BILL NUMBER: AB 1389 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 19, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 4, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 31, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Allen
FEBRUARY 18, 2011
An act to amend Section 2814.1 of, and to add Sections 2814.2 and
2814.3 to, the Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1389, as amended, Allen. Vehicles: sobriety checkpoints:
impoundment.
Existing law authorizes a city or a county to establish a sobriety
checkpoint program in highways under its jurisdiction to check for
violations of driving-under-the-influence (DUI) offenses and
authorizes the board of supervisors of a county to establish, by
ordinance, a combined vehicle inspection and sobriety checkpoint
program to check for violations of motor vehicle exhaust standards in
addition to DUI offenses.
Existing law authorizes a peace officer, whenever the peace
officer determines, among other things, that a person was driving a
vehicle (1) without ever having been issued a driver's license, to
immediately arrest that person and cause the removal and seizure of
his or her vehicle for an impoundment period of 30 days, or (2) if
the person is currently without a valid driver's license, to remove
the vehicle for a shorter period of time upon issuance of a notice to
appear if the registered owner or the registered owner's agent
presents a currently valid driver's license and proof of current
vehicle registration, or upon order of the court.
This bill would authorize the Department of the California Highway
Patrol, and a city, county, or city and county, by ordinance or
resolution, to establish a sobriety checkpoint program on highways
within their respective jurisdictions to identify drivers who are in
violation of specified DUI offenses. The bill would require that the
program be conducted by the local governmental agency or department
with the primary responsibility for traffic law enforcement.
The bill would require that the selection of the site of the
checkpoint and the procedures for a checkpoint operation be
determined by supervisory law enforcement personnel and that the law
enforcement agency employ a neutral methodology for determining which
vehicles to stop at the checkpoint or that all vehicles that drive
through the checkpoint be stopped. The bill would also require a law
enforcement agency to ensure that there are proper lighting, warning
signs and signals, and clearly identifiable official vehicles, and
uniformed personnel to minimize the risk to motorists and their
passengers and to only operate a checkpoint when traffic volume
allows for the safe operation of the program.
The bill would, notwithstanding other provisions of law, require
that a peace officer or any other authorized person not cause the
impoundment of a vehicle at a sobriety checkpoint, established
pursuant to these provisions or any other law, unless at least one of
a number of specified conditions applies. The bill would delete the
county board of supervisors authority to conduct a combined vehicle
inspection and sobriety checkpoint program. The bill would require a
law enforcement agency that conducts a sobriety checkpoint program to
provide advance notice of the checkpoint
checkpoint's general location to the public within a minimum of
48 hours of the checkpoint operation.
This bill would require that each motorist stopped be detained so
that the law enforcement officer may briefly question the driver and
look for specified signs of intoxication.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 2814.1 of the Vehicle Code is amended to read:
2814.1. (a) A board of supervisors of a county may, by ordinance,
establish, on highways under its jurisdiction, a vehicle inspection
checkpoint program to check for violations of Sections 27153 and
27153.5. The program shall be conducted by the local agency or
department with the primary responsibility for traffic law
enforcement.
(b) A driver of a motor vehicle shall stop and submit to an
inspection conducted under subdivision (a) when signs and displays
are posted requiring that stop.
(c) A county that elects to conduct the program described under
subdivision (a) may fund that program through fine proceeds deposited
with the county under Section 1463.15 of the Penal Code.
SEC. 2. Section 2814.2 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read:
2814.2. (a) The Department of the California Highway Patrol may,
and the governing body of a city, county, or city and county may
adopt an ordinance or resolution to, establish, on highways, roads,
or streets under its jurisdiction, a sobriety checkpoint program to
identify drivers who are in violation of Section 23140 or 23152. The
program shall be conducted by the local governmental agency or
department with the primary responsibility for traffic law
enforcement.
(b) The selection of the site of the checkpoint and the procedures
for a checkpoint operation, including, but not limited to, time and
location shall be determined by supervisory law enforcement
personnel.
(1) The law enforcement agency that conducts the checkpoint shall
employ a neutral methodology for determining which vehicles to stop
at the checkpoint or may stop all vehicles that drive through the
checkpoint.
(2) The law enforcement agency shall ensure that there are proper
lighting, warning signs and signals, and clearly identifiable
official vehicles, and uniformed personnel to minimize the risk to
motorists and their passengers and shall only operate a checkpoint
when traffic volume allows for the safe operation of the program.
(3) Each motorist stopped shall be detained so that the officer
may briefly question the driver and to look for signs of intoxication
such as alcohol on the breath, slurred speech, and glassy or
bloodshot eyes. If the driver does not display signs of impairment,
he or she should be permitted to drive on without further delay.
(4) The law enforcement agency shall provide advance notice of the
checkpoint checkpoint's general
location to the public at least 48 hours prior to the checkpoint
operation.
(5) The location of the checkpoint shall be based on a location
that has a high incidence of arrests under Section 23140 or 23152, or
a high volume of driving under the influence (DUI) related
accidents, and shall be determined by supervisory officers of the law
enforcement agency conducting the sobriety checkpoint.
(6) The time of day and the duration of checkpoints shall be
carefully reviewed and the effectiveness and safety of checkpoints,
as well as motorists concerns shall be taken into account.
(7) The law enforcement agency shall conduct the checkpoint after
dusk or at a time and for a duration that are reasonable and
effective to the objective of deterring DUI offenses.
(c) A driver of a motor vehicle who elects to drive through the
checkpoint shall stop and submit to an inspection conducted under
subdivision (a) when signs and displays are posted requiring that
stop.
SEC. 3. Section 2814.3 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read:
2814.3. (a) Notwithstanding Section 14602.6, Section 14607.6, or
subdivision (p) of Section 22651, a peace officer or any other
authorized person shall not cause the impoundment of a vehicle at a
sobriety checkpoint established pursuant to Section 2814.2 or any
other law, unless at least one of the following applies:
(1) The driver of the vehicle is suspected of driving in violation
of Section 14601, 14601.2, 14601.3, 14601.5, 23140, or 23152.
(2) The vehicle is subject to impoundment pursuant to Section
14602.7.
(3) There is probable cause to believe that the vehicle was used
as the means of committing a public offense, other than a violation
of Section 12500 or 14604.
(4) There is probable cause to believe that the vehicle is itself
evidence that tends to show that a crime has been committed or that
the vehicle contains evidence, that cannot readily be removed, that
tends to show that a crime has been committed, other than a violation
of Section 12500 or 14604.
(5) The driver of the vehicle is not driving with a valid driver's
license and none of the following apply:
(A) The driver is able to obtain a validly licensed driver to
drive the vehicle.
(B) Notwithstanding Sections 12500 and 16020, the driver is able
to park or remove the vehicle in a manner that does not impede
traffic or threaten public safety until a validly licensed driver can
retrieve the vehicle.
(C) A peace officer, or a similarly authorized traffic enforcement
officer, is able to readily and lawfully remove the vehicle to a
place that does not impede traffic or threaten public safety.
(b) The state or local governmental agency that established or
conducted the checkpoint described in subdivision (a) shall not be
liable for any claims related to the parking or removal of the
vehicle as described in subparagraph (B) or (C) of paragraph (5) of
subdivision (a).
(c) A law enforcement agency shall not conduct a combined sobriety
checkpoint and vehicle inspection program.