An act to
amend Section 1808 of
add Section 23582.5 to
the Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares as follows:
(a) On December 4, 2015, Congress passed, and the President signed into law, the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act (Public Law 114-94).
(b) The FAST Act provides long-term funding certainty for surface transportation and requires the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to award certain grants pursuant to rulemaking.
(c) The FAST Act includes grant programs for states that meet requirements associated with impaired driving interventions, including 24/7 Sobriety programs. These programs typically approach impaired driving deterrence by focusing on the most high-risk offendogram pursuant to Sections 402 and 405 of Title 23 of the United States Code.
(f) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this act to authorize a statewide 24/7 Sobriety program so that California is eligible for the new 24/7 FAST Act grant funding and additional funding available through NHTSA.
SEC. 2.
Section 23582.5 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read:
23582.5.
(a) The court may order a person convicted of a violation of Section 23152 or 23153 to enroll and participate in, and successfully complete, a qualified 24/7 Sobriety program, as described in subdivision (d), as a condition of probation, parole, sentence, or work permit if the program is available and deemed appropriate, and the person committed the current violation within 10 years of one or more separate violations of Section 23152 or 23153 that resulted in a conviction.
(b) The court may require a person who has been arrested for a violation of Section 23152 or 23153 to enroll and participate in, and successfully complete, a qualified 24/7 Sobriety program, as described in subdivision (d), as a condition of release on bond, if the program is available and deemed appropriate, and the person committed the current violation within 10 years of one or more separate violations of Section 23152 or 23153 that resulted in a conviction.
(c) (1) A person whose driving privilege has been suspended or revoked pursuant to Section 13352 or 13353 and who subsequently applies to the department for a restricted driving privilege, shall be permitted to enroll and participate in, and successfully complete, a 24/7 Sobriety program as a condition of obtaining the restricted driving privilege if the program is available and deemed appropriate, and the person committed the current violation within 10 years of one or more separate violations of Section 23152 or 23153 that resulted in a conviction. The restricted driving privilege granted under this subdivision may be conditioned on participation in the 24/7 Sobriety program as an alternative to, or in conjunction with, participation in an ignition interlock device program.
(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, a person subject to this subdivision shall participate in the 24/7 Sobriety program for a minimum of one year.
(d) For purposes of this section, a “24/7 Sobriety program” requires a participant to abstain from alcohol or controlled substance use for a designated period of time and be subject to breath testing for alcohol or controlled substances at least twice per day at a testing location as the primary testing methodology, or by continuous transdermal monitoring device, or by an alternative method approved by NHTSA in the event of a hardship. Program violations shall be met with immediate but modest sanctions. The 24/7 Sobriety program methodology shall be evidence-based. “Evidence-based” means the program methodology meets at least two of the following criteria:
(1) Evaluation research shows that the program produces the expected positive results.
(2) The results can be attributed to the program itself, rather than to other extraneous factors or events.
(3) The evaluation is peer reviewed by experts in the field.
(4) The program is endorsed by a federal agency or respected research organization and included in its list of effective programs.
(e) A person ordered into a 24/7 Sobriety program may also be required to participate in any other driving-under-the-influence program required under California law, including, but not limited to, programs provided in Section 11836 of the Health and Safety Code.
(f) Testing locations and methods that provide the best ability to sanction a violation as close in time as reasonably feasible to the occurrence of the violation should be given preference.
(g) In order to enable all required defendants to participate, each person shall pay the program costs commensurate with the person’s ability to pay as determined pursuant to Section 11837.4 of the Health and Safety Code.
(h) The court shall not impose a program of more than 180 days in length unless the defendant tests positive for alcohol or an unauthorized controlled substance or fails to appear for a test.
(i) The Office of Traffic Safety shall include a description of the provisions authorizing the 24/7 Sobriety program pursuant to this section in its highway safety plan required to be submitted to the NHTSA under subsection (k) of Section 402 of Title 23 of the United States Code, including any application requirements necessary to qualify for grants under Section 405 of Title 23 of the United States Code.
(j) The department shall establish statewide uniform collection and reporting of all of the following data:
(1) Participant demographic information.
(2) Participant case history information.
(3) Testing information, including testing duration, test results, and testing attendance.
(4) Fees and fee payments.
SECTION 1.
Section 1808 of the
Vehicle Code
is amended to read:
1808.
(a)Except when a specific provision of law prohibits the disclosure of records or information or provides for confidentiality, all records of the department relating to the registration of vehicles, other information contained on an application for a driver’s license, abstracts of convictions, and abstracts of accident reports required to be sent to the department in Sacramento, except for abstracts of accidents when, in the opinion of a reporting officer, another individual was at fault, shall be open to public inspection during office hours. All abstracts of accident reports shall be available to law enforcement agencies and courts of competent jurisdiction.
(b)The department shall make available or disclose abstracts of convictions and abstracts of accident reports required to be sent to the department in Sacramento, as described in subdivision (a), if the date of the occurrence is not later than the following:
(1)Ten years for a violation pursuant to Section 23140, 23152, or 23153.
(2)Seven years for a violation designated as two points pursuant to Section 12810, except as provided in paragraph (1) of this subdivision.
(3)Three years for accidents and all other violations.
(c)The department shall make available or disclose suspensions and revocations of the driving privilege while the suspension or revocation is in effect and for three years following termination of the action or reinstatement of the privilege, except that driver’s license suspension actions taken pursuant to Sections 13202.6 and 13202.7, Section 17520 of the Family Code, or Section 256 of, or former Section 11350.6 of, the Welfare and Institutions Code shall be disclosed only during the actual time period in which the suspension is in effect.
