Connecticut 2019 Regular Session

Connecticut Senate Bill SB00842 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
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2	2
3	3	LCO No. 4105 1 of 10
4	4
5	5	General Assembly Raised Bill No. 842
6	6	January Session, 2019
7	7	LCO No. 4105
8	8
9	9
10	10	Referred to Committee on JUDICIARY
11	11
12	12
13	13	Introduced by:
14	14	(JUD)
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16	16
17	17
18	18
19	19	AN ACT CONCERNING MO TOR VEHICLE OFFENSES.
20	20	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
21	21	Assembly convened:
22	22
23	23	Section 1. Section 14-215 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
24	24	following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2019): 2
25	25	(a) No person to whom an operator's license has been refused, or, 3
26	26	except as provided in section 14-215a, whose operator's license or right 4
27	27	to operate a motor vehicle in this state has been suspended or revoked, 5
28	28	shall operate any motor vehicle during the period of such refusal, 6
29	29	suspension or revocation. No person shall operate or cause to be 7
30	30	operated any motor vehicle, the registration of which has been refused, 8
31	31	suspended or revoked, or any motor vehicle, the right to operate 9
32	32	which has been suspended or revoked. 10
33	33	(b) (1) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, any 11
34	34	person who violates any provision of subsection (a) of this section shall 12
35	35	[, for a first offense,] be fined not less than one hundred fifty dollars or 13
36	36	more than two hundred dollars or imprisoned not more than three 14
37	37	months, or be both fined and imprisoned, [and] or, for any subsequent 15 Raised Bill No. 842
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39	39
40	40
41	41	LCO No. 4105 2 of 10
42	42
43	43	offense committed during the ten-year period immediately following 16
44	44	the day of the person's previous offense, be fined not less than two 17
45	45	hundred dollars or more than six hundred dollars or imprisoned not 18
46	46	more than one year, or be both fined and imprisoned. 19
47	47	(2) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, in addition to 20
48	48	the penalty prescribed under subdivision (1) of this subsection, any 21
49	49	person who violates any provision of subsection (a) of this section who 22
50	50	(A) has, during the ten-year period immediately prior to the 23
51	51	commission of the present violation, committed a violation of 24
52	52	subsection (a) of this section or section 14-36 shall be fined not more 25
53	53	than five hundred dollars or sentenced to perform not more than one 26
54	54	hundred hours of community service, or (B) has, prior to the 27
55	55	commission of the present violation, committed two or more violations 28
56	56	of subsection (a) of this section or section 14-36, or any combination 29
57	57	thereof, shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of one year, 30
58	58	ninety days of which may not be suspended or reduced in any 31
59	59	manner. 32
60	60	(c) (1) Any person who operates any motor vehicle during the 33
61	61	period such person's operator's license or right to operate a motor 34
62	62	vehicle in this state is under suspension or revocation during the ten-35
63	63	year period immediately prior to the commission of the present 36
64	64	violation, on account of a violation of section 14-227a, as amended by 37
65	65	this act, or 14-227m, subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection (a) of section 38
66	66	14-227n or section 53a-56b or 53a-60d or pursuant to section 14-227b, or 39
67	67	in violation of a restriction or limitation placed on such person's 40
68	68	operator's license or right to operate a motor vehicle in this state by the 41
69	69	Commissioner of Motor Vehicles pursuant to subsection (i) of section 42
70	70	14-227a, as amended by this act, or pursuant to an order of the court 43
71	71	under subsection (b) of section 14-227j, shall be fined not less than five 44
72	72	hundred dollars or more than one thousand dollars and imprisoned 45
73	73	not more than one year, and, in the absence of any mitigating 46
74	74	circumstances as determined by the court, thirty consecutive days of 47
75	75	the sentence imposed may not be suspended or reduced in any 48
76	76	manner. 49 Raised Bill No. 842
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78	78
79	79
80	80	LCO No. 4105 3 of 10
81	81
82	82	(2) Any person who operates any motor vehicle during the period 50
83	83	such person's operator's license or right to operate a motor vehicle in 51
84	84	this state is under suspension or revocation, during the ten-year period 52
85	85	immediately prior to the commission of the present violation, on 53
86	86	account of a second violation of section 14-227a, as amended by this 54
87	87	act, or 14-227m, subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection (a) of section 14-55
