Bill Text: GA HB1133 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Restoration of licenses; certified DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Programs; modify provisions
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-02-24 - House Second Readers [HB1133 Detail]
Download: Georgia-2011-HB1133-Introduced.html
12 LC
35 2599
House
Bill 1133
By:
Representatives Rice of the
51st
and Powell of the
29th
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Article 4 of Chapter 5 of Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to restoration of licenses to persons completing defensive
driving course or alcohol or drug program, so as to require certified driver
improvement programs for purposes of completing certain probation requirements;
to modify provisions relating to certified DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk
Reduction Programs; to provide for related matters; to provide an effective
date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Article
4 of Chapter 5 of Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to restoration of licenses to persons completing defensive driving course or
alcohol or drug program, is amended by revising subsections (a) and (e) of Code
Section 40-5-83, relating to establishment and approval of driver improvement
clinics, as follows:
"(a)(1)
The commissioner shall establish criteria for the approval of driver improvement
clinics. To be approved, a clinic shall provide and operate a defensive driving
course. Clinics shall be composed of uniform education and training programs
consisting of six hours of instruction designed for the rehabilitation of
problem drivers. The commissioner shall establish standards and requirements
concerning the contents of courses, qualifications of instructors, attendance
requirements for students, and examinations. Approved clinics shall charge a
fee of
$75.00
$95.00
for a defensive driving course, except that such clinics may charge different
fees of their own choosing if the person is not enrolling in such course
pursuant to court order or department requirement. No clinic shall be approved
unless such clinic agrees in writing to allow the examination and audit of the
books, records, and financial statements of such clinic. Clinics may be
operated by any individual, partnership, or corporation. Nothing in this
paragraph shall be construed to affect in any way driving programs established
for purposes of insurance premium reductions under the provisions of Code
Section 33-9-42.
(1.1)(A)
No driver improvement clinic shall be permitted to use, adopt, or conduct any
business under any name that is like or deceptively similar to any name used by
any other driver improvement clinic, Georgia company, or Georgia corporation
registered with the Secretary of State. This subparagraph shall not prohibit
the franchising or licensing of any part or all of the name of a driver
improvement clinic by the owner or the rights thereof to another licensed driver
improvement clinic.
(B)
This paragraph shall not prohibit the franchising or licensing of any part or
all of the name of a clinic by the owner of the rights therein to another
licensed driver improvement clinic.
(2)
The commissioner may issue a special license to the instructor of any
commercial
licensed
driver training school authorizing such instructor to teach a defensive driving
course,
advanced defensive driving course, or professional defensive driving
course of a driver improvement clinic
provided pursuant to this Code section if such instructor is qualified to teach
a teen-age driver education course which consists of a minimum of 30 hours of
classroom and six hours of behind-the-wheel training and such instructor
certifies to the commissioner that he or she has provided at least 250 hours of
behind-the-wheel training in a teen-age driver education
course."
"(e)
The department is designated as the agency responsible for establishing criteria
for the approval of DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Programs. An
applicant shall meet the certification criteria promulgated by the department
through its standards and shall provide the following services: (1) the
assessment component and (2) the intervention component. The department is
designated as the agency responsible for establishing rules and regulations
concerning the contents and duration of the components of DUI Alcohol or Drug
Use Risk Reduction Programs, qualifications of instructors, attendance
requirements for students, examinations, and program evaluations. Qualified
instructors shall be certified for periods of four years each, which may be
renewed. Approved DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Programs shall charge
a fee of
$82.00
$85.00
for the assessment component and
$190.00
$225.00
for the intervention component. An additional fee for required student program
materials shall be established by the department in such an amount as is
reasonable and necessary to cover the cost of such materials. No DUI Alcohol or
Drug Use Risk Reduction Program shall be approved unless such clinic agrees in
writing to submit reports as required in the rules and regulations of the
department and to allow the examination and audit of the books, records, and
financial statements of such DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program by
the department or its authorized agent. DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction
Programs may be operated by any public, private, or governmental entity;
provided, however, that, except as otherwise provided in this subsection, in any
political subdivision in which a DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program
is operated by a private entity, whether for profit or nonprofit, neither the
local county board of health nor any other governmental entity shall fund any
new programs in that area. Programs currently in existence which are operated
by local county boards of health or any other governmental entities shall be
authorized to continue operation. New programs may be started in areas where no
private DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Programs have been made available
to said community. The Department of Corrections is authorized to operate DUI
Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Programs in its facilities where offenders
are not authorized to participate in such programs in the community, provided
that such programs meet the certification criteria promulgated by the Department
of Driver Services. All such programs operated by the Department of Corrections
shall be exempt from all fee provisions established in this
subsection,
specifically including the rebate of any fee for the costs of administration.
No DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program shall be approved unless such
clinic agrees in writing to pay to the state, for the costs of administration, a
fee of $22.00 for each offender assessed
or each
offender attending for points reduction,
provided that nothing in this Code section shall be construed so as to allow the
department to retain any funds required by the Constitution to be paid into the
state treasury; and provided, further, that the department shall comply with all
provisions of Part 1 of Article 4 of Chapter 12 of Title 45, the 'Budget Act,'
except Code Section 45-12-92, prior to expending any such miscellaneous
funds."
SECTION
2.
This
Act shall become effective on July 1, 2012.
SECTION
3.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.