07 AM
34 0181
ADOPTED
SENATE
Senator
Pearson of the 51st offered the following amendment:
Amend
the committee substitute to HB 419 by adding in the title after the phrase
"to provide penalties for violations;"
and before the phrase
"to amend Code Section 40-16-4 of the
Official Code of Georgia Annotated,"
the
following:
to
amend Article 15 of Chapter 6 of Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to serious traffic offenses, so as to change provisions
relating to punishment for the offense of fleeing or attempting to elude a
pursuing police vehicle or police officer;
By
striking from the title "to provide
effective dates;" and
inserting "to provide for effective dates
and applicability;"
By
inserting between Section 8 and Section 9 a new section as follows:
SECTION
8A.
Article
15 of Chapter 6 of Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to serious traffic offenses, is amended by revising Code Section 40-6-395,
relating to fleeing or attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle or police
officer, as follows:
"40-6-395.
(a)
It shall be unlawful for any driver of a vehicle willfully to fail or refuse to
bring his or her vehicle to a stop or otherwise to flee or attempt to elude a
pursuing police vehicle or police officer when given a visual or an audible
signal to bring the vehicle to a stop. The signal given by the police officer
may be by hand, voice, emergency light, or siren. The officer giving such
signal shall be in uniform prominently displaying his or her badge of office,
and his or her vehicle shall be appropriately marked showing it to be an
official police vehicle.
(b)(1)(A)
Except as otherwise provided in this Code section,
any
Any
person violating the provisions of subsection (a) of this Code section shall be
guilty of a high and aggravated misdemeanor
and:
(A)
Upon
upon
conviction shall be fined not less than $500.00 nor more than $5,000.00, which
fine shall not be subject to suspension, stay, or
probation,
and imprisoned for not less than ten days nor more than 12 months. Any period of
such imprisonment in excess of ten days may, in the sole discretion of the
judge, be suspended, stayed, or
probated;.
(B)
Upon
the
Any person
committing a violation of the provisions of subsection (a) of this Code section,
upon a second
or
subsequent conviction within a ten-year
period of time, 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, shall be
fined not
less than $1,000.00 nor more than $5,000.00, which fine shall not be subject to
suspension, stay, or probation and imprisoned for not less than 30 days nor more
than 12 months. Any period of such imprisonment in excess of 30 days may, in the
sole discretion of the judge, be suspended, stayed, or probated; and for
purposes of this paragraph, previous pleas of nolo contendere accepted within
such ten-year period shall constitute convictions;
and
guilty of a
felony punishable by a fine of $5,000.00 or imprisonment for not less than one
year nor more than five years or both. Following adjudication of guilt or
imposition of sentence for a violation of this subparagraph, the sentence shall
not be suspended, probated, deferred, or withheld, and the charge shall not be
reduced to a lesser offense, merged with any other offense, or served
concurrently with any other offense.
(C)
Upon the third or subsequent conviction within a ten-year period of time, 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, shall be
fined not less than $2,500.00 nor more than $5,000.00, which fine shall not be
subject to suspension, stay, or probation and imprisoned for not less than 90
days nor more than 12 months. Any period of such imprisonment in excess of 90
days may, in the sole discretion of the judge, be suspended, stayed, or
probated; and for purposes of this paragraph, previous pleas of nolo contendere
accepted within such ten-year period shall constitute convictions.
(2)
For the purpose of imposing a sentence under this subsection, a plea of nolo
contendere shall constitute a conviction.
(3)
If the payment of the fine required under paragraph (1) of this subsection will
impose an economic hardship on the defendant, the judge, at his or her sole
discretion, may order the defendant to pay such fine in installments and such
order may be enforced through a contempt proceeding or a revocation of any
probation otherwise authorized by this subsection.
(4)
Notwithstanding the limits set forth in any municipal charter, any municipal
court of any municipality shall be authorized to impose the punishments provided
for in this
subsection
subparagraph
(b)(1)(A) of this Code section upon a
conviction of violating
this
subsection (a)
of this Code section or upon conviction of
violating any ordinance adopting the provisions of this subsection.
(5)(A)
Any person
violating
who commits a
first offense violation of the provisions
of subsection (a) of this Code section
or who is
otherwise not eligible for sentencing under subparagraph (b)(1)(B) of this Code
section and who, while fleeing or
attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle or police officer in an attempt to
escape arrest for any offense other than a violation of this chapter, operates
his or her vehicle in excess of 30 miles an hour above the posted speed limit,
strikes or collides with another vehicle or a pedestrian, flees in traffic
conditions which place the general public at risk of receiving serious injuries,
or leaves the state shall be guilty of a felony punishable by a fine of
$5,000.00 or imprisonment for not less than one year nor more than five years or
both.
(B)
Following adjudication of guilt or imposition of sentence for a violation of
subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, the sentence shall not be suspended,
probated, deferred, or withheld, and the charge shall not be reduced to a lesser
offense, merged with any other offense, or served concurrently with any other
offense.
(c)
It shall be unlawful for a person:
(1)
To impersonate a sheriff, deputy sheriff, state trooper, agent of the Georgia
Bureau of Investigation, agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, police
officer, or any other authorized law enforcement officer by using a motor
vehicle or motorcycle designed, equipped, or marked so as to resemble a motor
vehicle or motorcycle belonging to any federal, state, or local law enforcement
agency; or
(2)
Otherwise to impersonate any such law enforcement officer in order to direct,
stop, or otherwise control traffic."
By
deleting Section 11 and inserting a new section as follows:
SECTION
11.
Sections
1, 3, and 10 of this Act shall become effective on July 1, 2007. Sections 2, 4,
5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 of this Act shall become effective on January 1, 2008.
Section 8A of this Act shall become effective on July 1, 2007, and shall apply
with respect to offenses committed on or after that effective date. Offenses
committed prior to that effective date shall continue to be governed by, and
shall be punishable as provided by, prior law.