88	88	227n or section 53a-56b or 53a-60d or for the second time pursuant to 56
89	89	section 14-227b, or in violation of a restriction or limitation placed for 57
90	90	the second time on such person's operator's license or right to operate a 58
91	91	motor vehicle in this state by the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles 59
92	92	pursuant to subsection (i) of section 14-227a, as amended by this act, or 60
93	93	pursuant to an order of the court under subsection (b) of section 14-61
94	94	227j, shall be fined not less than five hundred dollars or more than one 62
95	95	thousand dollars and imprisoned not more than two years, and, in the 63
96	96	absence of any mitigating circumstances as determined by the court, 64
97	97	one hundred twenty consecutive days of the sentence imposed may 65
98	98	not be suspended or reduced in any manner. 66
99	99	(3) Any person who operates any motor vehicle during the period 67
100	100	such person's operator's license or right to operate a motor vehicle in 68
101	101	this state is under suspension or revocation, during the ten-year period 69
102	102	immediately prior to the commission of the present violation, on 70
103	103	account of a third or subsequent violation of section 14-227a, as 71
104	104	amended by this act, or 14-227m, subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection (a) 72
105	105	of section 14-227n or section 53a-56b or 53a-60d or for the third or 73
106	106	subsequent time pursuant to section 14-227b, or in violation of a 74
107	107	restriction placed for the third or subsequent time on such person's 75
108	108	operator's license or right to operate a motor vehicle in this state by the 76
109	109	Commissioner of Motor Vehicles pursuant to subsection (i) of section 77
110	110	14-227a, as amended by this act, or pursuant to an order of the court 78
111	111	under subsection (b) of section 14-227j, shall be fined not less than five 79
112	112	hundred dollars or more than one thousand dollars and imprisoned 80
113	113	not more than three years, and, in the absence of any mitigating 81
114	114	circumstances as determined by the court, one year of the sentence 82
115	115	imposed may not be suspended or reduced in any manner. 83 Raised Bill No. 842
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118	118
119	119	LCO No. 4105 4 of 10
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121	121	(4) The court shall specifically state in writing for the record the 84
122	122	mitigating circumstances, or the absence thereof. 85
123	123	(5) Notwithstanding any section of the general statutes, a violation 86
124	124	of subdivision (1), (2) or (3) of subsection (c) of this section cannot be 87
125	125	predicated on any alcohol-related suspension or revocation of an 88
126	126	operator's license or right to operate a motor vehicle in this state 89
127	127	imposed prior to July 1, 2015, for which the operator was eligible for 90
128	128	restoration on a specific date. 91
129	129	Sec. 2. Section 14-227a of the general statutes is amended by adding 92
130	130	subsection (m) as follows (Effective October 1, 2019): 93
131	131	(NEW) (m) (1) Notwithstanding the period prescribed in 94
132	132	subparagraph (C) of subdivision (1) of subsection (g) of this section 95
133	133	during which a person is prohibited from operating a motor vehicle 96
134	134	unless such motor vehicle is equipped with a functioning, approved 97
135	135	ignition interlock device as a condition for the restoration of such 98
136	136	person's motor vehicle operator's license or nonresident operating 99
137	137	privilege, if a person does not install such device because such person 100
138	138	does not own or have a motor vehicle to operate, the period for which 101
139	139	such person's motor vehicle operator's license or nonresident operating 102
140	140	privilege are suspended shall not exceed two years. 103
141	141	(2) Notwithstanding the period prescribed in subparagraph (C) of 104
142	142	subdivision (2) of subsection (g) of this section during which a person 105
143	143	is prohibited from operating a motor vehicle unless such motor vehicle 106
144	144	is equipped with a functioning, approved ignition interlock device as a 107
145	145	condition for the restoration of such person's motor vehicle operator's 108
146	146	license or nonresident operating privilege, if a person does not install 109
147	147	such device because such person does not own or have a motor vehicle 110
148	148	to operate, the period for which such person's motor vehicle operator's 111
149	149	license or nonresident operating privilege are suspended shall not 112
150	150	exceed four years. 113
151	151	Sec. 3. Section 54-56e of the general statutes is repealed and the 114
152	152	following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2019): 115 Raised Bill No. 842
