Amended in Assembly March 28, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 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 amended, 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, begin delete during probation or any other release that is subject to the jurisdiction of the county probation department, end delete begin insert as a condition of probation, end insert if the program is available and deemed appropriate, and the person begin delete has one or more prior convictions for that crime. end delete begin insert committed the crime within 10 years of one or more separate crimes described above that resulted in a conviction. end insert 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 begin delete 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. end delete begin insert alcohol, as specified. end insert 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.

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

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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.

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This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program:  begin delete yes end delete begin insert no end insert .

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

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares the following:

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

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

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

SEC. 2.  

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

23583.  

(a) (1) In order to strengthen the begin delete pretrial and end delete posttrial
options available to prosecutors and judges, the court may order
a person convicted of a violation of Section 23152 or 23153 to
enroll and participate in, and successfully complete, a qualified
“24/7 Sobriety” monitoring program as a condition of begin delete probation
or other release that is subject to the jurisdiction of the county
probation department, end delete begin insert probation, end insert if the program is available and
deemed appropriate, and the person begin delete has one or more prior
convictions for a violation of Section 23152 or 23153. end delete begin insert committed
the current violation within 10 years of one or more separate
violations of Section 23152 or 23153 that resulted in a conviction. end insert

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

(3) For purposes of this begin delete paragraph, end delete begin insert subdivision, end insert the term
“evidence-based program” means a program that satisfies the
requirements of at least two of the following:

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

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

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

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

(1) Breath testing, twice a day.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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(g) A violation of the program requirements may be punished
by the court 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 second and any subsequent violation.

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(h)

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

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(i)

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begin insert (g) end insert  This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2021,
and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that
is enacted before January 1, 2021, deletes or extends that date.

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SEC. 3.  

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because 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.

end delete