You asked if the law requires the motor vehicles commissioner to suspend the driver's license of people under age 21 if they have been convicted of possessing liquor. If so, you wanted to know the rationale for suspending a driver's license when the offense did not involve a motor vehicle.

SUMMARY

The law requires the motor vehicles commissioner to suspend the driver’s license of people under age 21 if they have been convicted of possessing liquor.

The legislature established the penalty in 1996 by amending a law that made license suspension one of the penalties for someone under 21 who misuses a driver’s license to obtain liquor. The introducer of the 1996 bill said that the intent was to create a penalty that would effectively deter youths from obtaining liquor.

LICENSE SUSPENSION

The law requires the motor vehicles commissioner to suspend, for up to 150 days, the driver’s license, motorcycle license, or nonresident operating privilege of anyone under 21 years old who has been convicted of violating the laws prohibiting minors from (1) misusing their license to obtain liquor (CGS § 30-88a) or (2) purchasing or possessing liquor (CGS § 30-89). The law also makes someone under 21 years old who has been convicted of these crimes and who does not have a license ineligible to receive one for 150 days after meeting licensing requirements.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

In 1993, the legislature adopted a law making driver’s license suspension one of the penalties for someone under 18 who was convicted of misusing a driver’s license to obtain liquor (PA 93-315, HB 6860). Specifically, it required the motor vehicles commissioner to suspend a license for up to 30 days. The legislature made the suspension period mandatory and increased it to 90 days in 1996 and added conviction of purchasing or possessing liquor as grounds for the suspension (PA 96-1999, SB 204).

Senator Kissel introduced the 1996 bill. He said that the General Law Committee had determined that “there's quite a few penalties that get utilized against the bar owner, the package store owner, but [the law] doesn't appear to act as a deterrent to the minor…. ” He stated that the committee received “quite a bit of public testimony ‘ and that it “became very clear to us that if you want to motivate the actions of someone under 21, one of the things that they hold most valuable and they prize, is their freedom and their freedom is interpreted as their ability to drive an automobile. ” He stated that he believed that the bill would effectively deter minors from seeking to obtain liquor.

Representative Fox introduced the bill in the House of Representatives and his comments echoed those of Senator Kissel. Representative Caron added that the consensus of the people who testified was that the bill would be a very good deterrent.

The rationale for punishing a liquor law violation with a driver’s license suspension was not discussed when the mandatory suspension period was increased to 150 days in 1997.

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