§17C-5A-3a Establishment of and participation in the Motor Vehicle Alcohol Test and Lock Program.
§17C-5A-3a. Establishment of and participation in the Motor Vehicle Alcohol Test and Lock Program.
(a) (1) The Division of Motor Vehicles shall control and regulate a Motor Vehicle Alcohol Test and Lock Program for persons whose licenses have been revoked pursuant to this article or the provisions of article five of this chapter or have been convicted under section two, article five of this chapter.
(2) The program shall include the establishment of a users fee for persons participating in the program which shall be paid in advance and deposited into the Driver's Rehabilitation Fund: Provided, That on and after the first day of July, two thousand seven, any unexpended balance remaining in the Driver's Rehabilitation Fund shall be transferred to the Motor Vehicle Fees Fund created under the provisions of section twenty-one, article two, chapter seventeen-a of this code and all further fees collected shall be deposited in that fund.
(3) Except where specified otherwise, the use of the term "program" in this section refers to the Motor Vehicle Alcohol Test and Lock Program. The Commissioner of the Division of Motor Vehicles shall propose legislative rules for promulgation in accordance with the provisions of chapter twenty-nine-a of this code for the purpose of implementing the provisions of this section. The rules shall also prescribe those requirements which, in addition to the requirements specified by this section for eligibility to participate in the program, the commissioner determines must be met to obtain the commissioner's approval to operate a motor vehicle equipped with a motor vehicle alcohol test and lock system.
(4) For purposes of this section, a "motor vehicle alcohol test and lock system" means a mechanical or computerized system which, in the opinion of the commissioner, prevents the operation of a motor vehicle when, through the system's assessment of the blood alcohol content of the person operating or attempting to operate the vehicle, the person is determined to be under the influence of alcohol.
(5) The commissioner shall establish by legislative rule, proposed pursuant to article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, criteria to determine the eligibility for the payment of the installation of ignition interlock devices in the vehicles of indigent offenders. The rule shall include, but is not limited to, the development of a criteria for determining eligibility; promulgation of application forms; establishment of procedures for the review of applications; and the establishment of a mechanism for the payment of installations for eligible offenders.
(6) On or before the fifteenth day of January, of each year, the commissioner of the division of motor vehicles shall report to the Legislature on:
(A) The total number of offenders participating in the program during the prior year;
(B) The total number of indigent offenders participating in the program during the prior year;
(C) The terms of any contracts with the providers of ignition interlock devices ; and
(D) The total cost of the program to the state during the prior year.
(b)(1) Any person whose license is revoked for the first time pursuant to this article or the provisions of article five of this chapter is eligible to participate in the program when the person's minimum revocation period as specified by subsection (c) of this section has expired and the person is enrolled in or has successfully completed the safety and treatment program or presents proof to the commissioner within sixty days of receiving approval to participate by the commissioner that he or she is enrolled in a safety and treatment program: Provided, That anyone whose license is revoked for the first time pursuant to subsection (k), section two of this article must participate in the program when the person's minimum revocation period as specified by subsection (c) of this section has expired and the person is enrolled in or has successfully completed the safety and treatment program or presents proof to the commissioner within sixty days of receiving approval to participate by the commissioner that he or she is enrolled in a safety and treatment program.
(2) Any person whose license has been suspended pursuant to the provisions of subsection (n), section two of this article for driving a motor vehicle while under the age of twenty-one years with an alcohol concentration in his or her blood of two hundredths of one percent or more, by weight, but less than eight hundredths of one percent, by weight, is eligible to participate in the program after thirty days have elapsed from the date of the initial suspension, during which time the suspension was actually in effect: Provided, That in the case of a person under the age of eighteen, the person is eligible to participate in the program after thirty days have elapsed from the date of the initial suspension, during which time the suspension was actually in effect or after the person's eighteenth birthday, whichever is later. Before the commissioner approves a person to operate a motor vehicle equipped with a motor vehicle alcohol test and lock system, the person must agree to comply with the following conditions:
(A) If not already enrolled, the person shall enroll in and complete the educational program provided in subsection (d), section three of this article at the earliest time that placement in the educational program is available, unless good cause is demonstrated to the commissioner as to why placement should be postponed;
(B) The person shall pay all costs of the educational program, any administrative costs and all costs assessed for any suspension hearing.
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section to the contrary, a person eligible to participate in the program under this subsection may not operate a motor vehicle unless approved to do so by the commissioner.
