Bill Text: VA HB2231 | 2017 | Regular Session | Prefiled
Bill Title: Ignition interlock system; period of time which person is prohibited to drive, etc.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2017-03-13 - Governor: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0499) [HB2231 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2017-HB2231-Prefiled.html
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §§18.2-270.1 and 18.2-271.1 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:
§18.2-270.1. Ignition interlock systems; penalty.
A. For purposes of this section and §18.2-270.2:
"Commission" means the Commission on VASAP.
"Department" means the Department of Motor Vehicles.
"Ignition interlock system" means a device that (i) connects a motor vehicle ignition system to an analyzer that measures a driver's blood alcohol content; (ii) prevents a motor vehicle ignition from starting if a driver's blood alcohol content exceeds 0.02 percent; and (iii) is equipped with the ability to perform a rolling retest and to electronically log the blood alcohol content during ignition, attempted ignition and rolling retest.
"Rolling retest" means a test of the vehicle operator's blood alcohol content required at random intervals during operation of the vehicle, which triggers the sounding of the horn and flashing of lights if (i) the test indicates that the operator has a blood alcohol content which exceeds 0.02 percent or (ii) the operator fails to take the test.
B. In addition to any penalty provided by law for a conviction under §18.2-51.4 or 18.2-266 or a substantially similar ordinance of any county, city or town, any court of proper jurisdiction shall, as a condition of a restricted license, prohibit an offender from operating a motor vehicle that is not equipped with a functioning, certified ignition interlock system for any period of time not to exceed the period of license suspension and restriction, not less than six consecutive months without alcohol-related violations of the interlock requirements. The court shall, for a conviction under §18.2-51.4, a second or subsequent offense of §18.2-266 or a substantially similar ordinance of any county, city or town, or as a condition of license restoration pursuant to subsection C of §18.2-271.1 or §46.2-391, require that such a system be installed on each motor vehicle, as defined in §46.2-100, owned by or registered to the offender, in whole or in part, for such period of time. Such condition shall be in addition to any purposes for which a restricted license may be issued pursuant to §18.2-271.1. The court may order the installation of an ignition interlock system to commence immediately upon conviction. A fee of $20 to cover court and administrative costs related to the ignition interlock system shall be paid by any such offender to the clerk of the court. The court shall require the offender to install an electronic log device with the ignition interlock system on a vehicle designated by the court to measure the blood alcohol content at each attempted ignition and random rolling retest during operation of the vehicle. The offender shall be enrolled in and supervised by an alcohol safety action program pursuant to §18.2-271.1 and to conditions established by regulation under §18.2-270.2 by the Commission during the period for which the court has ordered installation of the ignition interlock system. The offender shall be further required to provide to such program, at least quarterly during the period of court ordered ignition interlock installation, a printout from such electronic log indicating the offender's blood alcohol content during such ignitions, attempted ignitions, and rolling retests, and showing attempts to circumvent or tamper with the equipment. The period of time during which the offender (i) is prohibited from operating a motor vehicle that is not equipped with an ignition interlock system or (ii) is required to have an ignition interlock system installed on each motor vehicle owned by or registered to the offender, in whole or in part, shall be calculated from the date the offender is issued a restricted license by the Department pursuant to subsection C.
C. In any case in which the court requires the installation of an ignition interlock system, the court shall order the offender not to operate any motor vehicle that is not equipped with such a system for the period of time that the interlock restriction is in effect. The clerk of the court shall file with the Department of Motor Vehicles a copy of the order, which shall become a part of the offender's operator's license record maintained by the Department. The Department shall issue to the offender for the period during which the interlock restriction is imposed a restricted license which shall appropriately set forth the restrictions required by the court under this subsection and any other restrictions imposed upon the offender's driving privilege, and shall also set forth any exception granted by the court under subsection F.