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154	154
155	155
156	156	LCO No. 4105 5 of 10
157	157
158	158	(a) There shall be a pretrial program for accelerated rehabilitation of 116
159	159	persons accused of a crime or crimes or a motor vehicle violation or 117
160	160	violations for which a sentence to a term of imprisonment may be 118
161	161	imposed, which crimes or violations are not of a serious nature. Upon 119
162	162	application by any such person for participation in the program, the 120
163	163	court shall, but only as to the public, order the court file sealed. 121
164	164	(b) The court may, in its discretion, invoke such program on motion 122
165	165	of the defendant or on motion of a state's attorney or prosecuting 123
166	166	attorney with respect to a defendant (1) who, the court believes, will 124
167	167	probably not offend in the future, (2) who has no previous record of 125
168	168	conviction of a crime or of a violation of section 14-196, subsection (c) 126
169	169	of section 14-215, as amended by this act, section 14-222a, subsection 127
170	170	(a) or subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of section 14-224, section 14-128
171	171	227a, as amended by this act, or 14-227m or subdivision (1) or (2) of 129
172	172	subsection (a) of section 14-227n, and (3) who states under oath, in 130
173	173	open court or before any person designated by the clerk and duly 131
174	174	authorized to administer oaths, under the penalties of perjury, (A) that 132
175	175	the defendant has never had such program invoked on the defendant's 133
176	176	behalf or that the defendant was charged with a misdemeanor or a 134
177	177	motor vehicle violation, including subsection (c) of section 14-215, as 135
178	178	amended by this act, for which a term of imprisonment of one year or 136
179	179	less or a mandatory minimum sentence may be imposed and ten or 137
180	180	more years have passed since the date that any charge or charges for 138
181	181	which the program was invoked on the defendant's behalf were 139
182	182	dismissed by the court, or (B) with respect to a defendant who is a 140
183	183	veteran, that the defendant has not had such program invoked in the 141
184	184	defendant's behalf more than once previously, provided the defendant 142
185	185	shall agree thereto and provided notice has been given by the 143
186	186	defendant, on a form prescribed by the Office of the Chief Court 144
187	187	Administrator, to the victim or victims of such crime or motor vehicle 145
188	188	violation, if any, by registered or certified mail and such victim or 146
189	189	victims have an opportunity to be heard thereon. Any defendant who 147
190	190	makes application for participation in such program shall pay to the 148
191	191	court an application fee of thirty-five dollars. No defendant shall be 149 Raised Bill No. 842
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193	193
194	194
195	195	LCO No. 4105 6 of 10
196	196
197	197	allowed to participate in the pretrial program for accelerated 150
198	198	rehabilitation more than two times. For the purposes of this section, 151
199	199	"veteran" means any person who was discharged or released under 152
200	200	conditions other than dishonorable from active service in the armed 153
201	201	forces as defined in section 27-103. 154
202	202	(c) This section shall not be applicable: (1) To any person charged 155
203	203	with (A) a class A felony, (B) a class B felony, except a violation of 156
204	204	subdivision (1), (2) or (3) of subsection (a) of section 53a-122 that does 157
205	205	not involve the use, attempted use or threatened use of physical force 158
206	206	against another person, or a violation of subdivision (4) of subsection 159
207	207	(a) of section 53a-122 that does not involve the use, attempted use or 160
208	208	threatened use of physical force against another person and does not 161
209	209	involve a violation by a person who is a public official, as defined in 162
210	210	section 1-110, or a state or municipal employee, as defined in section 1-163
211	211	110, or (C) a violation of section 14-227a, as amended by this act, or 14-164
212	212	227m, subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection (a) of section 14-227n, 165
213	213	subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of section 53-21 or section 53a-56b, 166
214	214	53a-60d, 53a-70, 53a-70a, 53a-70b, 53a-71, except as provided in 167
215	215	subdivision (5) of this subsection, 53a-72a, 53a-72b, 53a-90a, 53a-196e 168
216	216	or 53a-196f, (2) to any person charged with a crime or motor vehicle 169
217	217	violation who, as a result of the commission of such crime or motor 170
218	218	vehicle violation, causes the death of another person, (3) to any person 171
219	219	accused of a family violence crime as defined in section 46b-38a who 172
220	220	(A) is eligible for the pretrial family violence education program 173