(c) A person who participates in the program under subdivision (1), subsection (b) of this section is subject to a minimum revocation period and minimum period for the use of the ignition interlock device as follows:
(1) For a person whose license has been revoked for a first offense for six months pursuant to the provisions of section one-a of this article for conviction of an offense defined in subsection (d) or (g), section two, article five of this chapter or pursuant to subsection (j), section two of this article, the minimum period of revocation for participation in the test and lock program is fifteen days and the minimum period for the use of the ignition interlock device is one hundred and twenty-five days;
(2) For a person whose license has been revoked for a first offense pursuant to section seven, article five of this chapter, the minimum period of revocation for participation in the test and lock program is forty-five days and the minimum period for the use of the ignition interlock device is one year;
(3) For a person whose license has been revoked for a first offense pursuant to section one-a of this article for conviction of an offense defined in subsection (e), section two, article five of this chapter or pursuant to subsection (j), section two of this article, the minimum period of revocation for participation in the test and lock program is forty-five days and the minimum period for the use of the ignition interlock device is two hundred seventy days;
(4) For a person whose license has been revoked for a first offense pursuant to the provisions of section one-a of this article for conviction of an offense defined in subsection (a), section two, article five of this chapter or pursuant to subsection (f), section two of this article, the minimum period of revocation before the person is eligible for participation in the test and lock program is twelve months and the minimum period for the use of the ignition interlock device is two years;
(5) For a person whose license has been revoked for a first offense pursuant to the provisions of section one-a of this article for conviction of an offense defined in subsection (b), section two, article five of this chapter or pursuant to subsection (g), section two of this article, the minimum period of revocation is six months and the minimum period for the use of the ignition interlock device is two years;
(6) For a person whose license has been revoked for a first offense pursuant to the provisions of section one-a of this article for conviction of an offense defined in subsection (c), section two, article five of this chapter or pursuant to subsection (h), section two of this article, the minimum period of revocation for participation in the program is two months and the minimum period for the use of the ignition interlock device is one year;
(7) For a person whose license has been revoked for a first offense pursuant to the provisions of section one-a of this article for conviction of an offense defined in subsection (j), section two, article five of this chapter or pursuant to subsection (m), section two of this article, the minimum period of revocation for participation in the program is two months and the minimum period for the use of the ignition interlock device is ten months;
(d) Notwithstanding any provision of the code to the contrary, a person shall participate in the program if the person is convicted under section two, article five of this chapter or the person's license is revoked under section two of this article or section seven, article five of this chapter and the person was previously either convicted or his or her license was revoked under any provision cited in this subsection within the past ten years. The minimum revocation period for a person required to participate in the program under this subsection is one year and the minimum period for the use of the ignition interlock device is two years, except that the minimum revocation period for a person required to participate because of a violation of subsection (n), section two of this article or subsection (i), section two, article five of this chapter is two months and the minimum period of participation is one year. The division shall add an additional two months to the minimum period for the use of the ignition interlock device if the offense was committed while a minor was in the vehicle. The division shall add an additional six months to the minimum period for the use of the ignition interlock device if a person other than the driver received injuries. The division shall add an additional two years to the minimum period for the use of the ignition interlock device if a person other than the driver is injured and the injuries result in that person's death. The division shall add one year to the minimum period for the use of the ignition interlock device for each additional previous conviction or revocation within the past ten years. Any person required to participate under this subsection must have an ignition interlock device installed on every vehicle he or she owns or operates.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision in this code, a person whose license is revoked for driving under the influence of drugs is not eligible to participate in the Motor Vehicle Alcohol Test and Lock Program.
(f) An applicant for the test and lock program may not have been convicted of any violation of section three, article four, chapter seventeen-b of this code for driving while the applicant's driver's license was suspended or revoked within the six-month period preceding the date of application for admission to the test and lock program unless such is necessary for employment purposes.
(g) Upon permitting an eligible person to participate in the program, the commissioner shall issue to the person, and the person is required to exhibit on demand, a driver's license which shall reflect that the person is restricted to the operation of a motor vehicle which is equipped with an approved motor vehicle alcohol test and lock system.
(h) The commissioner may extend the minimum period of revocation and the minimum period of participation in the program for a person who violates the terms and conditions of participation in the program as found in this section, or legislative rule, or any agreement or contract between the participant and the division or program service provider.
(i) A person whose license has been suspended pursuant to the provisions of subsection (n), section two of this article who has completed the educational program and who has not violated the terms required by the commissioner of the person's participation in the program is entitled to the reinstatement of his or her driver's license six months from the date the person is permitted to operate a motor vehicle by the commissioner. When a license has been reinstated pursuant to this subsection, the records ordering the suspension, records of any administrative hearing, records of any blood alcohol test results and all other records pertaining to the suspension shall be expunged by operation of law: Provided, That a person is entitled to expungement under the provisions of this subsection only once. The expungement shall be accomplished by physically marking the records to show that the records have been expunged and by securely sealing and filing the records. Expungement has the legal effect as if the suspension never occurred. The records may not be disclosed or made available for inspection and in response to a request for record information, the commissioner shall reply that no information is available. Information from the file may be used by the commissioner for research and statistical purposes so long as the use of the information does not divulge the identity of the person.
(j) In addition to any other penalty imposed by this code, any person who operates a motor vehicle not equipped with an approved motor vehicle alcohol test and lock system during that person's participation in the Motor Vehicle Alcohol Test and Lock Program is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined in jail for a period not less than one month nor more than six months and fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars. Any person who attempts to bypass the alcohol test and lock system is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined in jail not more than six months and fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars: Provided, That notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, a person enrolled and participating in the test and lock program may operate a motor vehicle solely at his or her job site if the operation is a condition of his or her employment. For the purpose of this section, job site does not include any street or highway open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular traffic.