D. The offender shall be ordered to provide the appropriate ASAP program, within 30 days of the effective date of the order of court, proof of the installation of the ignition interlock system. The Program shall require the offender to have the system monitored and calibrated for proper operation at least every 30 days by an entity approved by the Commission under the provisions of §18.2-270.2 and to demonstrate proof thereof. The offender shall pay the cost of leasing or buying and monitoring and maintaining the ignition interlock system. Absent good cause shown, the court may revoke the offender's driving privilege for failing to (i) timely install such system or (ii) have the system properly monitored and calibrated.
E. No person shall start or attempt to start a motor vehicle equipped with an ignition interlock system for the purpose of providing an operable motor vehicle to a person who is prohibited under this section from operating a motor vehicle that is not equipped with an ignition interlock system. No person shall tamper with, or in any way attempt to circumvent the operation of, an ignition interlock system that has been installed in the motor vehicle of a person under this section. Except as authorized in subsection F, no person shall knowingly furnish a motor vehicle not equipped with a functioning ignition interlock system to any person prohibited under subsection B from operating any motor vehicle which is not equipped with such system. A violation of this subsection is punishable as a Class 1 misdemeanor.
F. Any person prohibited from operating a motor vehicle under
subsection B may, solely in the course of his employment, operate a motor
vehicle which
that is owned or provided by his employer without
installation of an ignition interlock system, if the court expressly permits
such operation as a condition of a restricted license at the request of the
employer, but; such
person shall not be permitted to operate any other vehicle without
a functioning ignition interlock system and, in no event, shall
such person may not be permitted to operate a
school bus, school vehicle, or a commercial motor vehicle as defined in §
46.2-341.4. This subsection shall not apply if such employer is an entity
wholly or partially owned or controlled by the person otherwise prohibited from
operating a vehicle without an ignition interlock system.
G. The Commission shall promulgate such regulations and forms as are necessary to implement the procedures outlined in this section.
§18.2-271.1. Probation, education, and rehabilitation of person charged or convicted; person convicted under law of another state or federal law.
A. Any person convicted of a first or second offense of § 18.2-266, or any ordinance of a county, city, or town similar to the provisions thereof, or provisions of subsection A of §46.2-341.24, shall be required by court order, as a condition of probation or otherwise, to enter into and successfully complete an alcohol safety action program in the judicial district in which such charge is brought or in any other judicial district upon such terms and conditions as the court may set forth. However, upon motion of a person convicted of any such offense following an assessment of the person conducted by an alcohol safety action program, the court, for good cause, may decline to order participation in such a program if the assessment by the alcohol safety action program indicates that intervention is not appropriate for such person. In no event shall such persons be permitted to enter any such program which is not certified as meeting minimum standards and criteria established by the Commission on the Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program (VASAP) pursuant to this section and to §18.2-271.2. However, any person charged with a violation of a first or second offense of §18.2-266, or any ordinance of a county, city, or town similar to the provisions thereof, or provisions of subsection A of §46.2-341.24, may, at any time prior to trial, enter into an alcohol safety action program in the judicial district in which such charge is brought or in any other judicial district. Any person who enters into such program prior to trial may pre-qualify with the program to have an ignition interlock system installed on any motor vehicle owned or operated by him. However, no ignition interlock company shall install an ignition interlock system on any such vehicle until a court issues to the person a restricted license with the ignition interlock restriction.
B. The court shall require the person entering such program under the provisions of this section to pay a fee of no less than $250 but no more than $300. A reasonable portion of such fee, as may be determined by the Commission on VASAP, but not to exceed 10 percent, shall be forwarded monthly to be deposited with the State Treasurer for expenditure by the Commission on VASAP, and the balance shall be held in a separate fund for local administration of driver alcohol rehabilitation programs. Upon a positive finding that the defendant is indigent, the court may reduce or waive the fee. In addition to the costs of the proceeding, fees as may reasonably be required of defendants referred for intervention under any such program may be charged.
