08 LC 35
0868S
The
Senate Public Safety Committee offered the following substitute to HB
1027:
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 programs´ 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, or
DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction
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 driver improvement
programs or DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction 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. This Code section shall prohibit and shall not
be construed or interpreted to allow the creation or licensing of any Internet,
online, or other technology based DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction
Programs."
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 not more than 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 not more than $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 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
or 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
not more than a fee of $75.00 for the assessment component and not more than
$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 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.