SB889: Ignition interlock; operation of motor vehicle without, penalty.


SENATE BILL NO. 889
AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE
(Proposed by the Senate Committee for Courts of Justice
on February 2, 2009)
(Patron Prior to Substitute--Senator McDougle)
A BILL to amend and reenact 18.2-272 of the Code of Virginia, relating to penalty for driving without an ignition interlock.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1.  That 18.2-272 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:

18.2-272. Driving after forfeiture of license.

A. Any person who drives or operates any motor vehicle, engine or train in the Commonwealth during the time for which he was deprived of the right to do so (i) upon conviction of a violation of 18.2-268.3 or of an offense set forth in subsection E of 18.2-270, (ii) by 18.2-271 or 46.2-391.2, (iii) after his license has been revoked pursuant to 46.2-389 or 46.2-391, or (iv) in violation of the terms of a restricted license issued pursuant to subsection E of 18.2-271.1, is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor except as otherwise provided in 46.2-391, and is subject to administrative revocation of his driver's license pursuant to 46.2-389 and 46.2-391. Any person convicted of three violations of this section committed within a 10-year period is guilty of a Class 6 felony.

Nothing in this section or 18.2-266, 18.2-270 or 18.2-271, shall be construed as conflicting with or repealing any ordinance or resolution of any city, town or county which restricts still further the right of such persons to drive or operate any such vehicle or conveyance.

B. Regardless of compliance with any other restrictions on his privilege to drive or operate a motor vehicle, it shall be a violation of this section for any person whose privilege to drive or operate a motor vehicle has been restricted, suspended or revoked because of a violation of 18.2-36.1, 18.2-51.4, 18.2-266, 18.2-268.3, 46.2-341.24, or a similar ordinance or law of another state or the United States to drive or operate a motor vehicle while he has a blood alcohol content of 0.02 percent or more.

Any person suspected of a violation of this subsection shall be entitled to a preliminary breath test in accordance with the provisions of 18.2-267, shall be deemed to have given his implied consent to have samples of his blood, breath or both taken for analysis pursuant to the provisions of 18.2-268.2, and, when charged with a violation of this subsection, shall be subject to the provisions of 18.2-268.1 through 18.2-268.12.

C. Any person who drives or operates a motor vehicle without a certified ignition interlock system as required by 46.2-391.01 is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor and is subject to administrative revocation of his driver's license pursuant to 46.2-389 and 46.2-391.

SENATE BILL NO. 889
Offered January 14, 2009
Prefiled December 31, 2008
A BILL to amend and reenact 46.2-389 and 46.2-391.01 of the Code of Virginia, relating to penalty for driving without an ignition interlock.
Patron-- McDougle

Referred to Committee on Transportation

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That 46.2-389 and 46.2-391.01 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:

46.2-389. Required revocation for one year upon conviction or finding of guilty of certain offenses; exceptions.

A. The Commissioner shall forthwith revoke, and not thereafter reissue for a period of time specified in subsection B, except as provided in 18.2-271 or 18.2-271.1, the driver's license of any resident or nonresident on receiving a record of his conviction or a record of his having been found guilty in the case of a juvenile of any of the following crimes, committed in violation of a state law or a valid county, city, or town ordinance or law of the United States, or a law of any other state, substantially paralleling and substantially conforming to a like state law and to all changes and amendments of it:

1. Voluntary or involuntary manslaughter resulting from the driving of a motor vehicle;

2. Violation of 18.2-266 or 18.2-272, or subsection A of 46.2-341.24 or violation of a substantially similar local ordinance;

3. Perjury or the making of a false affidavit to the Department under this chapter or any other law of the Commonwealth requiring the registration of motor vehicles or regulating their operation on the highways;

4. The making of a false statement to the Department on any application for a driver's license;

5. Any crime punishable as a felony under the motor vehicle laws of the Commonwealth or any other felony in the commission of which a motor vehicle is used;

6. Failure to stop and disclose his identity at the scene of the accident, on the part of a driver of a motor vehicle involved in an accident resulting in the death of or injury to another person; or

7. Violation of 18.2-36.1 or 18.2-51.4; or

8. Violation of 46.2-391.01.

B. Upon conviction of an offense set forth in subsection A, the person's driver's license shall be revoked for one year; however, for a violation of subdivision A 1 or A 7, the driver's license shall be revoked as provided in subsection B of 46.2-391. However, in no such event shall the Commissioner reinstate the driver's license of any person convicted of a violation of 18.2-266, or of a substantially similar valid local ordinance or law of another jurisdiction, until receipt of notification that such person has successfully completed an alcohol safety action program if such person was required by a court to do so unless the requirement for completion of the program has been waived by the court for good cause shown.

46.2-391.01. Administrative enforcement of ignition interlock requirements.

If the court, as a condition of license restoration or as a condition of a restricted license under subsection C of 18.2-271.1 or 46.2-391, fails to prohibit an offender from operating a motor vehicle that is not equipped with a functioning, certified ignition interlock system upon the offender's conviction of a second or subsequent offense under 18.2-51.4 or 18.2-266 or a substantially similar ordinance of any county, city or town, the Commissioner shall enforce the requirements relating to installation of such systems in accordance with the provisions of 18.2-270.1. Any such offender who operates a motor vehicle without a certified ignition interlock system is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.