Western North Carolina is one step closer to receiving a regional crime lab to help alleviate the number of DWI cases being dismissed in court because of a lack of evidence.

Understaffing and a severe backlog of alcohol blood test submissions in Raleigh keeps prosecutors from being able to settle DWI court cases in a timely manner, or even at all.

That’s because DWI offenders who refuse to submit to a breathalyzer must have their blood drawn and sent to Raleigh. But the results from testing can sometimes take up to a year to come back.

Sen. Tom Apodaca kept his word after promising to take action on the issue following a summit last month when local and state officials gathered at the Waynesville Police Department.

Apodaca introduced Senate Bill 3 on Wednesday, which requests state funding ...