You asked for a brief bullet-point formatted summary of the provisions of sHB 5371 (LCO 2598), An Act Concerning Operating a Motor Vehicle While Under the Influence of Intoxicating Liquor, as it was reported to the Judiciary Committee by the Transportation Committee on March 12, 2002. The reported bill:

· Lowers the current . 10% BAC standard for defining drunk driving to . 08% BAC (Sections 1 and 2)

· Eliminates the separate . 07% BAC standard for defining drunk driving that currently applies to anyone with a prior DWI conviction, thereby establishing a single . 08% standard for all offenses (Section 1)

· Eliminates the infraction offense of driving while impaired by alcohol (BAC of . 07-. 99%) (Sections 1, 2)

· Eliminates the enhanced administrative license suspension penalties and alcohol education program requirements for anyone whose chemical test results indicate a BAC of . 16% or more (Section 2, 10)

· Upon conviction for DWI for a second or subsequent time, requires the suspension of the registration of any motor vehicle the offender owns for a period of one year (Section 1)

· Extends the Pretrial Alcohol Education Program to those under age 21 charged under the separate "zero tolerance" law prohibiting them from driving with a BAC of . 02% or more (Section 10)

· Allows someone arrested for DWI to participate in the Pretrial Alcohol Education Program once every 10 years instead of only one time (Section 10)

· Requires a Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services evaluation of an alcohol education program applicant prior to the court's granting of the participation application rather than after, and requires the applicant to pay a nonrefundable $ 100 evaluation fee at the time he applies for the program (Section 10)

· Provides for an extended program of 15 instead of 10 counseling sessions dependent upon the evaluation report and the court's order and lowers the program fee from $ 425 to $ 325 for the 10-session program and sets a $ 500 fee for the extended 15-session program (Section 10)

· Requires the Department of Motor Vehicles, when conducting its hearing on an administrative per se suspension, to consider whether the police officer had probable cause to both stop and arrest the person for DWI-currently DMV is required to examine only if there was probable cause for the arrest for DWI (Section 2)

· Requires the Department of Correction to study the cost of establishing a separate correctional facility of at least 500 beds for incarcerating people convicted of the alcohol-related criminal offenses (DWI, manslaughter in the second degree with a motor vehicle, and assault in the second degree with a motor vehicle) and report its findings and recommendations to the Judiciary Committee by January 8, 2003 (Section 11)

One of the requirements that currently applies to drivers found to have BAC levels of . 16% or more is that the alcohol education program they attend consist of 15 rather than 10 counseling sessions with a program fee of $ 600. While the bill eliminates all requirements specific to the . 16% BAC level, it provides for the extended program based on the evaluation report and court order, which, in effect, maintains the current situation without tying it to a specific BAC level. The $ 500 program fee for the 15-session program, as well as the lower $ 325 fee for the 10-session program reflects the separation of the $ 100 evaluation fee from the total cost. (Section 10)

Sections 3 through 9 of sHB 5371 are technical as they conform references in other statutes to the changes made by the bill.

The bill is effective on July 1, 2002, except for the corrections facility study requirement, which is effective upon passage.

JF: ro