LCO No. 4105 1 of 10
General Assembly Raised Bill No. 842
January Session, 2019
LCO No. 4105
Referred to Committee on JUDICIARY
Introduced by:
(JUD)
AN ACT CONCERNING MO TOR VEHICLE OFFENSES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 14-215 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2019): 2
(a) No person to whom an operator's license has been refused, or, 3
except as provided in section 14-215a, whose operator's license or right 4
to operate a motor vehicle in this state has been suspended or revoked, 5
shall operate any motor vehicle during the period of such refusal, 6
suspension or revocation. No person shall operate or cause to be 7
operated any motor vehicle, the registration of which has been refused, 8
suspended or revoked, or any motor vehicle, the right to operate 9
which has been suspended or revoked. 10
(b) (1) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, any 11
person who violates any provision of subsection (a) of this section shall 12
[, for a first offense,] be fined not less than one hundred fifty dollars or 13
more than two hundred dollars or imprisoned not more than three 14
months, or be both fined and imprisoned, [and] or, for any subsequent 15 Raised Bill No. 842
LCO No. 4105 2 of 10
offense committed during the ten-year period immediately following 16
the day of the person's previous offense, be fined not less than two 17
hundred dollars or more than six hundred dollars or imprisoned not 18
more than one year, or be both fined and imprisoned. 19
(2) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, in addition to 20
the penalty prescribed under subdivision (1) of this subsection, any 21
person who violates any provision of subsection (a) of this section who 22
(A) has, during the ten-year period immediately prior to the 23
commission of the present violation, committed a violation of 24
subsection (a) of this section or section 14-36 shall be fined not more 25
than five hundred dollars or sentenced to perform not more than one 26
hundred hours of community service, or (B) has, prior to the 27
commission of the present violation, committed two or more violations 28
of subsection (a) of this section or section 14-36, or any combination 29
thereof, shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of one year, 30
ninety days of which may not be suspended or reduced in any 31
manner. 32
(c) (1) Any person who operates any motor vehicle during the 33
period such person's operator's license or right to operate a motor 34
vehicle in this state is under suspension or revocation during the ten-35
year period immediately prior to the commission of the present 36
violation, on account of a violation of section 14-227a, as amended by 37
this act, or 14-227m, subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection (a) of section 38
14-227n or section 53a-56b or 53a-60d or pursuant to section 14-227b, or 39
in violation of a restriction or limitation placed on such person's 40
operator's license or right to operate a motor vehicle in this state by the 41
Commissioner of Motor Vehicles pursuant to subsection (i) of section 42
14-227a, as amended by this act, or pursuant to an order of the court 43
under subsection (b) of section 14-227j, shall be fined not less than five 44
hundred dollars or more than one thousand dollars and imprisoned 45
not more than one year, and, in the absence of any mitigating 46
circumstances as determined by the court, thirty consecutive days of 47
the sentence imposed may not be suspended or reduced in any 48
manner. 49 Raised Bill No. 842
LCO No. 4105 3 of 10
(2) Any person who operates any motor vehicle during the period 50
such person's operator's license or right to operate a motor vehicle in 51
this state is under suspension or revocation, during the ten-year period 52
immediately prior to the commission of the present violation, on 53
account of a second violation of section 14-227a, as amended by this 54
act, or 14-227m, subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection (a) of section 14-55
227n or section 53a-56b or 53a-60d or for the second time pursuant to 56
section 14-227b, or in violation of a restriction or limitation placed for 57
the second time on such person's operator's license or right to operate a 58
motor vehicle in this state by the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles 59
pursuant to subsection (i) of section 14-227a, as amended by this act, or 60
pursuant to an order of the court under subsection (b) of section 14-61
227j, shall be fined not less than five hundred dollars or more than one 62
thousand dollars and imprisoned not more than two years, and, in the 63
absence of any mitigating circumstances as determined by the court, 64
one hundred twenty consecutive days of the sentence imposed may 65
not be suspended or reduced in any manner. 66
(3) Any person who operates any motor vehicle during the period 67
such person's operator's license or right to operate a motor vehicle in 68
this state is under suspension or revocation, during the ten-year period 69
immediately prior to the commission of the present violation, on 70
account of a third or subsequent violation of section 14-227a, as 71
amended by this act, or 14-227m, subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection (a) 72
