Senate Bill S634

                                BILL NUMBER:S634

TITLE OF BILL:                REVISED 12/30/11

An act
to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to requiring any
person convicted of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence
of alcohol or drugs to complete a drinking driver program as a condition
of their sentence

PURPOSE OF BILL:

To ensure that a person convicted of driving a motor vehicle while
under the influence of alcohol or drugs is mandated as a condition of
his or her sentence to participate in the Drinking Driver Program and
receive an evaluation conducted by an addiction professional from an
Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services licensed program
and require that the offender pay the cost of the program.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1. Amends Section 1193 subdivision 1 of the Vehicle and Traffic
Law by adding a new paragraph (h). Requires a defendant to complete a
drinking driver program, where the court imposes a sentence for any
violation of section eleven hundred ninety-two or section eleven
hundred ninety-two-a of this article. Provides that such program
              

shall be licensed by the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse
Services and taught by a substance abuse professional who is
credentialed by such Office. Requires the defendant to receive an
evaluation by the professional teaching the program. Requires the
defendant to pay the fee for attending such program.

Section 2. Effective Date

EXISTING LAW:

Vehicle and Traffic Law; Article 31 - Alcohol and Drug Related
Offenses and Procedures Applicable Thereto; Section 1193 - Sanctions

JUSTIFICATION:

Due to the continued, unnecessarily high number of DWI convictions
throughout the City and State of New York, and because under the
current system many convicted offenders choose not to participate in
the Drinking Driver Program, it is necessary to mandate that those
convicted of DWI participate, get evaluated by licensed programs and
pay the cost of completing the program.
The inability of authorities to assure that an individual arrested and
convicted of drunk driving offense does not get out on the road again
under the influence of alcohol is a significant failure of
our State laws and criminal justice system to control drunk driving.
This bill will do much to remedy this failure.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2011:      S.634 - Discharged from Transportation, Committed to


           Alcoholism and Drug Abuse - Notice of Committee
           Consideration Requested
2009-10:   S.3121 - Referred to Transportation/A.8809 - Referred to
           Transportation
2007-08:   S.770 - Referred to Transportation
2005-06:   S.818 - Referred to Transportation
2003-04:   S.4363 - Referred to Alcoholism and Substance Abuse

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeeding
the date on which it shall have become a law.