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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 153
February Session, 2020
LCO No. 1471
Referred to Committee on TRANSPORTATION
Introduced by:
(TRA)
AN ACT CONCERNING AN ADVANCED OPERATOR'S RETRAINING
PROGRAM.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 14-111g of the 2020 supplement to the general 1
statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof 2
(Effective October 1, 2020): 3
(a) For the purposes of this subsection, "moving violation" means any 4
violation of subsection (c) of section 14-36 or section 14-36g, 14-212d, 14-5
218a, 14-219, 14-222, 14-223, 14-230 to 14-249, inclusive, 14-279, 14-283, 6
14-289b, 14-296aa, 14-299, 14-300, 14-301, 14-302 or 14-303, and 7
"suspension violation" means a violation of section 14-222a, 14-224, 14-8
227a, 14-227m or 14-227n, or section 53a-56b, 53a-57 or 53a-60d. The 9
Commissioner of Motor Vehicles may require any motor vehicle 10
operator who is twenty-four years of age or less, who has been convicted 11
of a moving violation or a suspension violation, or both, committed on 12
two or more occasions to attend [a motor vehicle] and operator's 13
retraining program. The commissioner may require any motor vehicle 14
operator over twenty-four years of age, who has been convicted of a 15 Raised Bill No. 153
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moving violation or a suspension violation or a combination of said 16
violations, committed on three or more occasions to attend [a motor 17
vehicle] an operator's retraining program. The commissioner shall 18
require any motor vehicle operator convicted of traveling more than 19
seventy-five miles per hour, any person operating a commercial motor 20
vehicle convicted of traveling more than sixty-five miles per hour in a 21
highway work zone, as defined in section 14-212d, or any person 22
convicted of a violation of subdivision (1) of subsection (c) of section 14-23
224, to attend [a motor vehicle] an operator's retraining program. The 24
commissioner shall notify such operator, in writing, of such 25
requirement. A fee of not more than eighty-five dollars shall be charged 26
for the operator's retraining program. The commissioner, after notice 27
and opportunity for hearing, [may] shall suspend the motor vehicle 28
operator's license of any such operator who fails to attend or 29
successfully complete the program until the operator successfully 30
completes the program. The hearing shall be limited to any claim of 31
impossibility of the operator to attend the [retraining] program, or to a 32
determination of mistake or misidentification. 33
(b) The operator's retraining program shall be taught by a designee 34
of the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles or by an instructor approved by 35
the commissioner and shall (1) review principles of motor vehicle 36
operation, (2) develop alternative attitudes for those attitudes 37
contributing to aggressive driving behavior, and (3) emphasize the need 38
to practice safe driving behavior. 39
(c) The operator's retraining program and the advanced operator's 40
retraining program described in subsection (e) of this section shall be 41
offered by the Department of Motor Vehicles or by any other 42
organization certified by the commissioner to conduct such [program] 43
programs. Any drivers' school, as defined in section 14-68, that meets 44
the licensure requirements of part IV of this chapter shall be eligible to 45
seek certification to offer [the motor vehicle operator's retraining 46
program] such programs. The commissioner shall determine the 47
number of program providers necessary to serve the needs of the public. 48
Each organization or drivers' school seeking certification or 49 Raised Bill No. 153
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recertification to conduct such [retraining program] programs shall 50
submit an application to the department for each such program in such 51
form as the commissioner shall require and an application fee of three 52
hundred fifty dollars for each application. Each such applicant shall: 53
[(A)] (1) Be registered to do business in this state and continuously 54
maintain good standing with the office of the Secretary of the State; [(B)] 55
(2) file and continuously maintain a surety bond in the amount of fifty 56
thousand dollars. Such bond shall be conditioned upon compliance with 57
the provisions of any state or federal law or regulation concerning the 58
conduct of an [operator] operator's retraining program or an advanced 59
operator's retraining program and provided as indemnity for any loss 60
or expense sustained by either the state or any person by reason of any 61
acts or omissions of the program provider. Such bond shall be executed 62
in the name of the State of Connecticut for the benefit of any aggrieved 63
party, but the penalty of the bond shall not be invoked except upon 64
order of the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles after a hearing held before 65