of section 14-227n or section 53a-56b or 53a-60d or for the third or 73
subsequent time pursuant to section 14-227b, or in violation of a 74
restriction placed for the third or subsequent time on such person's 75
operator's license or right to operate a motor vehicle in this state by the 76
Commissioner of Motor Vehicles pursuant to subsection (i) of section 77
14-227a, as amended by this act, or pursuant to an order of the court 78
under subsection (b) of section 14-227j, shall be fined not less than five 79
hundred dollars or more than one thousand dollars and imprisoned 80
not more than three years, and, in the absence of any mitigating 81
circumstances as determined by the court, one year of the sentence 82
imposed may not be suspended or reduced in any manner. 83 Raised Bill No. 842
LCO No. 4105 4 of 10
(4) The court shall specifically state in writing for the record the 84
mitigating circumstances, or the absence thereof. 85
(5) Notwithstanding any section of the general statutes, a violation 86
of subdivision (1), (2) or (3) of subsection (c) of this section cannot be 87
predicated on any alcohol-related suspension or revocation of an 88
operator's license or right to operate a motor vehicle in this state 89
imposed prior to July 1, 2015, for which the operator was eligible for 90
restoration on a specific date. 91
Sec. 2. Section 14-227a of the general statutes is amended by adding 92
subsection (m) as follows (Effective October 1, 2019): 93
(NEW) (m) (1) Notwithstanding the period prescribed in 94
subparagraph (C) of subdivision (1) of subsection (g) of this section 95
during which a person is prohibited from operating a motor vehicle 96
unless such motor vehicle is equipped with a functioning, approved 97
ignition interlock device as a condition for the restoration of such 98
person's motor vehicle operator's license or nonresident operating 99
privilege, if a person does not install such device because such person 100
does not own or have a motor vehicle to operate, the period for which 101
such person's motor vehicle operator's license or nonresident operating 102
privilege are suspended shall not exceed two years. 103
(2) Notwithstanding the period prescribed in subparagraph (C) of 104
subdivision (2) of subsection (g) of this section during which a person 105
is prohibited from operating a motor vehicle unless such motor vehicle 106
is equipped with a functioning, approved ignition interlock device as a 107
condition for the restoration of such person's motor vehicle operator's 108
license or nonresident operating privilege, if a person does not install 109
such device because such person does not own or have a motor vehicle 110
to operate, the period for which such person's motor vehicle operator's 111
license or nonresident operating privilege are suspended shall not 112
exceed four years. 113
Sec. 3. Section 54-56e of the general statutes is repealed and the 114
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2019): 115 Raised Bill No. 842
LCO No. 4105 5 of 10
(a) There shall be a pretrial program for accelerated rehabilitation of 116
persons accused of a crime or crimes or a motor vehicle violation or 117
violations for which a sentence to a term of imprisonment may be 118
imposed, which crimes or violations are not of a serious nature. Upon 119
application by any such person for participation in the program, the 120
court shall, but only as to the public, order the court file sealed. 121
(b) The court may, in its discretion, invoke such program on motion 122
of the defendant or on motion of a state's attorney or prosecuting 123
attorney with respect to a defendant (1) who, the court believes, will 124
probably not offend in the future, (2) who has no previous record of 125
conviction of a crime or of a violation of section 14-196, subsection (c) 126
of section 14-215, as amended by this act, section 14-222a, subsection 127
(a) or subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of section 14-224, section 14-128
227a, as amended by this act, or 14-227m or subdivision (1) or (2) of 129
subsection (a) of section 14-227n, and (3) who states under oath, in 130
open court or before any person designated by the clerk and duly 131
authorized to administer oaths, under the penalties of perjury, (A) that 132
the defendant has never had such program invoked on the defendant's 133
behalf or that the defendant was charged with a misdemeanor or a 134
motor vehicle violation, including subsection (c) of section 14-215, as 135
amended by this act, for which a term of imprisonment of one year or 136
less or a mandatory minimum sentence may be imposed and ten or 137
more years have passed since the date that any charge or charges for 138
which the program was invoked on the defendant's behalf were 139
dismissed by the court, or (B) with respect to a defendant who is a 140
veteran, that the defendant has not had such program invoked in the 141
defendant's behalf more than once previously, provided the defendant 142
shall agree thereto and provided notice has been given by the 143
defendant, on a form prescribed by the Office of the Chief Court 144
Administrator, to the victim or victims of such crime or motor vehicle 145
