BILL NUMBER: AB 1389 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 8, 2011
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 8, 2011
AMENDED IN SENATE SEPTEMBER 2, 2011
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 12, 2011
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 Section 2814.3 to,
the Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1389, 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. A violation of the
Vehicle Code is a crime.
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 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's general location to the public within a minimum of
48 hours of the checkpoint operation and would require the law
enforcement agency to provide to the public advance notice of the
checkpoint's specific location 2 hours prior to the checkpoint
operation.
This bill would require that each motorist stopped be detained so
that the law enforcement officer may briefly question the driver as
provided. Because this bill would expand the duties of local law
enforcement officials and the scope of an existing DUI checkpoint
program, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
Because the failure to comply with these provisions would constitute
an infraction under the Vehicle Code, the bill would also impose a
state-mandated local program by creating a new crime.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no
reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that,
if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains
costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall
be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
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 2814.3 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read:
2814.3. (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) A motorist stopped shall be detained so that the officer may
briefly question the driver. If the driver does not display objective
signs of impairment, the driver should be permitted to drive on
without further delay unless during the questioning by the officer,
the officer develops reasonable suspicion of a violation of law. This
section does not limit or expand the authority of an officer to
conduct a test for impairment that is otherwise permitted by law.
(4) The law enforcement agency shall provide advance notice to the
public of the checkpoint's general location at least 48 hours prior
to the checkpoint operation and shall provide advance notice to the
public of the checkpoint's specific location at least two hours prior
to the checkpoint operation.
(5) A driver who does not wish to submit to the checkpoint shall
not raise probable cause or reasonable suspicion by simply making a
legal turn within the confines of the existing traffic laws to avoid
a checkpoint. 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.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of
Article XIII B of the California Constitution for certain costs that
may be incurred by a local agency or school district because, in that
regard, this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a
crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or
infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government
Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.
However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of
Title 2 of the Government Code.