the commissioner in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54; [(C)] 66
(3) have a permanent place of business in this state where all [operator 67
retraining] program records shall be maintained and accessible to the 68
commissioner during normal business hours; [(D)] (4) submit for 69
approval by the commissioner a detailed curriculum and lesson plan, 70
including any changes to such curriculum and lesson plan, which shall 71
be used in each [operator retraining class] program; and [(E)] (5) 72
electronically transmit information concerning enrollment and [class] 73
program completion to the commissioner at such times and in such form 74
as the commissioner shall prescribe. Prior to the certification of an 75
applicant, the commissioner shall investigate the applicant's character, 76
driving history and criminal history. If the applicant is a business entity, 77
such investigation shall include the principals and officers of such 78
entity. The applicant shall submit to the commissioner any information 79
pertaining to current or past criminal or civil actions. The certification 80
of a program provider by the commissioner shall not be transferable and 81
shall be valid for a two-year period. Recertification of a program 82
provider shall be at the discretion of the commissioner and in such form 83
and manner determined by the commissioner. 84 Raised Bill No. 153
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[(c)] (d) Any person who is required to attend an [operator] operator's 85
retraining program shall have such requirement and the completion 86
date of such requirement posted on such person's driving history record 87
maintained by the commissioner. The date of [class] program 88
completion shall remain on such person's driving history record until 89
such person has attained thirty-six consecutive months without any 90
additional moving violations or suspension violations specified in 91
subsection (a) of this section being posted to such person's driving 92
history record. Until the completion of such thirty-six consecutive 93
months, the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles shall: [suspend] (1) 94
Suspend such person's operator's license or operating privilege for [: (1) 95
Thirty] (A) thirty days upon a first conviction for any specified moving 96
violation or suspension violation; [(2)] (B) sixty days upon a second 97
conviction of any specified moving violation or suspension violation; 98
and [(3)] (C) ninety days for a third or subsequent conviction of a 99
specified moving violation or suspension violation, and (2) upon a first 100
conviction for any specified moving violation or suspension violation, 101
require such person to attend and successfully complete an advanced 102
operator's retraining program. The commissioner shall notify such 103
person, in writing, of the requirement to attend an advanced operator's 104
retraining program. The commissioner, after notice and opportunity for 105
hearing, shall suspend the motor vehicle operator's license of any such 106
person who fails to attend or successfully complete the advanced 107
operator's retraining program until such person successfully completes 108
the program. The hearing shall be limited to any claim of impossibility 109
of such person to attend the advanced operator's retraining program, or 110
to a determination of mistake or misidentification. 111
(e) The advanced operator's retraining program shall consist of not 112
less than eight hours of in-person classroom instruction. The program 113
may include: (1) An examination of the operator's behavior in various 114
driving situations to help the operator understand the behavioral 115
driving characteristics that have resulted in the conviction of a moving 116
violation or suspension violation; (2) psychology-based principles as 117
they relate to driving behaviors; (3) an examination of why operators 118 Raised Bill No. 153
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choose to obey or disobey motor vehicle laws; (4) a review of the four 119
components of human behavior and the ability to choose behaviors; and 120
(5) a review of the effects of prescription drugs and over-the-counter 121
drugs on the operator of a motor vehicle and the dangers associated 122
with speeding, right-of-way violations, improper passing, driving with 123
insufficient space between vehicles and driving in an aggressive manner 124
or while distracted or fatigued. A fee of not more than one hundred 125
thirty-five dollars shall be charged for the advanced operator's 126
retraining program. 127
[(d)] (f) The commissioner shall adopt regulations in accordance with 128
chapter 54 to implement the provisions of [subsections (a) and (b) of] 129
this section. 130
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2020 14-111g
Statement of Purpose:
To establish an advanced operator's retraining program.
[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.]