Bill Text: CA AB2367 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Driving under the influence: 24/7 Sobriety program.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2016-11-30 - From committee without further action. [AB2367 Detail]
Download: California-2015-AB2367-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 2367 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 20, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 11, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 28, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Cooley
FEBRUARY 18, 2016
An act to add and repeal Section 23583 of the Vehicle Code,
relating to vehicles.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2367, as amended, Cooley. Driving under the influence: 24/7
Sobriety program.
Existing law prohibits a person who has 0.08% or more, by weight,
of alcohol in his or her blood from driving a vehicle. Existing law
also prohibits a person, while having 0.08% or more, by weight, of
alcohol in his or her blood from driving a vehicle and concurrently
doing any act forbidden by law, or neglecting any duty imposed by law
in driving the vehicle, when the act or neglect proximately causes
bodily injury to a person other than the driver. A violation of
either of these prohibitions is a crime. Existing law authorizes a
court, in addition to imposing penalties and sanctions for those
violations, to require the person to enroll and participate in, and
successfully complete, a driving-under-the-influence program, which
may include, among other things, education, group counseling, and
individual interview sessions.
This bill would authorize the court to order a person convicted of
a crime described above to enroll and participate in, and
successfully complete, a qualified "24/7 Sobriety" monitoring
program, as defined, as a condition of probation, if the program is
available and deemed appropriate, and the person committed the crime
within 10 years of one or more separate crimes described above that
resulted in a conviction. The bill would define a "24/7 Sobriety
program," in part, as requiring a person in the program to abstain
from alcohol and unauthorized controlled substances and be subject to
frequent testing for alcohol and controlled substances, as
specified. The bill would require a person participating in the
program to pay the program costs, commensurate with the person's
ability to pay, as specified. The bill would provide that a
person in the program may obtain a temporary restricted driver's
license upon proof of insurance, as specified. The bill
would require the Department of Motor Vehicles to study and report to
the Legislature by January 1, 2020, on the success of the 24/7
Sobriety program in reducing the driving-under-the-influence
recidivism rate in counties where it is used. These provisions would
be repealed on January 1, 2021.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares the following:
(a) Alcohol consumption and driving under the influence impose
enormous health and safety costs on California. Problem drinkers
account for a disproportionate share of these costs. California has
had success with its current approach to driving under the influence
by lowering blood alcohol concentration limits and by focusing on
reducing the likelihood that individuals drive while intoxicated.
However, California has been less successful at targeting those with
an underlying alcohol problem that makes them more likely to
consistently drive while impaired.
(b) Those with previous convictions for driving under the
influence are far more likely to recidivate than first-time
offenders. Moreover, these people are disproportionately involved in
alcohol-related traffic fatalities and are likely to have a diagnosis
of alcohol dependence.
(c) In 2005, South Dakota started a pilot program called "24/7
Sobriety" and required those arrested for or convicted of
alcohol-related offenses to take twice-a-day breathalyzer tests or
wear a continuous alcohol monitoring bracelet. Those who fail or skip
their tests are immediately subject to certain but modest sanctions,
typically a day or two in jail. After a five-county pilot project,
the program grew to include more jurisdictions and offenses. Studies
have found that the total number of repeat
driving-under-the-influence arrests in counties operating the program
fell by 12 percent, and the total number of arrests for domestic
violence dropped by 9 percent.
SEC. 2. Section 23583 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read:
23583. (a) (1) In order to strengthen the posttrial options
available to prosecutors and judges, the court may order a person
convicted of a violation of Section 23152 or 23153 to enroll and
participate in, and successfully complete, a qualified "24/7 Sobriety"
monitoring program as a condition of probation, if the program is
available and deemed appropriate, and the person committed the
current violation within 10 years of one or more separate violations
of Section 23152 or 23153 that resulted in a conviction.
(2) For purposes of this section, a "24/7 Sobriety program"
requires a person in the program to abstain from alcohol and
unauthorized controlled substances and requires the person to be
subject to frequent testing for alcohol or controlled substances,
with certain but modest punishment for violations of the program. The
methodology for the program shall be evidence-based.
Persons ordered into the program may also be required to participate
in other driving-under-the-influence programs as provided by other
law. The program shall be licensed pursuant to Section 11836 of the
Health and Safety Code.
(3) For purposes of this subdivision, the term "evidence-based
program" means a program that satisfies the requirements of at least
two of the following:
(A) The program is included in the federal registry of
evidence-based programs and practices.
(B) The program has been reported in a peer-reviewed journal as
having positive effects on the primary targeted outcome.
(C) The program has been documented as effective by informed
experts and other sources.
(b) As the court deems appropriate, the program may monitor
alcohol or controlled substances through one or more of the following
modalities:
(1) Breath testing, twice a day.
(2) Continuous transdermal alcohol monitoring in cases of
hardship.
(3) Random blood, breath, sweat, urine, or oral fluid testing.
(c) Testing locations that provide the best ability to sanction a
violation as close in time as reasonably feasible to the occurrence
of the violation should be given preference.
(d) In order to enable all required defendants to participate,
each person shall pay the program costs commensurate with the person'
s ability to pay as determined pursuant to Section 11837.4 of the
Health and Safety Code.
(e) The court shall not impose a program of more than 180 days in
length unless the defendant tests positive for alcohol or an
unauthorized controlled substance or fails to appear for a test.
(f) The court, in establishing reporting requirements, shall
consult with the county probation department.
(g) (1) The court may notify the department that a person
participating in the program who provides proof of insurance is
eligible for a temporary restricted driver's license.
(2) If the person fails to comply with the program's requirements,
the court shall notify the department of the individual's
noncompliance and direct the department to withdraw the person's
restricted driver's license and reinstate the remainder of the
suspension period. The person's driving privilege shall not be
restored until the person provides proof satisfactory to the
department of successful completion of the program.
(3) Notwithstanding any other law, a person who receives a
temporary restricted driver's license pursuant to this section is
exempt from any requirement to install an ignition interlock device
on the person's vehicle during the time the person is participating
in the program.
(h)
(g) The department shall study and report to the
Legislature by January 1, 2020, on the success of the 24/7 Sobriety
program authorized pursuant to this section in reducing the
driving-under-the-influence recidivism rate in counties where it is
used. The report shall be submitted pursuant to Section 9795 of the
Government Code.
(i)
(h) This section shall remain in effect only until
January 1, 2021, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later
enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2021, deletes or
extends that date.
