3:37 PM Wed, Jul 14, 2010 | Permalink
By Mike McKinney

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Stephen R. Archambault, a Democratic candidate for Rhode Island attorney general, announced Wednesday that he will visit several communities to highlight his proposals on such issues as reducing drunken driving and fighting public corruption.

He is slated to make two-day campaign swing through Pawtucket, Cumberland, Johnston, East Providence, Warwick, Westerly, East Greenwich, Cranston, and South Kingstown.

Archambault said in a news release that one issue he will focus on is combating driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. He said his four-point plan includes making a felony punishable by up to four years in prison for someone to drive under the influence with a child age 15 or under in the car. The plan also would require that an interlock device be installed in a driver's vehicle after a first offense if the driver's blood-alcohol content is .15 or above and require that such devices be installed after all second offenses.

Typically, a driver must blow into the device, which tests breath to determine blood alcohol content. The car will not start if the alcohol content is too high. The Journal reported in 2006 that the interlock has been an option under Rhode Island law since 1992 but had been used only a few times a year as a penalty. This year, twin proposals in the General Assembly would have barred anyone convicted of driving under the influence from operating vehicle that does not have the device.

Among other issues Archambault focuses on are opposing rate increases by Blue Cross and other health insurance companies, with a push for what he called full public hearings on insurer's proposals "more thorough examination" of expenses and insurance company executive salaries. He also highlights bringing what he called a new approach to fighting public corruption.