California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 2367


Introduced by Assembly Member Cooley

February 18, 2016


An act to add and repeal Section 23583 of the Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2367, as introduced, Cooley. Driving under the influence: 24/7 Sobriety program.

Existing law prohibits a person who has 0.08% or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood from driving a vehicle. Existing law also prohibits a person, while having 0.08% or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood from driving a vehicle and concurrently doing any act forbidden by law, or neglecting any duty imposed by law in driving the vehicle, when the act or neglect proximately causes bodily injury to a person other than the driver. A violation of either of these prohibitions is a crime. Existing law authorizes a court, in addition to imposing penalties and sanctions for those violations, to require the person to enroll and participate in, and successfully complete, a driving-under-the-influence program, which may include, among other things, education, group counseling, and individual interview sessions.

This bill would authorize the court to order a person convicted of a crime described above to enroll and participate in, and successfully complete, a qualified “24/7 Sobriety” monitoring program, as defined, during probation or any other release that is subject to the jurisdiction of the county probation department, if the program is available and deemed appropriate, and the person has one or more prior convictions for that crime. The bill would define a “24/7 Sobriety program,” in part, as requiring a person in the program to abstain from alcohol and be subject to frequent testing for alcohol. The bill would authorize a court to impose sanctions for violations of the program by ordering the person to be incarcerated in the county jail for no more than 12 hours for the first violation, and no more than 24 hours for the 2nd and any subsequent violation. The bill would require a person participating in the program to pay the program costs, commensurate with the person’s ability to pay, as specified. The bill would require the Department of Motor Vehicles to study and report to the Legislature by January 1, 2020, on the success of the 24/7 Sobriety program in reducing the driving-under-the-influence recidivism rate in counties where it is used. These provisions would be repealed on January 1, 2021.

By increasing penalties in connection with a conviction for driving under the influence, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares the following:

2(a) Alcohol consumption and driving under the influence impose
3enormous health and safety costs on California. Problem drinkers
4account for a disproportionate share of these costs. California has
5had success with its current approach to driving under the influence
6by lowering blood alcohol concentration limits and by focusing
7on reducing the likelihood that individuals drive while intoxicated.
8However, California has been less successful at targeting those
9with an underlying alcohol problem that makes them more likely
10to consistently drive while impaired.

11(b) Those with previous convictions for driving under the
12influence are far more likely to recidivate than first-time offenders.
13Moreover, these people are disproportionately involved in
14alcohol-related traffic fatalities and are likely to have a diagnosis
15of alcohol dependence.

P3    1(c) In 2005, South Dakota started a pilot program called “24/7
2Sobriety” and required those arrested for or convicted of
3alcohol-related offenses to take twice-a-day breathalyzer tests or
4wear a continuous alcohol monitoring bracelet. Those who fail or
5skip their tests are immediately subject to certain but modest
6sanctions, typically a day or two in jail. After a five-county pilot
7project, the program grew to include more jurisdictions and
8offenses. Studies have found that the total number of repeat
9driving-under-the-influence arrests in counties operating the
10program fell by 12 percent, and the total number of arrests for
11domestic violence dropped by 9 percent.

12

SEC. 2.  

Section 23583 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read:

13

23583.  

(a) (1) In order to strengthen the pretrial and posttrial
14options available to prosecutors and judges, the court may order
15a person convicted of a violation of Section 23152 or 23153 to
16enroll and participate in, and successfully complete, a qualified
17“24/7 Sobriety” monitoring program as a condition of probation
18or other release that is subject to the jurisdiction of the county
19probation department, if the program is available and deemed
20appropriate, and the person has one or more prior convictions for
21a violation of Section 23152 or 23153.

22(2) For purposes of this section, a “24/7 Sobriety program”
23requires a person in the program to abstain from alcohol and
24requires the person to be subject to frequent testing with certain
25but modest punishment for violations. The program shall be
26evidence-based and approved by the department. Persons ordered
27into the program may also be required to participate in other
28driving-under-the-influence programs as provided by other law.
29The program shall be licensed pursuant to Section 11836 of the
30Health and Safety Code.

31(3) For purposes of this paragraph, the term “evidence-based
32program” means a program that satisfies the requirements of at
33least two of the following:

34(A) The program is included in the federal registry of
35evidence-based programs and practices.

36(B) The program has been reported in a peer-reviewed journal
37as having positive effects on the primary targeted outcome.

38(C) The program has been documented as effective by informed
39experts and other sources.

P4    1(b) As the court deems appropriate, the program may monitor
2alcohol through one or more of the following modalities:

3(1) Breath testing, twice a day.

4(2) Continuous transdermal alcohol monitoring in cases of
5hardship.

6(3) Random blood, breath, urine, or oral fluid testing.

7(c) Testing locations that provide the best ability to sanction a
8violation as close in time as reasonably feasible to the occurrence
9of the violation should be given preference.

10(d) In order to enable all required defendants to participate, each
11person shall pay the program costs commensurate with the person’s
12ability to pay as determined pursuant to Section 11837.4 of the
13Health and Safety Code.

14(e) The court, in establishing reporting requirements, shall
15consult with the county probation department.

16(f) The court shall advise the person at the time of sentencing
17that the driving privilege may not be restored until the person
18provides proof satisfactory to the department of successful
19completion of the program.

20(g) A violation of the program requirements may be punished
21by the court ordering the person to be incarcerated in the county
22jail for no more than 12 hours for the first violation, and no more
23than 24 hours for the second and any subsequent violation.

24(h) The department shall study and report to the Legislature by
25January 1, 2020, on the success of the 24/7 Sobriety program
26authorized pursuant to this section in reducing the
27driving-under-the-influence recidivism rate in counties where it
28is used. The report shall be submitted pursuant to Section 9795 of
29the Government Code.

30(i) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2021,
31and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that
32is enacted before January 1, 2021, deletes or extends that date.

33

SEC. 3.  

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
34Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
35the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
36district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
37infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
38for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
39the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
P5    1the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
2Constitution.



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