BILL NUMBER: AB 2367 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 28, 2016
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, during probation or any other release
that is subject to the jurisdiction of the county probation
department, as a condition of probation, if the
program is available and deemed appropriate, and the person
has one or more prior convictions for that crime.
committed the crime within 10 years of one or more separate crimes
described above that resulted in a conviction. 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. alcohol, as specified. 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 no .
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 pretrial and
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
probation or other release that is subject to the
jurisdiction of the county probation department,
probation, if the program is available and deemed appropriate,
and the person has one or more prior convictions for a
violation of Section 23152 or 23153. committed the
current violation within 10 years of one or more separate violations
of Section 23152 or 23153 that resulted in a conviction.
(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 for alcohol,
with certain but modest punishment for violations.
violations of the program. 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 paragraph,
subdivision, 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.
(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.
(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.
(h)
(f) 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.
(i)
(g) 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.
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.