06 LC 34
0631S
The
House Committee on Motor Vehicles offers the following substitute to HB
276:
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Title 43 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
professions and businesses, so as to provide for licensing of ignition interlock
device provider centers; to provide a short title; to provide for definitions;
to provide for certain requirements for operators of provider centers; to
provide for a misdemeanor offense; to provide for rules and standards to be set
by the commissioner; 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.
Title
43 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to professions and
businesses, is amended by inserting a new chapter to read as
follows:
"CHAPTER
12A
43-12A-1.
This
chapter shall be known and may be cited as the 'Ignition Interlock Device
Providers Act.'
43-12A-2.
As
used in this chapter, the term:
(1)
'Commissioner' means the commissioner of driver services.
(2)
'Department' means the Department of Driver Services acting directly or through
its duly authorized officers and agents.
(3)
'Ignition interlock device' means a constant monitoring device certified by the
commissioner which prevents a motor vehicle from being started at any time
without first determining the equivalent blood alcohol concentration of the
operator through the taking of a deep lung breath sample. The system shall be
calibrated so that the motor vehicle may not be started if the blood alcohol
concentration of the operator, as measured by the device, exceeds 0.02 grams or
if the sample is not a sample of human breath.
(4)
'Provider center' means a facility established for the purpose of providing and
installing ignition interlock devices when their use is required by or as a
result of an order of a court.
43-12A-3.
No
person shall operate a provider center or engage in the practice of providing,
installing, or monitoring ignition interlock devices unless a license therefor
has been secured from the department.
43-12A-4.
(a)
Every person who desires to operate a provider center shall meet the following
requirements:
(1)
Maintain an established place of business in the state which is open to the
public;
(2)
Maintain a general liability policy of insurance, including products and
completed operations, with not less than $50,000.00 of combined single limits,
with an insurance carrier authorized by the Commissioner of Insurance to write
policies in the state. Evidence of such insurance coverage, in the form of a
certificate from the insurance carrier, shall be filed with the department; and
such certificate shall stipulate that the insurance shall not be canceled except
upon ten
dayś
prior written notice to the department;
(3)
Provide a continuous surety bond in the principal sum of $10,000.00 for the
protection of the contractual rights of individuals required to maintain an
ignition interlock device in such form as will meet with the approval of the
department and written by a company authorized to do business in this state;
provided, however, that the aggregate liability of the surety for all breaches
of the condition of the bond in no event shall exceed the principal sum of
$20,000.00 per location, and a single bond at such rate for all locations
separately licensed and operated by the same person may be provided in
satisfaction of this paragraph. The surety on any such bond may cancel such
bond on giving 30
dayś
notice thereof in writing to the department and shall be relieved of liability
for any breach of any condition of the bond which occurs after the effective
date of cancellation;
(4)
Have the equipment and knowledge necessary to provide, install, and monitor
ignition interlock devices as prescribed by the department; and
(5)
Pay to the department an application fee of $250.00.
(b)
The department shall conduct a records check for any applicant for certification
as a provider center operator. Each applicant shall submit two sets of
classifiable fingerprints to the department. The department shall transmit both
sets of fingerprints to the Georgia Crime Information Center, which shall submit
one set of fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a search of
bureau records and an appropriate report and shall retain one set of
fingerprints and promptly conduct a search of state records. After receiving a
report from the Georgia Crime Information Center and the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, the department shall determine whether the applicant may be
licensed. The applicant shall be responsible for any fee or other charge
allowed by law or rule or regulation promulgated by the department, the Georgia
Crime Information Center, or the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the
submission, processing, and review of such fingerprints.
(c)
No applicant shall be licensed or certified who does not meet the requirements
set forth in Code Section 43-12A-6.
43-12A-5.
(a)
No provider center shall be permitted to use, adopt, or conduct any business
under any name that is like or deceptively similar to any name of a Georgia
corporation registered with the Secretary of State.
(b)
This Code section shall not prohibit the franchising or licensing of any part or
all of the name of a provider center by the owner of the rights therein to
another licensed provider center.
(c)
A judicial officer, probation officer, law enforcement officer, or other officer
or employee of a court or any person employed by a private company which has
contracted to provide private probation services for misdemeanor cases, or any
employee of the Department of Driver Services or the Department of Human
Resources, and any immediate family member thereof shall be prohibited from
owning, operating, being employed by or acting as an agent or servant for, or
having a financial interest in any provider center.
43-12A-6.
Every
person who desires to operate a provider center or to engage in the practice of
providing, installing, or monitoring ignition interlock devices:
(1)
Shall not have knowingly made misleading, deceptive, untrue, or fraudulent
representations in the practice of a business or profession licensed under this
title or on any document connected therewith; or practiced fraud or deceit or
intentionally made any false statement in obtaining a license to practice the
licensed business or profession; or made a false statement or deceptive
registration with the board;
(2)
Shall not have been convicted of a second or subsequent violation of Code
Section 40-6-391 within five years, as measured from the dates of previous
arrests for which convictions were obtained to the date of the current arrest
for which a conviction is obtained;
(3)
Shall not have been convicted of any felony or of any crime involving theft,
fraud, violence, or moral turpitude in the courts of this state or any other
state, territory, or country or in the courts of the United States. As used in
this paragraph, the term 'felony' shall mean any offense which, if committed in
this state, would be deemed a felony, without regard to its designation
elsewhere; and the term 'conviction' shall mean a finding or verdict of guilty
or a plea of guilty, regardless of whether an appeal of the conviction has been
sought; and
(4)
Shall not have been arrested, charged, and sentenced for the commission of any
felony, or any crime involving theft, fraud, violence, or moral turpitude,
where:
(A)
First offender treatment without adjudication of guilt pursuant to the charge
was granted; or
(B)
An adjudication of guilt or sentence was otherwise withheld or not entered on
the charge, except with respect to a plea of nolo contendere.
