Connecticut 2020 2020 Regular Session

Connecticut Senate Bill SB00153 Introduced / Bill

Filed 02/18/2020

                        
 
LCO No. 1471  	1 of 5 
 
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statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof 2 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.]