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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 423
February Session, 2024
AN ACT IMPROVING HIGHWAY SAFETY BY PROHIBITING DRIVING
WHILE ABILITY IMPAIRED AND STUDYING METHODS TO DETECT
CANNABIS-IMPAIRED DRIVING.
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
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 Substitute Bill No. 423
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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 send 39
a notice to such operator, in writing, informing the operator of such 40
requirement and requiring the operator to successfully complete such 41
retraining program not later than sixty days from the date of such notice. 42
A fee of not more than eighty-five dollars shall be charged for such 43
retraining program. The commissioner, after notice and an opportunity 44
for a hearing, may suspend the motor vehicle operator's license of any 45
such operator who fails to attend or successfully complete such 46
retraining program until the operator successfully completes such 47
retraining program. Any such hearing shall be limited to any claim of 48
impossibility of the operator to attend such retraining program or to a 49
determination of mistake or misidentification. 50 Substitute Bill No. 423
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(b) The intoxicated operator's retraining program shall be taught by 51
a designee of the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles or by an instructor 52
approved by the commissioner and shall (1) review principles of motor 53
vehicle operation relative to safe driving practices, including the nature 54
and the medical, biological and physiological effects of alcohol and 55
drugs and their impact on the operator of a motor vehicle, (2) emphasize 56
the dangers associated with the operation of a motor vehicle after the 57
consumption of alcohol or drugs by the operator, including the 58
problems of alcohol and drug abuse, (3) discuss the penalties for alcohol 59
and drug-related motor vehicle violations, and (4) emphasize the need 60
to practice safe driving behaviors. The intoxicated operator's retraining 61
program shall be offered by the Department of Motor Vehicles or by any 62
other organization certified by the commissioner to conduct such 63
program in person in a congregate setting, through distance learning or 64
through a combination of both in-person and distance learning, 65
provided such distance learning has interactive components such as 66
mandatory interactions, participation or testing. Any drivers' school, as 67
defined in section 14-68 of the general statutes, that meets the licensure 68
requirements of part IV of chapter 246 of the general statutes shall be 69
eligible to seek certification to offer the intoxicated operator's retraining 70
program. The commissioner shall determine the number of program 71
providers necessary to serve the needs of the public. 72
(c) Each organization or drivers' school seeking certification or 73
recertification to conduct the intoxicated operator's retraining program 74
shall submit an application to the Department of Motor Vehicles in such 75
form as the commissioner shall require and an application fee of three 76
hundred fifty dollars. Each such applicant shall: 77
(1) Be registered to do business in this state and continuously 78
maintain good standing with the office of the Secretary of the State; 79
(2) File and continuously maintain a surety bond in the amount of 80
fifty thousand dollars. Such bond shall be conditioned upon compliance 81
with the provisions of any state or federal law or regulation concerning 82
the conduct of an intoxicated operator's retraining program and 83 Substitute Bill No. 423
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provided as indemnity for any loss or expense sustained by either the 84
state or any person by reason of any acts or omissions of the program 85
provider. Such bond shall be executed in the name of the state of 86
Connecticut for the benefit of any aggrieved party, but the penalty of 87
the bond shall not be invoked except upon order of the commissioner 88
after a hearing held before the commissioner in accordance with the 89
provisions of chapter 54 of the general statutes; 90
(3) Have a permanent place of business in this state where all 91
intoxicated operator's retraining program records shall be maintained 92
and accessible to the commissioner during normal business hours; 93
(4) Submit for approval by the commissioner a detailed curriculum 94
and lesson plan, including any changes to such curriculum and lesson 95
plan, which shall be used in each intoxicated operator's retraining class; 96
and 97
(5) Electronically transmit information concerning enrollment and 98
class completion to the commissioner at such times and in such form as 99
prescribed by the commissioner. 100
(d) Prior to the certification of an applicant, the commissioner shall 101
investigate the applicant's character, driving history and criminal 102
history. If the applicant is a business entity, such investigation shall 103
include the principals and officers of such entity. The applicant shall 104
submit to the commissioner any information pertaining to current or 105
past criminal or civil actions. The certification of a program provider by 106
the commissioner shall not be transferable and shall be valid for a two-107
year period. Recertification of a provider shall be at the discretion of the 108
commissioner and in such form and manner as determined by the 109
commissioner. 110
(e) The commissioner may adopt regulations, in accordance with the 111
provisions of chapter 54 of the general statutes, to implement the 112
provisions of this section. 113
Sec. 3. Subsection (f) of section 14-227a of the general statutes is 114 Substitute Bill No. 423
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repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 115
1, 2024): 116
(f) [If] (1) Except as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection, if a 117
person is charged with a violation of the provisions of subsection (a) of 118
this section, the charge may not be reduced, nolled or dismissed unless 119
the prosecuting authority states in open court such prosecutor's reasons 120
for the reduction, nolle or dismissal. 121
(2) If a person is charged with a violation of the provisions of 122
subsection (a) of this section, the charge may not be reduced to the lesser 123
offense of operating a motor vehicle while ability impaired in violation 124
of section 1 of this act. 125
Sec. 4. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) As used in this section, "drug 126
recognition expert" has the same meaning as provided in section 7-127
294kk of the general statutes and "cannabis" has the same meaning as 128
provided in section 21a-420 of the general statutes. 129
(b) Not later than January 1, 2025, and annually thereafter, the 130
Commissioners of Emergency Services and Public Protection and 131
Transportation shall jointly submit a report, in accordance with the 132
provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint standing 133
committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 134
relating to public safety and security and transportation. Such report 135
shall, at a minimum: (1) note the current number of police officers 136
accredited as drug recognition experts in the state, (2) make 137
recommendations for increasing access to drug recognition expert 138
training for police officers, (3) identify any improvements or 139
technological advancements with regard to roadside screening tests 140
used to detect instances of impaired driving from the use of cannabis, 141
including the use of oral fluid drug testing, and (4) make 142
recommendations for implementing any such tests or other strategies 143
and procedures to reliably and validly detect instances of impaired 144
driving from the use of cannabis. 145 Substitute Bill No. 423
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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)
Sec. 4 from passage New section
TRA Joint Favorable Subst.