‘I am ashamed’
Rep. Trish Groe, flanked by her husband and lawmakers, tearfully announced at the Capitol March 27 that she will take a 30-day leave from legislative duties.

A Lake Havasu City Republican arrested for drunk driving last week announced she will be taking a leave of absence from the Legislature to seek treatment for alcoholism.
Rep. Trish Groe, R-3, told reporters in a teary speech March 27 her decision to drive after drinking was a “horrible lapse in judgment.” Surrounded by fellow lawmakers and flanked by her husband, she also apologized to her family, colleagues and constituents who have put their trust in her.
“I am ashamed that I’ve betrayed that trust,” she said. “I have struggled with alcohol for some time in my adult life.”
Groe, 37, was pulled over March 22 near Parker after a police officer spotted her driving erratically. According to the La Paz County Sheriff’s Office report, the deputy who pulled her over smelled alcohol in her vehicle and on her breath. She had difficulty performing a roadside sobriety test and her blood alcohol content registered .168, .158 and .148 on a series of Breathalyzer tests administered over about an hour.
The state’s legal limit for drunk driving is a .08 blood alcohol content, or BAC; a person with a BAC above .15 can be charged with extreme DUI.
Saying she was encouraged by the phone calls and e-mails she has received urging her to be strong and get help, Groe said she will enter a treatment facility “as soon as possible” for a 30-day program before resuming her duties as a legislator.
The arrest was not Groe’s first for driving while intoxicated. In 1999, she pleaded guilty to a drunken driving charge in Orange County, Calif., where she lived at the time. As a result of that conviction, she completed a six-month outpatient rehabilitation program.
She said she had been sober “for many years” since the court-ordered treatment, but “this past year I’ve relapsed, which culminated in my arrest in La Paz County [March 22]. I am so grateful to those officers who pulled me over. I’m thankful to God that I didn’t injure or kill anyone.
“Somehow, I’m going to take away something good from this.”
At the press conference announcing she intends to seek treatment for her alcoholism, Groe refused to answer questions about her arrest or the events that led to it. She also declined to say if this was the only time she had driven drunk since her relapse.
House Democrats and Republicans alike applauded Groe for seeking help.
If she is charged and convicted of a felony, it would result in her automatic removal from her elected post. La Paz county Attorney Martin Brannan said that Groe could face one felony count of driving under the influence.
Lawmakers react
“I’m very happy that she’s going in for help,” Rep. Marian McClure, R-30, said. “She is not a bad person —she made a dumb decision.”
McClure said the incident shows how truly representative the Legislature is and hopes Groe can recover from her mistake.
“Lawmakers have the same flaws as the people they represent,” she said.
Likewise, House Minority Leader Phil Lopes, D-27, said the Democrats will welcome Groe back when she returns later this session. He also hoped the incident would show some Republicans the need for rehabilitation and the role it can play in helping people deal with alcoholism.
“What I would hope is, having had one of our own face this situation, that we would be a bit more sensitive to the value of rehab,” he said.
House to consider DUI bill soon
The House is poised to consider S1252 in April; the bill would require DUI offenders to spend the full 30 days in jail as prescribed by law. Currently, judges often reduce the sentence to 10 days. Democrats have lobbied for mandatory rehabilitation instead of increased jail time.
Sen. Jim Waring, the bill’s sponsor, does not think the Groe incident will affect the bill in the House.
“I wouldn’t think it would affect somebody’s vote. I would hope that it wouldn’t,” Waring, R-7, said.
If it becomes law, S1252 would not affect Groe, since it wouldn’t take effect until 90 days after the legislative session ends. Waring rejects the argument that rehabilitation is needed to stop people from drinking and driving.
“Frankly they have different view of the world —I guess I’m just going to put it that way —than I do,” he said of those who opposed the bill.
Waring called Groe’s actions an “unfortunate situation.”
“Obviously, you have thousands of people every year getting DUIs and they come from all walks of life,” he said. “I’m very happy that no one is hurt in the incident, not her nor anyone else.”
Waring has sponsored three DUI bills this year. All have advanced in both chambers.
One of the bills —S1029 —has been approved unanimously. The bills, both of which are awaiting floor action in the House, seek stiffer penalties or longer jail terms against the most intoxicated drivers.
He said the bills were offered on behalf of families who have lost members in car crashes.
“They watch these bills very closely and they care and we’re sort of doing this for them, really,” Waring said.

Pending DUI bills include:
• S1582, which authorizes the Motor Vehicle Division to order treatment and ignition interlock devices as conditions for license reinstatement.
• S1015, which allows a law enforcer to request a report of a person’s blood alcohol level based on a belief that the subject has violated drunk driving restrictions.
• S1252, one of the most hotly debated measures, which removes a judge’s discretion to suspend a portion of the jail sentence for a person convicted of extreme drunk driving for the first time, making it mandatory to lock up an offender for 30 full days.
• S1029, which mandates a person with a blood alcohol level of .20 percent or more to serve, when convicted for the first time, 45 days of jail time and to pay a fine of not less than $500. If that person is caught again within seven years with the same offense, he would have to serve at least 180 days in jail and pay $1,000.