221	221	established under section 46b-38c, or (B) has previously had the 174
222	222	pretrial family violence education program invoked in such person's 175
223	223	behalf, (4) to any person charged with a violation of section 21a-267 or 176
224	224	21a-279 who (A) is eligible for the pretrial drug education and 177
225	225	community service program established under section 54-56i, or (B) 178
226	226	has previously had the pretrial drug education program or the pretrial 179
227	227	drug education and community service program invoked on such 180
228	228	person's behalf, (5) unless good cause is shown, to (A) any person 181
229	229	charged with a class C felony, or (B) any person charged with 182
230	230	committing a violation of subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of section 183 Raised Bill No. 842
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232	232
233	233
234	234	LCO No. 4105 7 of 10
235	235
236	236	53a-71 while such person was less than four years older than the other 184
237	237	person, (6) to any person charged with a violation of section 9-359 or 9-185
238	238	359a, (7) to any person charged with a motor vehicle violation [(A)] 186
239	239	while operating a commercial motor vehicle, as defined in section 14-1, 187
240	240	[or (B) who holds a commercial driver's license or commercial driver's 188
241	241	instruction permit at the time of the violation,] (8) to any person 189
242	242	charged with a violation of subdivision (6) of subsection (a) of section 190
243	243	53a-60, or (9) to a health care provider or vendor participating in the 191
244	244	state's Medicaid program charged with a violation of section 53a-122 192
245	245	or subdivision (4) of subsection (a) of section 53a-123. 193
246	246	(d) Except as provided in subsection (e) of this section, any 194
247	247	defendant who enters such program shall pay to the court a 195
248	248	participation fee of one hundred dollars. Any defendant who enters 196
249	249	such program shall agree to the tolling of any statute of limitations 197
250	250	with respect to such crime and to a waiver of the right to a speedy trial. 198
251	251	Any such defendant shall appear in court and shall, under such 199
252	252	conditions as the court shall order, be released to the custody of the 200
253	253	Court Support Services Division, except that, if a criminal docket for 201
254	254	drug-dependent persons has been established pursuant to section 51-202
255	255	181b in the judicial district, such defendant may be transferred, under 203
256	256	such conditions as the court shall order, to the court handling such 204
257	257	docket for supervision by such court. If the defendant refuses to 205
258	258	accept, or, having accepted, violates such conditions, the defendant's 206
259	259	case shall be brought to trial. The period of such probation or 207
260	260	supervision, or both, shall not exceed two years. If the defendant has 208
261	261	reached the age of sixteen years but has not reached the age of eighteen 209
262	262	years, the court may order that as a condition of such probation the 210
263	263	defendant be referred for services to a youth service bureau 211
264	264	established pursuant to section 10-19m, provided the court finds, 212
265	265	through an assessment by a youth service bureau or its designee, that 213
266	266	the defendant is in need of and likely to benefit from such services. 214
267	267	When determining any conditions of probation to order for a person 215
268	268	entering such program who was charged with a misdemeanor that did 216
269	269	not involve the use, attempted use or threatened use of physical force 217 Raised Bill No. 842
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271	271
272	272
273	273	LCO No. 4105 8 of 10
274	274
275	275	against another person or a motor vehicle violation, the court shall 218
276	276	consider ordering the person to perform community service in the 219
277	277	community in which the offense or violation occurred. If the court 220
278	278	determines that community service is appropriate, such community 221
279	279	service may be implemented by a community court established in 222
280	280	accordance with section 51-181c if the offense or violation occurred 223
281	281	within the jurisdiction of a community court established by said 224
282	282	section. If the defendant is charged with a violation of section 46a-58, 225
283	283	53-37a, 53a-181j, 53a-181k or 53a-181l, the court may order that as a 226
284	284	condition of such probation the defendant participate in a hate crimes 227
285	285	diversion program as provided in subsection (e) of this section. If a 228
286	286	defendant is charged with a violation of section 53-247, the court may 229
287	287	order that as a condition of such probation the defendant undergo 230
288	288	psychiatric or psychological counseling or participate in an animal 231
