GOV. BACKS TOUGHER DWI PENALTIES

Gov. Gary Johnson said Monday he favors tougher penalties for driving
under the influence of alcohol or drugs -- although he offered no
specific plan or proposed legislation.

"Stiffening penalties for drinking while driving, driving while under
the impairment of any substance, I'm all for," Johnson said. "Drinking
and driving is just not acceptable behavior." Johnson made his
comments outside the state Capitol as he helped the Santa Fe chapter
of Mothers Against Drunk Driving kick off its annual red-ribbon safety
campaign for the holidays.

The ribbons are intended to remind drivers of the dangers of driving
while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Johnson said New Mexico has made progress in combating drunken
driving. He said DWI-related deaths in the state have dropped more
than 40 percent in the past decade.

"But our DWI rates are still higher than any of our surrounding
states," Johnson said. "We still average 70 alcohol (related) crashes
every week, and this has got to stop."

Johnson said he would support putting legislation to increase DWI
penalties on the agenda of the next legislative session, which begins
in January.

Johnson noted that in past legislative sessions he has proposed
changing state law so that a person convicted of a first DWI offense
would lose his or her driver's license for five years. The governor
also has proposed jailing for six months anyone caught driving with a
revoked license due to a DWI conviction. Neither proposal has been
approved by lawmakers.

On another topic, Johnson said New Mexico needs a super-maximum-security
prison unit to help control violent and disruptive inmates. However,
the governor said he was not advocating a specific super-max plan yet.

"Apparently, it is something that we need," Johnson said of a
super-max prison. "We need a mix of more of those beds."

Corrections Secretary Rob Perry and Wackenhut Corrections Corp.
officials have proposed converting half of Wackenhut's 600-bed Santa
Rosa prison into a super-maximum-security prison. The conversion would
be part of $5 million in proposed upgrades in security and
rehabilitation programs at Wackenhut's prisons in Hobbs and Santa Rosa.

Four inmates and a guard have been killed at the two prisons since
December.

On Friday, Perry said he also was considering converting the South
unit at the Penitentiary of New Mexico outside Santa Fe into a
super-maximum-security prison.