New Jersey will lose $7.2 million in federal highway funds this year alone because state legislators failed to pass a low to lower the legal blood alcohol standard for drunken driving from .10 to .08.

Under a federal transportation bill passed in 2000, states had until September 30, 2003 to lower the BAC level for driving under the influence or face the loss of federal highway construction funds. Wisconsin and Louisiana this week made it under the deadline, putting the .08 standard into enforcement on the last possible day.

Under the guidelines, New Jersey will lose two percent of its federal highway funds this year and that amount will increase by two percent for each of the next four years if the state does not adopt the new BAC level.

Currently, there are four different bills in the legislature that would meet the federal mandate, but thus far none have been passed. The legislature does not reconvene until Nov. 4.

More: Alcohol-Related Impairment | More About Drunk Driving