violation, if any, by registered or certified mail and such victim or 146
victims have an opportunity to be heard thereon. Any defendant who 147
makes application for participation in such program shall pay to the 148
court an application fee of thirty-five dollars. No defendant shall be 149 Raised Bill No. 842
LCO No. 4105 6 of 10
allowed to participate in the pretrial program for accelerated 150
rehabilitation more than two times. For the purposes of this section, 151
"veteran" means any person who was discharged or released under 152
conditions other than dishonorable from active service in the armed 153
forces as defined in section 27-103. 154
(c) This section shall not be applicable: (1) To any person charged 155
with (A) a class A felony, (B) a class B felony, except a violation of 156
subdivision (1), (2) or (3) of subsection (a) of section 53a-122 that does 157
not involve the use, attempted use or threatened use of physical force 158
against another person, or a violation of subdivision (4) of subsection 159
(a) of section 53a-122 that does not involve the use, attempted use or 160
threatened use of physical force against another person and does not 161
involve a violation by a person who is a public official, as defined in 162
section 1-110, or a state or municipal employee, as defined in section 1-163
110, or (C) a violation of section 14-227a, as amended by this act, or 14-164
227m, subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection (a) of section 14-227n, 165
subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of section 53-21 or section 53a-56b, 166
53a-60d, 53a-70, 53a-70a, 53a-70b, 53a-71, except as provided in 167
subdivision (5) of this subsection, 53a-72a, 53a-72b, 53a-90a, 53a-196e 168
or 53a-196f, (2) to any person charged with a crime or motor vehicle 169
violation who, as a result of the commission of such crime or motor 170
vehicle violation, causes the death of another person, (3) to any person 171
accused of a family violence crime as defined in section 46b-38a who 172
(A) is eligible for the pretrial family violence education program 173
established under section 46b-38c, or (B) has previously had the 174
pretrial family violence education program invoked in such person's 175
behalf, (4) to any person charged with a violation of section 21a-267 or 176
21a-279 who (A) is eligible for the pretrial drug education and 177
community service program established under section 54-56i, or (B) 178
has previously had the pretrial drug education program or the pretrial 179
drug education and community service program invoked on such 180
person's behalf, (5) unless good cause is shown, to (A) any person 181
charged with a class C felony, or (B) any person charged with 182
committing a violation of subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of section 183 Raised Bill No. 842
LCO No. 4105 7 of 10
53a-71 while such person was less than four years older than the other 184
person, (6) to any person charged with a violation of section 9-359 or 9-185
359a, (7) to any person charged with a motor vehicle violation [(A)] 186
while operating a commercial motor vehicle, as defined in section 14-1, 187
[or (B) who holds a commercial driver's license or commercial driver's 188
instruction permit at the time of the violation,] (8) to any person 189
charged with a violation of subdivision (6) of subsection (a) of section 190
53a-60, or (9) to a health care provider or vendor participating in the 191
state's Medicaid program charged with a violation of section 53a-122 192
or subdivision (4) of subsection (a) of section 53a-123. 193
(d) Except as provided in subsection (e) of this section, any 194
defendant who enters such program shall pay to the court a 195
participation fee of one hundred dollars. Any defendant who enters 196
such program shall agree to the tolling of any statute of limitations 197
with respect to such crime and to a waiver of the right to a speedy trial. 198
Any such defendant shall appear in court and shall, under such 199
conditions as the court shall order, be released to the custody of the 200
Court Support Services Division, except that, if a criminal docket for 201
drug-dependent persons has been established pursuant to section 51-202
181b in the judicial district, such defendant may be transferred, under 203
such conditions as the court shall order, to the court handling such 204
docket for supervision by such court. If the defendant refuses to 205
accept, or, having accepted, violates such conditions, the defendant's 206
case shall be brought to trial. The period of such probation or 207
supervision, or both, shall not exceed two years. If the defendant has 208
reached the age of sixteen years but has not reached the age of eighteen 209
years, the court may order that as a condition of such probation the 210
defendant be referred for services to a youth service bureau 211
established pursuant to section 10-19m, provided the court finds, 212
through an assessment by a youth service bureau or its designee, that 213
the defendant is in need of and likely to benefit from such services. 214
When determining any conditions of probation to order for a person 215
entering such program who was charged with a misdemeanor that did 216
not involve the use, attempted use or threatened use of physical force 217 Raised Bill No. 842
