A bill to lower the legal limit for drunken driving rests in the hands of Gov. Ed Rendell.

The state House of Representatives unanimously passed and sent the bill to Rendell to lower the legal blood-alcohol limit from 0.10 percent to 0.08 percent.

It also makes broad revisions to the state's 20-year-old drunken-driving law.

This bill comes at a time when it is truly needed. Through the end of July, the State College Police Department reported 261 driving under the influence (DUI) offenses. This is compared to last year's 159 offenses to that point.

At the end of 2001, police had arrested 297 people on DUI charges, and the number increased to 307 in 2002, according to State College Police. As it looks now, the number will continue to climb.

Pennsylvania is one of the last states to pass such measures, and with continually increasing numbers of people driving under the influence, it is obviously needed.

Some of the provisions under the new law give tougher penalties to drivers with higher blood-alcohol levels.

This ensures the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation will have the authority to install an ignition interlock device in the car of a repeat offender.

This is especially important. People who may have had a lower blood-alcohol level should receive a lighter punishment than a person with a higher level should.

While anyone who drives under the influence of alcohol should be punished, it is better to punish the people who do it more frequently or are drunker when driving.

The bill gives higher levels of punishment as the blood-alcohol levels increase. From 0.08 to 0.099; 0.10 to 0.159; and 0.16 and up, all becoming more severe as they go up.

This truly is beneficial. Giving a blanket punishment for all offenders doesn't necessarily fix the problem.

One of the other new provisions that is a definite plus is it would force offenders to receive drug and alcohol treatment as a condition of their sentences. Too often people receive punishments and fines but not rehabilitation.

This is a step forward in the right direction to help people who are committing these crimes to understand more why it is wrong and how they can be helped.

Rendell should now sign the bill to make it a reality.