(d)The department shall not make available or disclose a suspension or revocation that has been judicially set aside or stayed.
(e)The department shall not make available or disclose personal information about a person unless the disclosure is in compliance with the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act of 1994 (18 U.S.C. Sec. 2721 et seq.). However, a disclosure is subject to the prohibition in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 12800.5.
(f)The department shall make available or disclose to the courts and law enforcement agencies a conviction of Section 23103, as specified in Section 23103.5, or a conviction of Section 23140, 23152, or 23153, or Section 655 of the Harbors and Navigation Code, or paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 192 of the Penal Code for a period of 10 years from the date of the offense for the purpose of imposing penalties mandated by this code, or by other applicable state law.
(g)The department shall make available or disclose to the courts and law enforcement agencies a conviction of Section 191.5, or subdivision (a) of Section 192.5 of the Penal Code, punished as a felony, for the purpose of imposing penalties mandated by Section 23550.5, or by other applicable state law.
(h)(1)Consent to the use of a person’s driver’s license number by the insurance agent or broker of an insurer, insurance licensee, employer, or prospective employer to obtain, transmit, or otherwise utilize the motor vehicle records of that person pursuant to this section shall be presumed if the person provides his or her driver’s license number, or the driver’s license number of any dependent, to an insurer, insurance licensee, employer, or prospective employer for the purpose of eligibility, underwriting, and rating of personal or commercial insurance coverage or eligibility for employment or continued employment involving the use of a motor vehicle.
(2)(A)The insurance agent or broker of the insurer, insurance licensee, employer, or prospective employer is authorized to transmit motor vehicle records for the purposes described in paragraph (1). An insurance agent or broker who has lawfully transmitted a record as authorized by this section is not responsible for the subsequent handling of that record by any recipient who is authorized to receive a record under this section.
(B)Prior to transmitting records pursuant to this paragraph to any insurer with whom the insurance broker or agent does not have a written agreement, or to a third party authorized by this paragraph to receive those records, the broker or agent shall obtain a written agreement from the insurer or other third party that the insurer or other third party shall handle those records in accordance with state and federal laws governing fair credit reporting and privacy.

Summary: Existing law prohibits a person who has 0.08% or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood from driving a vehicle. Existing law also prohibits a person while having 0.08% or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood from driving a vehicle and concurrently doing any act forbidden by law, or neglecting any duty imposed by law in driving the vehicle, when the act or neglect proximately causes bodily injury to a person other than the driver. A violation of either of these prohibitions is a crime. Existing law authorizes a court, in addition to imposing penalties and sanctions for those violations, to require the person to enroll and participate in, and successfully complete, a driving-under-the-influence program, which may include, among other things, education, group counseling, and individual interview sessions.
Existing law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to immediately suspend a person’s privilege to operate a motor vehicle for a specified period of time if the person has driven a motor vehicle when the person had a certain blood-alcohol concentration. Existing law also requires the department to suspend or revoke the driving privilege of a person who refuses an officer’s request or fails to complete a chemical test or tests, as specified. Existing law authorizes certain individuals whose privilege is suspended or revoked pursuant to that provision to receive a restricted driver’s license if specified requirements are met, including the completion of specified periods of license suspension or revocation and, in some instances, the installation of an ignition interlock device on the person’s vehicle.
This bill would authorize the court to order a person convicted of a crime described above to enroll and participate in, and successfully complete, a qualified “24/7 Sobriety program,” as defined, as a condition of probation, if the program is available and deemed appropriate, and the person committed the crime within 10 years of one or more separate crimes described above that resulted in a conviction. The bill also would authorize a court to order participation in a 24/7 Sobriety program as a condition of release on bond for a person who has been charged with a crime described above. The bill would permit a person whose driving privilege has been suspended or revoked for certain violations, and who subsequently applies to the department for a restricted driving privilege, to be permitted to participate in a 24/7 Sobriety program as a condition of obtaining the restricted driving privilege as an alternative to, or in conjunction with, participation in an ignition interlock device program. The bill would define a “24/7 Sobriety program,” in part, as requiring a person in the program to abstain from alcohol and unauthorized controlled substances and be subject to frequent testing for alcohol and controlled substances, as specified. The bill would require a person participating in the program to pay the program costs, commensurate with the person’s ability to pay, as specified.
Existing law provides that all records of the Department of Motor Vehicles relating to the registration of vehicles, other information contained on an application for a driver’s license, abstracts of convictions, and certain abstracts of accident reports are required to be open to public inspection during office hours, except when a specific provision of law prohibits the disclosure of records or information or provides for confidentiality.
This bill would provide that consent to the use of a person’s driver’s license number by the insurance agent or broker of an insurer, insurance licensee, employer, or prospective employer to obtain, transmit, or otherwise utilize the motor vehicle records of that person pursuant to the provision described above is presumed if the person provides his or her driver’s license number to an insurer, insurance licensee, employer, or prospective employer for the purpose of eligibility, underwriting, and rating of personal or commercial insurance coverage or eligibility for employment or continued employment involving the use of a motor vehicle. The bill would provide that the insurance agent or broker of the insurer, insurance licensee, employer, or prospective employer is authorized to transmit motor vehicle records for these purposes, as specified, and would specify that an insurance agent or broker who has lawfully transmitted a record as authorized under these provisions is not responsible for the subsequent handling of that record by any recipient who is authorized to receive the record under these provisions. The bill would also delete an obsolete cross-reference.