| 1 | 1 | | 25 LC 39 4550 |
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| 2 | 2 | | House Bill 247 |
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| 3 | 3 | | By: Representatives Powell of the 33 |
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| 4 | 4 | | rd |
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| 5 | 5 | | , Crowe of the 118 |
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| 6 | 6 | | th |
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| 7 | 7 | | , Jasperse of the 11 |
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| 8 | 8 | | th |
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| 9 | 9 | | , Ridley of the |
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| 10 | 10 | | 6 |
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| 11 | 11 | | th |
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| 12 | 12 | | , Corbett of the 174 |
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| 13 | 13 | | th |
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| 14 | 14 | | , and others |
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| 15 | 15 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 16 | 16 | | AN ACT |
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| 17 | 17 | | To amend Article 4 of Chapter 5 of Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, |
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| 18 | 18 | | 1 |
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| 19 | 19 | | relating to restoration of licenses to persons completing defensive driving course or alcohol2 |
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| 20 | 20 | | or drug program, so as to authorize written consent for release of certain information to be3 |
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| 21 | 21 | | obtained and transferred electronically; to require certain training for clinical evaluators4 |
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| 22 | 22 | | performing assessment components; to revise the authorized fees relating to such courses;5 |
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| 23 | 23 | | to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.6 |
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| 24 | 24 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:7 |
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| 25 | 25 | | SECTION 1.8 |
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| 26 | 26 | | Article 4 of Chapter 5 of Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to9 |
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| 27 | 27 | | restoration of licenses to persons completing defensive driving course or alcohol or drug10 |
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| 28 | 28 | | program, is amended by revising subsection (d) of Code Section 40-5-82, relating to11 |
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| 29 | 29 | | administration of program, as follows:12 |
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| 30 | 30 | | "(d) All DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program records including, but not13 |
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| 31 | 31 | | limited to, assessment results and other components attended shall be confidential and shall14 |
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| 32 | 32 | | not be released without the written consent of the DUI offender, except that such records15 |
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| 33 | 33 | | shall be made available to the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental16 |
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| 34 | 34 | | H. B. 247 |
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| 35 | 35 | | - 1 - 25 LC 39 4550 |
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| 36 | 36 | | Disabilities and the Department of Driver Services. The written consent required by this17 |
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| 37 | 37 | | subsection may be obtained and transferred in electronic format. The provision of18 |
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| 38 | 38 | | assessments to the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities shall19 |
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| 39 | 39 | | be according to an interagency agreement between the Department of Driver Services and20 |
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| 40 | 40 | | the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, and the agreement21 |
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| 41 | 41 | | may provide for assessment fees to be transmitted to the Department of Behavioral Health22 |
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| 42 | 42 | | and Developmental Disabilities."23 |
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| 43 | 43 | | SECTION 2.24 |
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| 44 | 44 | | Said article is further amended in Code Section 40-5-83, relating to approval and operation25 |
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| 45 | 45 | | of driver improvement clinics and criteria for defensive driving courses, alcohol and drug26 |
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| 46 | 46 | | courses, and driving under the influence risk reduction programs, by revising paragraph (1)27 |
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| 47 | 47 | | of subsection (a) and paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (e) as follows:28 |
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| 48 | 48 | | "(a)(1) The commissioner shall establish criteria for the approval of driver improvement29 |
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| 49 | 49 | | clinics. To be approved, a clinic shall provide and operate a defensive driving course. 30 |
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| 50 | 50 | | Clinics shall be composed of uniform education and training programs consisting of six31 |
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| 51 | 51 | | hours of instruction designed for the rehabilitation of problem drivers. The commissioner32 |
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| 52 | 52 | | shall establish standards and requirements concerning the contents of defensive driving33 |
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| 53 | 53 | | courses, qualifications of instructors, attendance requirements for students, and34 |
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| 54 | 54 | | examinations. Approved clinics shall charge a fee of $95.00 $125.00 for a defensive35 |
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| 55 | 55 | | driving course, except that such clinics may charge different fees of their own choosing36 |
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| 56 | 56 | | if the person is not enrolling in such course pursuant to court order or department37 |
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| 57 | 57 | | requirement. No clinic shall be approved unless such clinic agrees in writing to allow the38 |
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| 58 | 58 | | examination and audit of the books, records, and financial statements of such clinic. 39 |
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| 59 | 59 | | Clinics may be operated by any individual, partnership, or corporation. Nothing in this40 |
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| 60 | 60 | | paragraph shall be construed to affect in any way driving programs established for41 |
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| 61 | 61 | | H. B. 247 |
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| 62 | 62 | | - 2 - 25 LC 39 4550 |
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| 63 | 63 | | purposes of insurance premium reductions under the provisions of Code Section 33-9-42." |
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| 64 | 64 | | 42 |
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| 65 | 65 | | "(e)(1) The department is designated as the agency responsible for establishing criteria43 |
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| 66 | 66 | | for the certification of DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Programs. An applicant44 |
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| 67 | 67 | | shall meet the certification criteria promulgated by the department through its standards45 |
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| 68 | 68 | | and shall provide assessment component services and intervention component services. 46 |
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| 69 | 69 | | A certified DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program shall require that a risk47 |
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| 70 | 70 | | assessment component be conducted prior to administering the intervention component48 |
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| 71 | 71 | | of such program. A certified DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program may49 |
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| 72 | 72 | | include a clinical evaluation component after an individual completes risk assessment and50 |
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| 73 | 73 | | intervention services. Only clinical evaluators licensed by the Department of Behavioral51 |
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| 74 | 74 | | Health and Developmental Disabilities with training in alcohol and drug abuse evaluation |
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| 75 | 75 | | 52 |
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| 76 | 76 | | or assessment shall be qualified to conduct clinical evaluations. The department is53 |
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| 77 | 77 | | designated as the agency responsible for establishing rules and regulations concerning the54 |
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| 78 | 78 | | contents and duration of the components of DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction55 |
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| 79 | 79 | | Programs, qualifications of instructors, attendance requirements for students,56 |
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| 80 | 80 | | examinations, and program evaluations. Qualified instructors shall be certified for57 |
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| 81 | 81 | | periods of four years each, which may be renewed.58 |
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| 82 | 82 | | (2) Certified DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Programs shall charge a fee of59 |
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| 83 | 83 | | $100.00 $150.00 for the assessment component and $235.00 $350.00 for the intervention60 |
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| 84 | 84 | | component. The fee for intervention component services authorized by this paragraph61 |
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| 85 | 85 | | shall include any costs associated with the transfer of documents associated with the62 |
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| 86 | 86 | | performance of a required assessment component. An additional fee for required student63 |
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| 87 | 87 | | program materials shall be established by the department in such an amount as is64 |
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| 88 | 88 | | reasonable and necessary to cover the cost of such materials."65 |
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| 89 | 89 | | SECTION 3.66 |
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| 90 | 90 | | All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.67 |
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| 91 | 91 | | H. B. 247 |
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| 92 | 92 | | - 3 - |
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