.

Other provisions include changing the nolo contendere plea for DUI charges to be treated as a conviction for all purposes, and second time offenders to undergo a clinical evaluation, and if indicated by such evaluation, must complete a substance abuse program.

Amendments that passed change the teenage driving curfew hours from 1:00 A.M. to 6:00 A.M., to 1:00 A.M. to 5:00 A.M., and add excessive speeding to the list of offenses that a teenager's license can be revoked.

The bill passed by a vote of 171-6 and is headed to the Senate.

Along the same lines, the House also passed H.B. 250 by a vote of 158 to 12 today. This legislation authorizes store clerks to obtain information such as the name, address, and phone number for the arrest of persons under the age of twenty-one attempting to buy alcohol with fraudulent identification. An amendment was passed that suspends the license for six months of people under twenty-one convicted of attempting to buy alcohol.