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OLR Bill Analysis
sSB 333
AN ACT CONCERNING RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE
DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES.
SUMMARY
This bill makes numerous unrelated changes in motor vehicle laws.
Among other things, the bill:
1. increases surety bond requirements for dealer and repairer
licenses and requires applicants to be fingerprinted (§§ 2 & 3);
2. strengthens licensing and enforcement requirements related to
driving schools and their instructors (§§ 4-7);
3. gives the DMV commissioner discretion in staffing and
coordinating weigh station coverage and hours of operation (§ 9);
4. eliminates a redundant safety inspection requirement for retired
school buses (§ 10); and
5. requires that off-site road skills testing at licensed driving schools
be available to all the school’s students who are otherwise eligible
(§ 12).
The bill also makes changes related to license restoration after
medical withdrawal, snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles under the
administrative per se law, and weigh stations.
Lastly, the bill makes numerous technical and conforming changes.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2021, unless otherwise noted below.
§ 1 — LICENSE RESTORATION AFTER MEDICAL WITHD RAWAL
Under current law, the DMV commissioner may allow a person
whose license was medically withdrawn to drive on a limited basis (i.e., 2022SB-00333-R000401-BA.DOCX
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with a licensed driving instructor or testing agent) if she (1) determines,
after a hearing, that the driver does not have a health problem affecting
his or her ability to drive safely and (2) requires the driver to pass a road
skills test for license reinstatement.
The bill requires the commissioner to make her determination after
consulting with the Motor Vehicle Operator’s License Medical Advisory
Board, rather than through a hearing. It provides a person aggrieved by
the commissioner’s denial of limited driving access under these conditions
with an opportunity for an administrative hearing under the Uniform
Administrative Procedure Act (UAPA).
Under existing law, unchanged by the bill, a person whose driver’s
license has been suspended, restricted, or revoked, or whose license
application has been denied due to health problems, has the right to
appeal under the UAPA (CGS § 14-46g).
§§ 2 & 3 — DEALER & REPAIRER SURETY BONDS &
BACKGROUND CHECKS
Surety Bonds (§ 2)
The bill increases the surety bond amounts for applicants of certain
business licenses as follows:
1. repairer’s licenses from $5,000 to $50,000;
2. limited repairer’s licenses from $5,000 to $10,000;
3. new or used car dealer’s licenses from $50,000 to $60,000; and
4. leasing or rental licenses from $10,000 to $15,000.
Background Checks (§ 3)
Under current law, applicants for a dealer or repairer license must
submit to state and national criminal history records checks based on
the applicant’s name and date of birth. The bill instead requires that
these background checks be based upon fingerprint data that the
applicant must provide.
§§ 4-7 — DRIVING INSTRUCTION 2022SB-00333-R000401-BA.DOCX
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The bill makes several changes in the statutes governing driving
schools. The bill specifically prohibits driving schools with expired
licenses from conducting business until a license renewal is granted by
the DMV commissioner. However, it also prohibits the commissioner
from renewing a driving school license that has been expired for more
than 60 days.
Under current law, the commissioner generally may suspend or
revoke a school’s license only after she has provided the licensee with
notice and an opportunity for a hearing, in accordance with the UAPA.
Under the bill, if she determines there is an imminent threat to public
safety or welfare, the commissioner may suspend, revoke, or withdraw
the license and then schedule a hearing, which must be within 20 days
after the date he takes this action.
The bill also allows the DMV commissioner to order restitution to
aggrieved customers if a driving school violates any statute and
regulation governing them, in addition to, or instead of, a civil penalty.
Driving Instructor and Master Driving Instructor Licenses
The bill increases, from four to five years, the driving history review
period for instructor and master instructor licenses. It also specifies that
applicants must provide a physical examination that has been
performed within 90 days from the application date, rather than a recent
exam as current law requires. The bill also prohibits the commissioner
from renewing an instructor or master instructor’s license that has been
expired for more than 60 days.
The bill authorizes the DMV commissioner to summarily suspend an
instructor’s or master instructor’s license if she determines that
continued possession of the license poses an imminent threat to public
safety or welfare.
Minor and Technical Changes
The bill specifies that boards of education, public, private, and
parochial schools (which do not need to be licensed as driving schools)
are not required to provide a surety bond to provide a driver’s 2022SB-00333-R000401-BA.DOCX
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education course.
It also adds references to master driving instructors to license
requirements for driving instructors, which already apply under current
law and regulations.
§§ 8 & 11 — ADMINISTRATIVE PER SE STATUTES
By law, motorists implicitly consent to be tested for drugs or alcohol
and submit to the nontestimonial portion of a drug influence evaluation
when they drive a vehicle. The law establishes administrative license
suspension procedures, including a hearing, for drivers who refuse to
submit to a test or evaluation or whose test results indicate an elevated
blood alcohol content.
The bill expands the types of “motor vehicles” covered by the
administrative per se statute to include a snowmobile or all-terrain
vehicle, consistent with the criminal laws governing driving under the
influence. It also allows DMV to send, with the driver’s written consent,
notice of an administrative hearing decision by personal delivery (e.g.,
e-mail) rather than by certified mail.
§ 9 — WEIGH STATIONS’ OPERATION
Under current law, the DMV commissioner must staff and coordinate
the official weigh stations’ (Greenwich, Danbury, and Union) coverage
and hours of operation as outlined in statute. She must also adjust the
required work shifts daily to produce an unpredictable schedule.
Under the bill, the commissioner may, in her discretion, staff and
coordinate the stations’ coverage and hours of operation according to
statute. It authorizes, rather than requires, her to adjust work shifts daily
for unpredictability.
§§ 12-13 — DMV ROAD TESTING
Driving School Testing
Beginning October 1, 2022, the bill requires DMV-administered off-
site road skills test appointments at a licensed driving school to be made
available to all of the school’s students who are otherwise eligible to take 2022SB-00333-R000401-BA.DOCX
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the test. Under current agency practice, these road test appointments are
only available to students under age 22.
By January 1, 2023, it requires DMV to develop and submit to the
Transportation Committee a plan to increase road skills test availability,
including the feasibility of partnering with other public entities or
independent contractors.
EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage, except the provision on off-site
test appointments is effective October 1, 2022.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Transportation Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 35 Nay 0 (03/24/2022)