08 LC 34
1517
House
Bill 1027
By:
Representatives Rice of the
51st,
Roberts of the
154th,
Bearden of the
68th,
and Floyd of the
147th
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 persons completing defensive driving course or alcohol or
drug program, so as to provide for approval of classroom, Internet, or other
technology based driver improvement clinics´ curriculums; 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 persons completing defensive driving course or alcohol or drug program, is
amended by revising subsection (a) of Code Section 40-5-81, relating to court
ordered attendance at driver improvement clinics and programs, as
follows:
"(a)
Any driver improvement program at which attendance is required by court order
shall conform to the requirements of this article.
Courts shall
only order or authorize individuals to attend or register for classroom,
Internet, or other technology based driver improvement programs or pretrial
diversion programs that are licensed and approved by the department under the
provisions of Code Sections 40-5-82 and 40-5-83. Certificates of completion from
unlicensed classroom, Internet, or other technology based driver improvement
programs shall not be recognized for any purposes under this
article."
SECTION
2.
Said
article is further amended by revising subsections (a) and (e) of Code Section
40-5-83, relating to establishment and approval of driver improvement clinics
and programs, as follows:
"(a)(1)
The commissioner shall establish criteria for the approval of
classroom,
Internet, or other technology based 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 clinic´s legal
authority to use a currently approved curriculum or program, a curriculum
consisting of a minimum of six hours of classroom, Internet, or technology based
theoretical instruction consisting of traffic safety related information
designed for the improvement or remediation of an individual´s knowledge of
defensive driving techniques and traffic laws. This provision shall not be
construed to restrict licensed and approved curriculum providers from updating
information to accurately reflect changes in this Code section or other
defensive driving material. 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
an Internet or
technology based driver improvement program and $75.00 for a classroom driver
improvement program; 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,
pretrial diversion program, 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.
The department
shall establish security and operational standards consistent with the
objectives of the training programs contained in this Code section.
(1.1)(A)
No driver improvement clinic shall be permitted to use, adopt, or conduct any
business under any name that is like or deceptively similar to any name used by
any other driver improvement clinic, Georgia company, or Georgia corporation
registered with the Secretary of State. This subparagraph shall not prohibit
the franchising or licensing of any part or all of the name of a driver
improvement clinic by the owner or the rights thereof to another licensed driver
improvement clinic.
(B)
This paragraph shall not prohibit the franchising or licensing of any part or
all of the
name of a clinic
an approved
curriculum by the owner of the rights
therein to another licensed driver improvement
clinic, either
directly or through a third-party
provider.
(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."
"(e)
The department is designated as the agency responsible for establishing criteria
for the approval of DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Programs. An
applicant must meet the certification criteria promulgated by the department
through its standards and must provide the following services: (1) the
assessment component and (2) the intervention component. The department is
designated as the agency responsible for establishing rules and regulations
concerning the contents and duration of the components of DUI Alcohol or Drug
Use Risk Reduction Programs, qualifications of instructors, attendance
requirements for students, examinations, and program evaluations. Qualified
instructors shall be certified for periods of four years each, which may be
renewed. Approved DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Programs shall charge a
fee of $75.00 for the assessment component and
$190.00
$200.00
for the intervention component. An additional fee for required student program
materials shall be established by the department in such an amount as is
reasonable and necessary to cover the cost of such materials. No DUI Alcohol or
Drug Use Risk Reduction Program shall be approved unless such clinic agrees in
writing to submit reports as required in the rules and regulations of the
department and to allow the examination and audit of the books, records, and
financial statements of such DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program by
the department or its authorized agent. DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction
Programs may be operated by any public, private, or governmental entity;
provided, however, that, except as otherwise provided in this subsection, in any
political subdivision in which a DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program
is operated by a private entity, whether for profit or nonprofit, neither the
local county board of health nor any other governmental entity shall fund any
new programs in that area. Programs currently in existence which are operated by
local county boards of health or any other governmental entities shall be
authorized to continue operation. New programs may be started in areas where no
private DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Programs have been made available
to said community. The Department of Corrections is authorized to operate DUI
Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Programs in its facilities where offenders
are not authorized to participate in such programs in the community, provided
that such programs meet the certification criteria promulgated by the Department
of Driver Services. All such programs operated by the Department of Corrections
shall be exempt from all fee provisions established in this subsection
specifically including the rebate of any fee for the costs of administration. No
DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program will be approved unless such
clinic agrees in writing to pay to the state, for the costs of administration, a
fee of $15.00, for each offender assessed
or each
offender attending for points reduction,
provided that nothing in this Code section shall be construed so as to allow the
department to retain any funds required by the Constitution of Georgia to be
paid into the state treasury; and provided, further, that the department shall
comply with all provisions of Part 1 of Article 4 of Chapter 12 of Title 45, the
'Budget Act,' except Code Section 45-12-92, prior to expending any such
miscellaneous funds."
SECTION
3.
Said
article is further amended by revising subsections (b), (c), and (d) of Code
Section 40-5-84, relating to reinstatement of suspended licenses, as
follows:
"(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
4.
This
Act shall become effective on July 1, 2008.
SECTION
5.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.