The
order entered pursuant to the provisions of Article 3 of Chapter 8 of Title 42,
relating to probation of first offenders, or other first offender treatment
shall be conclusive evidence of arrest and sentencing for such
crime.
43-12A-7.
(a)
The department shall issue a license certificate to each provider center
operator when such person has met the qualifications required under this
chapter. Each provider center shall be required to have a separate license for
each location, but mobile units operating out of a particular licensed location
need not be separately licensed.
(b)
All licenses issued to operators of provider centers pursuant to this chapter
shall be valid for four years from the date of issuance unless sooner canceled,
suspended, or revoked under Code Section 43-12A-8. All licenses shall be
renewed through the department as provided in subsection (d) of this Code
section and shall be valid for four years from the date of renewal.
(c)
The license of each provider center operator may be renewed subject to the same
conditions as the original license and upon payment of a fee of
$100.00.
(d)
All applications for renewal of a provider center
operatoŕs
license shall be on a form prescribed by the department and must be filed with
the department not more than 60 days nor fewer than ten days preceding the
expiration date of the license to be renewed.
43-12A-8.
The
department may cancel, suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew any provider
centeŕs
license upon good cause being shown and after ten
dayś
notice to the license holder if:
(1)
The department is satisfied that the licensee fails to meet the requirements to
receive or hold a license under this chapter;
(2)
The licensee permits fraud or engages in fraudulent practices, with reference to
either the applicant or the department, or induces or countenances fraud or
fraudulent practices on the part of any applicant for a
driveŕs
license or permit;
(3)
The licensee fails to comply with this chapter or any rule of the department
made pursuant thereto;
(4)
The licensee represents himself or herself as an agent or employee of the
department or uses advertising designed to lead, or which would reasonably have
the effect of leading, persons to believe that such licensee is in fact an
employee or representative of the department;
(5)
The licensee or any employee or agent of the licensee directly or indirectly
solicits business by personal solicitation on public property or in any
department, agency, or office of the state which involves the administration of
any law relating to motor vehicles, whether by telephone, mail, or electronic
communications. A violation of this paragraph shall be a misdemeanor.
Advertising in any mass media, including, but not limited to, newspapers, radio,
television, magazines, or telephone directories, by a provider center shall not
be considered a violation of this paragraph; or
(6)
The
driveŕs
license of the licensee has been canceled, suspended, or revoked.
43-12A-9.
(a)
The commissioner is authorized to prescribe, by rule, standards for the
eligibility, conduct, and equipment required for a person to be licensed to
operate a provider center and to adopt other reasonable rules and regulations to
carry out this chapter. Notwithstanding the foregoing, violations that are
minor in nature and committed by a person, firm, or corporation shall be
punished only by a written reprimand unless the person, firm, or corporation
fails to remedy the violation within 30 days, in which case an administrative
fine, not to exceed $250.00, may be issued.
(b)
The commissioner shall have the authority to assess, after a hearing, an
administrative fine not to exceed $1,000.00 per violation against any provider
center, agent, or employee that fails to comply with any requirement imposed by
or pursuant to this chapter.
(c)
The hearing and any administrative review thereof shall be conducted in
accordance with the procedure for contested cases under Chapter 13 of Title 50,
the 'Georgia Administrative Procedure Act.' Any person, firm, or corporation
who has exhausted all administrative remedies available and who is aggrieved or
adversely affected by a final order or action of the commissioner shall have the
right of judicial review thereof in accordance with Chapter 13 of Title 50. All
fines recovered under this Code section shall be paid into the state treasury.
The commissioner may file in the superior court:
(1)
Wherein the person under order resides;
(2)
If such person is a corporation, in the county wherein the corporation maintains
its principal place of business; or
(3)
In the county wherein the violation occurred
a
certified copy of a final order of the commissioner, whether unappealed from or
affirmed upon appeal, whereupon the court shall render judgment in accordance
therewith and notify the parties. Such judgment shall have the same effect, and
proceedings in relation thereto shall thereafter be the same as though the
judgment had been rendered in an action duly heard and determined by the court.
The penalty prescribed in this Code section shall be concurrent, alternative,
and cumulative with any and all other civil, criminal, or alternative rights,
remedies, forfeitures, or penalties provided, allowed, or available to the
commissioner with respect to any violation of this chapter or any order, rules,
or regulations promulgated pursuant to this
chapter."
SECTION
2.
This
Act shall become effective on January 1, 2007.
SECTION
3.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.