05 LC 34
0283
House
Bill 542
By:
Representative Rice of the
51st
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Article 4 of Chapter 5 of Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to restoration of licenses to persons completing defensive
driving course or alcohol or drug program, so as to provide for approval of
driver improvement clinics curriculum; to provide for certificates of
completion; to delete references to advanced defensive driving courses; to
provide for related matters; to provide an effective date; to repeal conflicting
laws; and for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Article
4 of Chapter 5 of Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to restoration of licenses to persons completing defensive driving course or
alcohol or drug program, is amended by striking paragraphs (1) and (2) of
subsection (a) of Code Section 40-5-83, relating to operation of driver clinics
and programs, and inserting in their place the following:
"(a)(1)
The commissioner of motor vehicle safety shall establish criteria for the
approval of driver improvement clinics. To be approved, a clinic shall provide
and operate
either a defensive driving course, an advanced defensive driving course, or a
professional defensive driving course or any combination
thereof
to the
department for approval, or notify the department of the
clinićs
legal authority to use a currently approved curriculum or program, a curriculum
consisting of a minimum of six hours of classroom theoretical instruction
consisting of traffic safety related information designed for the improvement or
remediation of an
individuaĺs
knowledge of defensive driving techniques and traffic
laws. Clinics shall be composed of uniform
education and training programs
consisting
of six hours of instruction designed for
the rehabilitation of problem drivers. The commissioner shall establish
standards and requirements concerning the contents of courses, qualifications of
instructors, attendance requirements for students, and examinations. Approved
clinics shall charge a fee of $75.00 for a defensive driving course, an advanced
defensive driving course, or a professional defensive driving course; except
that such clinics may charge different fees of their own choosing if the person
is not enrolling in such course pursuant to court order or department
requirement. No clinic shall be approved unless such clinic agrees in writing to
allow the examination and audit of the books, records, and financial statements
of such clinic.
Clinics may
be operated by any individual, partnership, corporation, association, civic
group, club, county, municipality, board of education, school, or
college
It shall be
the responsibility of the clinic owner or operator to issue to each student who
has passed the course a certificate of completion in the format prescribed by
the department for reinstatement, points reduction, out of state reinstatement,
or as ordered by a court. The
student́s
stated purpose for taking the course shall be noted as required by the
certificate of completion. Students who are taking a class for the purpose of
insurance reduction only, without any additional purposes of reinstatement,
points reduction, out of state reinstatement, or fulfilling a court order, shall
be given a certificate of completion noting this purpose. A certificate of
completion for insurance reduction only cannot be used for purposes of
reinstatement, points reduction, out of state reinstatement, or fulfilling a
court order. Driver improvement clinics may be operated by any public, private,
or governmental entity; provided, however, that in any county where a driver
improvement clinic is operated by a private entity, no governmental entity shall
be licensed to operate a driver improvement
clinic.
(2)
The commissioner may issue a special license to the instructor of any
commercial
driver training school authorizing such instructor to teach a defensive driving
course,
advanced defensive driving course, or professional defensive driving
course of a driver improvement clinic
provided pursuant to this Code section if such instructor is qualified to teach
a teen-age driver education course which consists of a minimum of 30 hours of
classroom and six hours of behind-the-wheel training and such instructor
certifies to the commissioner that he or she has provided at least 250 hours of
behind-the-wheel training in a teen-age driver education
course."
SECTION
2.
Said
article is further amended by striking subsections (b), (c), and (d) of Code
Section 40-5-84, relating to reinstatement of licenses suspended for points, and
inserting in their place the following:
"(b)
The license of any person whose license is suspended for the second time as a
result of the conviction of an offense listed in Code Section 40-5-54 shall, at
the expiration of 120 days following the date the license is suspended, be
reinstated by the department upon receipt by the department of a certificate of
completion of
an
advanced
a
defensive driving course and the payment
of a restoration fee of $210.00 or $200.00 when such reinstatement is processed
by mail.
(c)
The license of any person whose license is suspended for the first time as a
result of the assessment of points pursuant to Code Section 40-5-57 shall be
reinstated by the department immediately upon receipt by the department of a
certificate of completion of
an
approved
a
defensive driving course and the payment of a restoration fee of $210.00 or
$200.00 when such reinstatement is processed by mail.
(d)
The license of any person whose license is suspended for the second time as a
result of the assessment of points pursuant to Code Section 40-5-57 shall be
reinstated by the department immediately upon receipt by the department of a
certificate of completion of
an
advanced
a
defensive driving course and the payment of a restoration fee of $210.00 or
$200.00 when such reinstatement is processed by
mail."
SECTION
3.
This
Act shall become effective on July 1, 2005.
SECTION
4.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.