C. Upon conviction of a violation of §18.2-266 or any
ordinance of a county, city or town similar to the provisions thereof, or
subsection A of §46.2-341.24, the court shall impose the sentence authorized
by §18.2-270 or 46.2-341.28 and the license revocation as authorized by §
18.2-271. In addition, if the conviction was for a second offense committed
within less than 10 years after a first such offense, the court shall order
that restoration of the person's license to drive be conditioned upon the
installation of an ignition interlock system on each motor vehicle, as defined
in §46.2-100, owned by or registered to the person, in whole or in part, for a
period of six months beginning at the end of the three year license revocation,
unless such a system has already been installed for six months prior to that
time pursuant to a restricted license order under subsection E of this section. Upon a
finding that a person so convicted is required to participate in the program
described herein, the court shall enter the conviction on the warrant, and shall
note that the person so convicted has been referred to such program. The court
may then proceed to issue an order in accordance with subsection E of this section, if the court
finds that the person so convicted is eligible for a restricted license. If the
court finds good cause for a person not to participate in such program or
subsequently that such person has violated, without good cause, any of the
conditions set forth by the court in entering the program, the court shall
dispose of the case as if no program had been entered, in which event the
revocation provisions of §46.2-389 and subsection A of §46.2-391 shall be
applicable to the conviction. The court shall, upon final disposition of the
case, send a copy of its order to the Commissioner of the Department of Motor
Vehicles. If such order provides for the issuance of a restricted license, the
Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles, upon receipt thereof, shall
issue a restricted license. The
period of time during which the person (i)
is prohibited from operating a motor vehicle that is not equipped with an
ignition interlock system or (ii) is required to have an ignition interlock
system installed on each motor vehicle owned by or registered to the person, in
whole or in part, shall be calculated from the date the person is
issued a restricted license by the Department of Motor
Vehicles. Appeals from any such
disposition shall be allowed as provided by law. The time within which an
appeal may be taken shall be calculated from the date of the final disposition
of the case or any motion for rehearing, whichever is later.
D. Any person who has been convicted under the law of another
state or the United States of an offense substantially similar to the
provisions of §18.2-266 or subsection A of §46.2-341.24, and whose privilege
to operate a motor vehicle in this Commonwealth is subject to revocation under
the provisions of §46.2-389 and subsection A of §46.2-391, may petition the
general district court of the county or city in which he resides that he be
given probation and assigned to a program as provided in subsection A of this section and that, upon
entry into such program, he be issued an order in accordance with subsection E of this section. If the court
finds that such person would have qualified therefor if he had been convicted
in this Commonwealth of a violation of §18.2-266 or subsection A of §
46.2-341.24, the court may grant the petition and may issue an order in
accordance with subsection E of this section
as to the period of license suspension or revocation imposed pursuant to §
46.2-389 or subsection A of §46.2-391. The court shall, as a condition of a
restricted license, prohibit such person from operating a motor vehicle that is
not equipped with a functioning certified ignition interlock system for a
period of time not to exceed the period of license suspension and restriction,
not less than six consecutive months without alcohol-related violations of
interlock requirements. Such order shall be conditioned upon the successful
completion of a program by the petitioner. If the court subsequently finds that
such person has violated any of the conditions set forth by the court, the
court shall dispose of the case as if no program had been entered and shall
notify the Commissioner, who shall revoke the person's license in accordance
with the provisions of §46.2-389 or subsection A of §46.2-391. A copy of the
order granting the petition or subsequently revoking or suspending such
person's license to operate a motor vehicle shall be forthwith sent to the
Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles. The
period of time during which the person is
prohibited from operating a motor vehicle that is not equipped with an ignition
interlock system shall be calculated from the date the person is
issued a restricted license by the Department of Motor Vehicles.
No period of license suspension or revocation shall be imposed pursuant to this subsection which, when considered together with any period of license suspension or revocation previously imposed for the same offense under the law of another state or the United States, results in such person's license being suspended for a period in excess of the maximum periods specified in this subsection.
