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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 423
February Session, 2024
LCO No. 2491
Referred to Committee on TRANSPORTATION
Introduced by:
(TRA)
AN ACT IMPROVING HIGHWAY SAFETY BY PROHIBITING DRIVING
WHILE ABILITY IMPAIRED.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2024) (a) No person shall operate 1
a motor vehicle while ability impaired. A person commits the offense of 2
operating a motor vehicle while ability impaired if such person operates 3
a motor vehicle while having a ratio of alcohol in the blood of such 4
person that is five-hundredths of one per cent or more of alcohol, by 5
weight, but less than eight-hundredths of one per cent of alcohol, by 6
weight. 7
(b) If a police officer issues a citation to any person for a violation of 8
the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, the police officer, acting 9
on behalf of the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, shall immediately 10
revoke and take possession of the motor vehicle operator's license or, if 11
such person is not licensed or is a nonresident, suspend the operating 12
privilege of such person, for a twenty-four-hour period. The police 13
officer may cause the motor vehicle such person was operating at the 14
time of the violation to be removed. In order to regain possession of such 15 Raised Bill No. 423
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person's operator's license, after such twenty-four-hour period, such 16
person shall appear in person at the police department, state police 17
barracks or other location designated by the police officer, and sign a 18
written acknowledgment of the return of such license. Notwithstanding 19
the provisions of section 14-50b of the general statutes, no restoration 20
fee shall be required to be paid to the commissioner, but the police 21
officer shall make a written report of the violation and the suspension 22
action, in such form and containing such information as the 23
commissioner may prescribe, and shall file or transmit such report to 24
the commissioner in such time and manner as the commissioner shall 25
prescribe. 26
(c) Any person who violates the provisions of subsection (a) of this 27
section shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars, but not more 28
than two hundred dollars, for a first violation and not less than three 29
hundred dollars, but not more than five hundred dollars, for a second 30
or subsequent violation. Upon receipt of a report submitted under 31
subsection (b) of this section, the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles shall 32
suspend, after notice and an opportunity for a hearing, the operator's 33
license or operating privilege of such person for a period of forty-five 34
days. 35
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2024) (a) The Commissioner of Motor 36
Vehicles shall require any motor vehicle operator who violates the 37
provisions of subsection (a) of section 1 of this act to attend an 38
intoxicated operator's retraining program. The commissioner shall 39
notify such operator, in writing, of such requirement. A fee of not more 40
than eighty-five dollars shall be charged for such retraining program. 41
The commissioner, after notice and an opportunity for a hearing, may 42
suspend the motor vehicle operator's license of any such operator who 43
fails to attend or successfully complete such retraining program until 44
the operator successfully completes such retraining program. Any such 45
hearing shall be limited to any claim of impossibility of the operator to 46
attend such retraining program or to a determination of mistake or 47
misidentification. 48 Raised Bill No. 423
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(b) The intoxicated operator's retraining program shall be taught by 49
a designee of the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles or by an instructor 50
approved by the commissioner and shall (1) review principles of motor 51
vehicle operation relative to safe driving practices, including the nature 52
and the medical, biological and physiological effects of alcohol and 53
drugs and their impact on the operator of a motor vehicle, (2) emphasize 54
the dangers associated with the operation of a motor vehicle after the 55
consumption of alcohol or drugs by the operator, including the 56
problems of alcohol and drug abuse, (3) discuss the penalties for alcohol 57
and drug-related motor vehicle violations, and (4) emphasize the need 58
to practice safe driving behaviors. The intoxicated operator's retraining 59
program shall be offered by the Department of Motor Vehicles or by any 60
other organization certified by the commissioner to conduct such 61
program in person in a congregate setting, through distance learning or 62
through a combination of both in-person and distance learning, 63
provided such distance learning has interactive components such as 64
mandatory interactions, participation or testing. Any drivers' school, as 65
defined in section 14-68 of the general statutes, that meets the licensure 66
requirements of part IV of chapter 246 of the general statutes shall be 67
eligible to seek certification to offer the intoxicated operator's retraining 68
program. The commissioner shall determine the number of program 69
providers necessary to serve the needs of the public. 70
(c) Each organization or drivers' school seeking certification or 71
recertification to conduct the intoxicated operator's retraining program 72
shall submit an application to the Department of Motor Vehicles in such 73
form as the commissioner shall require and an application fee of three 74
hundred fifty dollars. Each such applicant shall: 75
(1) Be registered to do business in this state and continuously 76
maintain good standing with the office of the Secretary of the State; 77
(2) File and continuously maintain a surety bond in the amount of 78
fifty thousand dollars. Such bond shall be conditioned upon compliance 79
with the provisions of any state or federal law or regulation concerning 80
the conduct of an intoxicated operator's retraining program and 81 Raised Bill No. 423
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provided as indemnity for any loss or expense sustained by either the 82
state or any person by reason of any acts or omissions of the program 83
provider. Such bond shall be executed in the name of the state of 84
Connecticut for the benefit of any aggrieved party, but the penalty of 85
the bond shall not be invoked except upon order of the commissioner 86
after a hearing held before the commissioner in accordance with the 87
provisions of chapter 54 of the general statutes; 88
(3) Have a permanent place of business in this state where all 89
intoxicated operator's retraining program records shall be maintained 90
and accessible to the commissioner during normal business hours; 91
(4) Submit for approval by the commissioner a detailed curriculum 92
and lesson plan, including any changes to such curriculum and lesson 93
plan, which shall be used in each intoxicated operator's retraining class; 94
and 95
(5) Electronically transmit information concerning enrollment and 96
class completion to the commissioner at such times and in such form as 97
prescribed by the commissioner. 98
(d) Prior to the certification of an applicant, the commissioner shall 99
investigate the applicant's character, driving history and criminal 100
history. If the applicant is a business entity, such investigation shall 101
include the principals and officers of such entity. The applicant shall 102
submit to the commissioner any information pertaining to current or 103
past criminal or civil actions. The certification of a program provider by 104
the commissioner shall not be transferable and shall be valid for a two-105
year period. Recertification of a provider shall be at the discretion of the 106
commissioner and in such form and manner as determined by the 107
commissioner. 108
(e) The commissioner may adopt regulations, in accordance with the 109
provisions of chapter 54 of the general statutes, to implement the 110
provisions of this section. 111
Sec. 3. Subsection (f) of section 14-227a of the general statutes is 112 Raised Bill No. 423
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repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 113
1, 2024): 114
(f) [If] (1) Except as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection, if a 115
person is charged with a violation of the provisions of subsection (a) of 116
this section, the charge may not be reduced, nolled or dismissed unless 117
the prosecuting authority states in open court such prosecutor's reasons 118
for the reduction, nolle or dismissal. 119
(2) If a person is charged with a violation of the provisions of 120
subsection (a) of this section, the charge may not be reduced to the lesser 121
offense of operating a motor vehicle while ability impaired in violation 122
of section 1 of this act. 123
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2024 New section
Sec. 2 July 1, 2024 New section
Sec. 3 October 1, 2024 14-227a(f)
Statement of Purpose:
To prohibit the operation of a motor vehicle while having a blood
alcohol content that is five-hundredths of one per cent or more of
alcohol, by weight, but less than eight-hundredths of one per cent of
alcohol, by weight.
[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.]