289	289	cruelty prevention and education program provided such a program 232
290	290	exists and is available to the defendant. 233
291	291	(e) If the court orders the defendant to participate in a hate crimes 234
292	292	diversion program as a condition of probation, the defendant shall pay 235
293	293	to the court a participation fee of four hundred twenty-five dollars. No 236
294	294	person may be excluded from such program for inability to pay such 237
295	295	fee, provided (1) such person files with the court an affidavit of 238
296	296	indigency or inability to pay, (2) such indigency or inability to pay is 239
297	297	confirmed by the Court Support Services Division, and (3) the court 240
298	298	enters a finding thereof. The Judicial Department shall contract with 241
299	299	service providers, develop standards and oversee appropriate hate 242
300	300	crimes diversion programs to meet the requirements of this section. 243
301	301	Any defendant whose employment or residence makes it unreasonable 244
302	302	to attend a hate crimes diversion program in this state may attend a 245
303	303	program in another state which has standards substantially similar to, 246
304	304	or higher than, those of this state, subject to the approval of the court 247
305	305	and payment of the application and program fees as provided in this 248
306	306	section. The hate crimes diversion program shall consist of an 249
307	307	educational program and supervised community service. 250
308	308	(f) If a defendant released to the custody of the Court Support 251 Raised Bill No. 842
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310	310
311	311
312	312	LCO No. 4105 9 of 10
313	313
314	314	Services Division satisfactorily completes such defendant's period of 252
315	315	probation, such defendant may apply for dismissal of the charges 253
316	316	against such defendant and the court, on finding such satisfactory 254
317	317	completion, shall dismiss such charges. If the defendant does not apply 255
318	318	for dismissal of the charges against such defendant after satisfactorily 256
319	319	completing such defendant's period of probation, the court, upon 257
320	320	receipt of a report submitted by the Court Support Services Division 258
321	321	that the defendant satisfactorily completed such defendant's period of 259
322	322	probation, may on its own motion make a finding of such satisfactory 260
323	323	completion and dismiss such charges. If a defendant transferred to the 261
324	324	court handling the criminal docket for drug-dependent persons 262
325	325	satisfactorily completes such defendant's period of supervision, the 263
326	326	court shall release the defendant to the custody of the Court Support 264
327	327	Services Division under such conditions as the court shall order or 265
328	328	shall dismiss such charges. Upon dismissal, all records of such charges 266
329	329	shall be erased pursuant to section 54-142a. An order of the court 267
330	330	denying a motion to dismiss the charges against a defendant who has 268
331	331	completed such defendant's period of probation or supervision or 269
332	332	terminating the participation of a defendant in such program shall be a 270
333	333	final judgment for purposes of appeal. 271
334	334	Sec. 4. Subsection (h) of section 54-56g of the general statutes is 272
335	335	repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective 273
336	336	October 1, 2019): 274
337	337	(h) The provisions of this section shall not be applicable in the case 275
338	338	of any person charged with a violation of section 14-227a, as amended 276
339	339	by this act, or 14-227m or subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection (a) of 277
340	340	section 14-227n [(1)] while operating a commercial motor vehicle, as 278
341	341	defined in section 14-1. [, or (2) who holds a commercial driver's 279
342	342	license or commercial driver's instruction permit at the time of the 280
343	343	violation.] 281
344	344	This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
345	345	sections:
346	346
347	347	Section 1 October 1, 2019 14-215 Raised Bill No. 842
348	348
349	349
350	350
351	351	LCO No. 4105 10 of 10
352	352
353	353	Sec. 2 October 1, 2019 14-227a
354	354	Sec. 3 October 1, 2019 54-56e
355	355	Sec. 4 October 1, 2019 54-56g(h)
356	356
357	357	Statement of Purpose:
358	358	To provide a look back period for certain motor vehicle violations and
359	359	a maximum period for certain license suspensions and to broaden the
360	360	category of potential participants in accelerated pretrial rehabilitation
361	361	and the pretrial alcohol education programs to include certain persons
362	362	who hold a commercial driver's license or instruction permit.
363	363	[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline,
364	364	except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is
365	365	not underlined.]
366	366