E. Except as otherwise provided herein, whenever a person
enters a certified program pursuant to this section, and such person's license
to operate a motor vehicle, engine or train in the Commonwealth has been
suspended or revoked, the court may, in its discretion and for good cause
shown, provide that such person be issued a restricted permit to operate a
motor vehicle for any of the following purposes: (i) travel to and from his
place of employment; (ii) travel to and from an alcohol rehabilitation or
safety action program; (iii) travel during the hours of such person's
employment if the operation of a motor vehicle is a necessary incident of such
employment; (iv) travel to and from school if such person is a student, upon
proper written verification to the court that such person is enrolled in a continuing
program of education; (v) travel for health care services, including medically
necessary transportation of an elderly parent or, as designated by the court,
any person residing in the person's household with a serious medical problem
upon written verification of need by a licensed health professional; (vi)
travel necessary to transport a minor child under the care of such person to
and from school, day care, and facilities housing medical service providers;
(vii) travel to and from court-ordered visitation with a child of such person;
(viii) travel to a screening, evaluation and education program entered pursuant
to §18.2-251 or subsection H of §18.2-258.1; (ix) travel to and from court
appearances in which he is a subpoenaed witness or a party and appointments
with his probation officer and to and from any programs required by the court
or as a condition of probation; (x) travel to and from a place of religious
worship one day per week at a specified time and place; (xi) travel to and from
appointments approved by the Division of Child Support Enforcement of the
Department of Social Services as a requirement of participation in an
administrative or court-ordered intensive case monitoring program for child
support for which the participant maintains written proof of the appointment,
including written proof of the date and time of the appointment, on his person;
(xii) travel to and from jail to serve a sentence when such person has been
convicted and sentenced to confinement in jail and pursuant to §53.1-131.1 the
time to be served is on weekends or nonconsecutive days; or (xiii) travel to
and from the facility that installed or monitors the ignition interlock in the
person's vehicle. No restricted license issued pursuant to this subsection
shall permit any person to operate a commercial motor vehicle as defined in the
Virginia Commercial Driver's License Act (§46.2-341.1 et seq.). The court
shall order the surrender of such person's license to operate a motor vehicle
to be disposed of in accordance with the provisions of §46.2-398 and shall
forward to the Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles a copy of its
order entered pursuant to this subsection, which shall specifically enumerate
the restrictions imposed and contain such information regarding the person to
whom such a permit is issued as is reasonably necessary to identify such
person. The court shall also provide a copy of its order to the person so
convicted who may operate a motor vehicle on the order until receipt from the
Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles of a restricted license, if
the order provides for a restricted license for that time period. A copy of
such order and, after receipt thereof, the restricted license shall be carried
at all times while operating a motor vehicle. Any person who operates a motor
vehicle in violation of any restrictions imposed pursuant to this section shall
be guilty of a violation of §18.2-272. Such restricted license shall be
conditioned upon enrollment within 15 days in, and successful completion of, a
program as described in subsection A of this section.
No restricted license shall be issued during the first four months of a
revocation imposed pursuant to subsection B of §18.2-271 or subsection A of §
46.2-391 for a second offense of the type described therein committed within 10
years of a first such offense. No restricted license shall be issued during the
first year of a revocation imposed pursuant to subsection B of §18.2-271 or
subsection A of §46.2-391 for a second offense of the type described therein
committed within five years of a first such offense. No restricted license
shall be issued during any revocation period imposed pursuant to subsection C
of §18.2-271 or subsection B of §46.2-391. Notwithstanding the provisions of
§46.2-411, the fee charged pursuant to §46.2-411 for reinstatement of the
driver's license of any person whose privilege or license has been suspended or
revoked as a result of a violation of §18.2-266, subsection A of §46.2-341.24
or of any ordinance of a county, city or town, or of any federal law or the
laws of any other state similar to the provisions of §18.2-266 or subsection A
of §46.2-341.24 shall be $105. Forty dollars of such reinstatement fee shall
be retained by the Department of Motor Vehicles as provided in §46.2-411, $40
shall be transferred to the Commission on VASAP, and $25 shall be transferred
to the Commonwealth Neurotrauma Initiative Trust Fund.