LCO No. 4105 8 of 10
against another person or a motor vehicle violation, the court shall 218
consider ordering the person to perform community service in the 219
community in which the offense or violation occurred. If the court 220
determines that community service is appropriate, such community 221
service may be implemented by a community court established in 222
accordance with section 51-181c if the offense or violation occurred 223
within the jurisdiction of a community court established by said 224
section. If the defendant is charged with a violation of section 46a-58, 225
53-37a, 53a-181j, 53a-181k or 53a-181l, the court may order that as a 226
condition of such probation the defendant participate in a hate crimes 227
diversion program as provided in subsection (e) of this section. If a 228
defendant is charged with a violation of section 53-247, the court may 229
order that as a condition of such probation the defendant undergo 230
psychiatric or psychological counseling or participate in an animal 231
cruelty prevention and education program provided such a program 232
exists and is available to the defendant. 233
(e) If the court orders the defendant to participate in a hate crimes 234
diversion program as a condition of probation, the defendant shall pay 235
to the court a participation fee of four hundred twenty-five dollars. No 236
person may be excluded from such program for inability to pay such 237
fee, provided (1) such person files with the court an affidavit of 238
indigency or inability to pay, (2) such indigency or inability to pay is 239
confirmed by the Court Support Services Division, and (3) the court 240
enters a finding thereof. The Judicial Department shall contract with 241
service providers, develop standards and oversee appropriate hate 242
crimes diversion programs to meet the requirements of this section. 243
Any defendant whose employment or residence makes it unreasonable 244
to attend a hate crimes diversion program in this state may attend a 245
program in another state which has standards substantially similar to, 246
or higher than, those of this state, subject to the approval of the court 247
and payment of the application and program fees as provided in this 248
section. The hate crimes diversion program shall consist of an 249
educational program and supervised community service. 250
(f) If a defendant released to the custody of the Court Support 251 Raised Bill No. 842
LCO No. 4105 9 of 10
Services Division satisfactorily completes such defendant's period of 252
probation, such defendant may apply for dismissal of the charges 253
against such defendant and the court, on finding such satisfactory 254
completion, shall dismiss such charges. If the defendant does not apply 255
for dismissal of the charges against such defendant after satisfactorily 256
completing such defendant's period of probation, the court, upon 257
receipt of a report submitted by the Court Support Services Division 258
that the defendant satisfactorily completed such defendant's period of 259
probation, may on its own motion make a finding of such satisfactory 260
completion and dismiss such charges. If a defendant transferred to the 261
court handling the criminal docket for drug-dependent persons 262
satisfactorily completes such defendant's period of supervision, the 263
court shall release the defendant to the custody of the Court Support 264
Services Division under such conditions as the court shall order or 265
shall dismiss such charges. Upon dismissal, all records of such charges 266
shall be erased pursuant to section 54-142a. An order of the court 267
denying a motion to dismiss the charges against a defendant who has 268
completed such defendant's period of probation or supervision or 269
terminating the participation of a defendant in such program shall be a 270
final judgment for purposes of appeal. 271
Sec. 4. Subsection (h) of section 54-56g of the general statutes is 272
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective 273
October 1, 2019): 274
(h) The provisions of this section shall not be applicable in the case 275
of any person charged with a violation of section 14-227a, as amended 276
by this act, or 14-227m or subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection (a) of 277
section 14-227n [(1)] while operating a commercial motor vehicle, as 278
defined in section 14-1. [, or (2) who holds a commercial driver's 279
license or commercial driver's instruction permit at the time of the 280
violation.] 281
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2019 14-215 Raised Bill No. 842
LCO No. 4105 10 of 10
Sec. 2 October 1, 2019 14-227a
Sec. 3 October 1, 2019 54-56e
Sec. 4 October 1, 2019 54-56g(h)
Statement of Purpose:
To provide a look back period for certain motor vehicle violations and
a maximum period for certain license suspensions and to broaden the
category of potential participants in accelerated pretrial rehabilitation
and the pretrial alcohol education programs to include certain persons
who hold a commercial driver's license or instruction permit.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline,
except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is
not underlined.]