SCS/SB 18, 49 & 167 - This act revises various provisions concerning alcohol-related traffic offenses. The act penalizes the license of a driver for the second or subsequent violations for a blood alcohol content (BAC) level of .08%, at 3 points. The new crime of aggravated BAC carries a penalty of 12 points. The act requires an offender take the Substance Abuse Traffic Offenders Program (SATOP)in order to reinstate a license after a suspension for an aggravated BAC offense. A limited driving privilege shall not be issued until the offender serves two years of a five year license denial or serves three years of a ten year license denial, or for anyone denied a driver's license due to a conviction for involuntary manslaughter. Aggravated BAC is included in the zero tolerance provisions. The act also clarifies that the expungement provisions for persons less than 21 years of age pertain to BAC levels of .02 to .09 only.

In the portions of the bill pertaining to criminal provisions, the act revises the scope of Required Educational Assessment and Community Treatment Program (REACT) to include alcohol offenses. A court may order REACT for felony offenses involving alcohol or drugs as a condition of probation, and may do so while the pre-sentencing investigation is being conducted. Persons completing SATOP, may not be required to participate in REACT. Persons who commit a second or subsequent offense of operating a vessel while intoxicated must begin REACT within the first 60 days of probation. The act authorizes fees for REACT, other programs and for drug testing, to be deposited in the Correctional Substance Abuse Earnings Fund.

The act creates the crime of aggravated BAC for operation of vehicle with .18% BAC level. First offense is a Class B misdemeanor. The court shall order restorative justice methods for the second or subsequent offense, which may include intensive supervision and electronic shackling. The act prohibits any person from consuming an alcoholic beverage or possessing an open alcoholic beverage container in any vehicle on a highway or right-of-way of a highway. Exceptions are provided for a chartered tour bus, a recreational motor vehicle, and for possession of an open container behind the last upright seat of a vehicle not equipped with a trunk. Violation of this provision remains an infraction. Persons who have committed a previous alcohol-related traffic offense are not eligible for probation or parole until they have served five days imprisonment or are ordered to perform at least thirty days of community service; persistent offenders (two or more previous alcohol-related traffic offenses within ten years) must serve at least ten days, or be ordered to at least sixty days community service to be eligible. Prior offender includes the second aggravated BAC within ten years (for DWI and BAC, prior offender is for second offense within five years). The court shall order the person who commits DWI or BAC violation to either SATOP or REACT. Operating a vehicle with .08% BAC is prohibited; any violation is an infraction.
JOAN GUMMELS