F. The court shall have jurisdiction over any person entering such program under any provision of this section until such time as the case has been disposed of by either successful completion of the program, or revocation due to ineligibility or violation of a condition or conditions imposed by the court, whichever shall first occur. Revocation proceedings shall be commenced by notice to show cause why the court should not revoke the privilege afforded by this section. Such notice shall be made by first-class mail to the last known address of such person, and shall direct such person to appear before the court in response thereto on a date contained in such notice, which shall not be less than 10 days from the date of mailing of the notice. Failure to appear in response to such notice shall of itself be grounds for revocation of such privilege. Notice of revocation under this subsection shall be sent forthwith to the Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles.
G. For the purposes of this section, any court which has convicted a person of a violation of §18.2-266, subsection A of §46.2-341.24 or any ordinance of a county, city or town similar to the provisions of § 18.2-266 shall have continuing jurisdiction over such person during any period of license revocation related to that conviction, for the limited purposes of (i) referring such person to a certified alcohol safety action program, (ii) providing for a restricted permit for such person in accordance with the provisions of subsection E, and (iii) imposing terms, conditions and limitations for actions taken pursuant to clauses (i) and (ii), whether or not it took either such action at the time of the conviction. This continuing jurisdiction is subject to the limitations of subsection E that provide that no restricted license shall be issued during a revocation imposed pursuant to subsection C of §18.2-271 or subsection B of §46.2-391 or during the first four months or first year, whichever is applicable, of the revocation imposed pursuant to subsection B of §18.2-271 or subsection A of §46.2-391. The provisions of this subsection shall apply to a person convicted of a violation of §18.2-266, subsection A of §46.2-341.24 or any ordinance of a county, city or town similar to the provisions of §18.2-266 on, after and at any time prior to July 1, 2003.
H. The State Treasurer, the Commission on VASAP or any city or county is authorized to accept any gifts or bequests of money or property, and any grant, loan, service, payment or property from any source, including the federal government, for the purpose of driver alcohol education. Any such gifts, bequests, grants, loans or payments shall be deposited in the separate fund provided in subsection B.
I. The Commission on VASAP, or any county, city, town, or any combination thereof may establish and, if established, shall operate, in accordance with the standards and criteria required by this subsection, alcohol safety action programs in connection with highway safety. Each such program shall operate under the direction of a local independent policy board chosen in accordance with procedures approved and promulgated by the Commission on VASAP. Local sitting or retired district court judges who regularly hear or heard cases involving driving under the influence and are familiar with their local alcohol safety action programs may serve on such boards. The Commission on VASAP shall establish minimum standards and criteria for the implementation and operation of such programs and shall establish procedures to certify all such programs to ensure that they meet the minimum standards and criteria stipulated by the Commission. The Commission shall also establish criteria for the administration of such programs for public information activities, for accounting procedures, for the auditing requirements of such programs and for the allocation of funds. Funds paid to the Commonwealth hereunder shall be utilized in the discretion of the Commission on VASAP to offset the costs of state programs and local programs run in conjunction with any county, city or town and costs incurred by the Commission. The Commission shall submit an annual report as to actions taken at the close of each calendar year to the Governor and the General Assembly.
J. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section or of §18.2-271, nothing in this section shall permit the court to suspend, reduce, limit, or otherwise modify any disqualification from operating a commercial motor vehicle imposed under the provisions of the Virginia Commercial Driver's License Act (§46.2-341.1 et seq.).
2. That the provisions of this act may result in a net increase in periods of imprisonment or commitment. Pursuant to §30-19.1:4, the estimated amount of the necessary appropriation is $0 for periods of imprisonment in state adult correctional facilities and is $0 for periods of commitment to the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice.