California Assembly Bill AB520 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 520AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 28, 2011 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 31, 2011 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Ammiano FEBRUARY 15, 2011  An act to amend Section 1170 of the Penal Code, relating to sentencing.   An act to amend Section 13353.3 of the Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles.  LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 520, as amended, Ammiano.  Sentencing.   Vehicles: reckless driving: suspension of licenses.   Existing law requires a person's driving privilege to be suspended upon conviction of specified driving-under-the-influence (DUI) offenses for one year. Existing law terminates the licensing suspension if certain conditions are met, including if the person is eligible to apply for a restricted license. Under existing law, a person who drives a vehicle upon a highway in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of a person or property is guilty of reckless driving. Existing law provides that, when a person is charged with, and pleads guilty or nolo contendere to, reckless driving in satisfaction of, or as a substitute for, an original charge for a DUI, and the court accepts the plea of guilty or nolo contendere, the conviction is a prior offense for purposes of specified laws relating to punishments imposed for DUI convictions.   This bill would terminate a driver's license suspension, and make the person eligible for a restricted driver's license, for a person convicted of reckless driving in satisfaction of, or substitute for, an original charge of driving-under-the-influence, if certain conditions are met, including that the person complete a 90-day suspension period and install an ignition interlock device. The bill would require the department to advise the person of the above conditions. The bill would require that the restricted driver's license privilege be subject to certain restrictions, including that the privilege be limited to the hours necessary for driving from the person's place of employment.   Existing law, operative until January 1, 2012, provides that when a judgment of imprisonment is to be imposed and the statute specifies 3 possible terms, the choice of the appropriate term shall rest within the sound discretion of the court. Existing law, operative January 1, 2012, provides that the court shall order imposition of the middle term, unless there are circumstances in aggravation or mitigation of the crime.   This bill would extend the operative date of the current provision allowing the choice of the appropriate term to rest within the sound discretion of the court until January 1, 2013.   This bill would incorporate additional changes in Section 1170 of the Penal Code, proposed by A.B. 109, operative only if certain conditions are met.  Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  no   yes  . State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:  SECTION 1.   Section 13353.3 of the   Vehicle Code   is amended to read:  13353.3. (a) An order of suspension of a person's privilege to operate a motor vehicle pursuant to Section 13353.2 shall become effective 30 days after the person is served with the notice pursuant to Section 13382 or 13388, or subdivision (b) of Section 13353.2. (b) The period of suspension of a person's privilege to operate a motor vehicle under Section 13353.2 is as follows: (1) If the person has not been convicted of a separate violation of Section 23103, as specified in Section 23103.5, or Section 23140, 23152, or 23153, or Section 191.5 or subdivision (a) of Section 192.5 of the Penal Code, the person has not been administratively determined to have refused chemical testing pursuant to Section 13353 or 13353.1, or the person has not been administratively determined to have been driving with an excessive concentration of alcohol pursuant to Section 13353.2 on a separate occasion, which offense or occurrence occurred within 10 years of the occasion in question, the person's privilege to operate a motor vehicle shall be suspended for four months. (2) (A) If the person has been convicted of one or more separate violations of Section 23103, as specified in Section 23103.5, or Section 23140, 23152, or 23153, or Section 191.5 or subdivision (a) of Section 192.5 of the Penal Code, the person has been administratively determined to have refused chemical testing pursuant to Section 13353 or 13353.1, or the person has been administratively determined to have been driving with an excessive concentration of alcohol pursuant to Section 13353.2 on a separate occasion, which offense or occasion occurred within 10 years of the occasion in question, the person's privilege to operate a motor vehicle shall be suspended for one year, except as provided in  subparagraph   subparagraphs  (B)  and (C)  . (B) The one-year suspension pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall terminate if the person has been convicted of a violation arising out of the same occurrence and all of the following conditions are met: (i) The person is eligible for a restricted driver's license pursuant to Section 13352. (ii) The person installs an ignition interlock device as required in Section 13352 for that restricted driver's license. (iii) The person complies with all other applicable conditions of Section 13352 for a restricted driver's license.  (C) The one-year suspension pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall terminate after completion of a 90-day suspension period, and the person shall be eligible for a restricted license if the person has been convicted of a violation of Section 23103, as specified in Section 23103.5, arising out of the same occurrence and all the following conditions are met:   (i) The person satisfactorily provides, subsequent to the underlying violation date, proof satisfactory to the department of enrollment in a nine-month driving-under-the influence program licensed pursuant to Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 11836) of Part 2 of Division 10.5 of the Health and Safety Code that consists of at least 60 hours of program activities, including education, group counseling, and individual interview sessions.   (ii) The person agrees, as a condition of the restriction, to continue satisfactory participation in the program described in clause (i).   (iii) The person installs an ignition interlock device and submits the "Verification of Installation" form described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (h) of Section 13386.   (iv) The person agrees to maintain the ignition interlock device as required pursuant to subdivision (g) of Section 23575.   (v) The person provides proof of financial responsibility, as defined in Section 16430.   (vi) The person pays all license fees and any restriction fee required by the department.   (vii) The person pays to the department a fee sufficient to cover the costs of administration of this paragraph, as determined by the department.   (D) The department shall advise those persons that are eligible under subparagraph (C) that after completion of 90 days of the suspension period, the person may apply to the department for a restricted driver's license, subject to the conditions set forth in subparagraph (C).   (E) The restricted driving privilege shall become effective when the department receives all of the documents and fees required under subparagraph (C) and remain in effect for one year. The restricted driving privilege shall be subject to the following conditions:   (i) The restricted driving privilege shall be limited to the hours necessary for driving to and from the person's place of employment, driving during the course of employment, and driving to and from activities required in the driving-under-the-influence program.   (ii) If the driving privilege is restricted under this section, proof of financial responsibility, as described in Section 16430, shall be maintained for three years. If the person does not maintain that proof of financial responsibility at any time during the restriction, the driving privilege shall be suspended until the proof required pursuant to Section 16484 is received by the department.   (iii) For the purposes of this section, enrollment, participation, and completion of an approved program shall be subsequent to the date of the current violation. Credit may not be given to a program activity completed prior to the date of the current violation.   (iv) The department shall terminate the restriction issued pursuant to this section and shall suspend the privilege to operate a motor vehicle pursuant to subparagraph (A) immediately upon receipt of notification from the driving-under-the-influence program that the person has failed to comply with the program requirements. The privilege shall remain suspended until the final day of the original suspension imposed pursuant to subparagraph (A).   (v) The holder of a commercial driver's license who was operating a commercial motor vehicle, as defined in Section 15210, at the time of a violation that resulted in a suspension or revocation of the person's noncommercial driving privilege is not eligible for the restricted driver's license authorized pursuant to this section.   (vi) If, upon conviction, the court makes the determination that a person convicted of a violation of Section 23103, as specified in Section 23103.5, would present a traffic safety or public safety risk if authorized to operate a motor vehicle during the period of suspension imposed pursuant to subparagraph (A), the court may disallow the issuance of a restricted license and the department shall not then issue a restricted license pursuant to this section.  (3) Notwithstanding any other  provision of  law, if a person has been administratively determined to have been driving in violation of Section 23136 or to have refused chemical testing pursuant to Section 13353.1, the period of suspension shall not be for less than one year. (c) If a person's privilege to operate a motor vehicle is suspended pursuant to Section 13353.2 and the person is convicted of a violation of Section 23152 or 23153, including, but not limited to, a violation described in Section 23620, arising out of the same occurrence, both the suspension under Section 13353.2 and the suspension or revocation under Section 13352 shall be imposed, except that the periods of suspension or revocation shall run concurrently, and the total period of suspension or revocation shall not exceed the longer of the two suspension or revocation periods. (d) For the purposes of this section, a conviction of an offense in any state, territory, or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or the Dominion of Canada that, if committed in this state, would be a violation of Section 23103, as specified in Section 23103.5, or Section 23140, 23152, or 23153, or Section 191.5 or subdivision (a) of Section 192.5 of the Penal Code, is a conviction of that particular section of the Vehicle Code or Penal Code. All matter omitted in this version of the bill appears in the bill as amended in the Assembly, May 31, 2011. (JR11)