1     
IGNITION INTERLOCK AMENDMENTS

2     
2019 GENERAL SESSION

3     
STATE OF UTAH

4     
Chief Sponsor: Wayne A. Harper

5     
House Sponsor: Eric K. Hutchings

6     

7     LONG TITLE
8     General Description:
9          This bill amends provisions related to the ignition interlock exemption for an individual
10     whose offense for driving under the influence did not involve alcohol.
11     Highlighted Provisions:
12          This bill:
13          ▸     amends provisions related to ignition interlock devices for an individual whose
14     offense for driving under the influence did not involve alcohol;
15          ▸     provides a process for an individual to petition the Driver License Division for
16     removal of an ignition interlock restriction if the individual's offense was based
17     solely on substances other than alcohol; and
18          ▸     makes technical changes.
19     Money Appropriated in this Bill:
20          None
21     Other Special Clauses:
22          None
23     Utah Code Sections Affected:
24     AMENDS:
25          41-6a-518.2, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2018, Chapter 41
26     

27     Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
28          Section 1. Section 41-6a-518.2 is amended to read:
29          41-6a-518.2. Interlock restricted driver -- Penalties for operation without ignition

30     interlock system.
31          (1) As used in this section:
32          (a) "Ignition interlock system" means a constant monitoring device or any similar
33     device that:
34          (i) is in working order at the time of operation or actual physical control; and
35          (ii) is certified by the Commissioner of Public Safety in accordance with Subsection
36     41-6a-518(8).
37          (b) (i) "Interlock restricted driver" means a person who:
38          (A) has been ordered by a court or the Board of Pardons and Parole as a condition of
39     probation or parole not to operate a motor vehicle without an ignition interlock system;
40          (B) within the last 18 months has been convicted of a driving under the influence
41     violation under Section 41-6a-502 that was committed on or after July 1, 2009;
42          (C) (I) within the last three years has been convicted of an offense that occurred after
43     May 1, 2006 which would be a conviction as defined under Section 41-6a-501; and
44          (II) the offense described under Subsection (1)(b)(i)(C)(I) is committed within 10 years
45     from the date that one or more prior offenses was committed if the prior offense resulted in a
46     conviction as defined in Subsection 41-6a-501(2);
47          (D) within the last three years has been convicted of a violation of this section;
48          (E) within the last three years has had the person's driving privilege revoked for refusal
49     to submit to a chemical test under Section 41-6a-520, which refusal occurred after May 1,
50     2006;
51          (F) within the last three years has been convicted of a violation of Section 41-6a-502
52     and was under the age of 21 at the time the offense was committed;
53          (G) within the last six years has been convicted of a felony violation of Section
54     41-6a-502 for an offense that occurred after May 1, 2006; or
55          (H) within the last 10 years has been convicted of automobile homicide under Section
56     76-5-207 for an offense that occurred after May 1, 2006.
57          (ii) "Interlock restricted driver" does not include a person:

58          (A) whose conviction described in Subsection (1)(b)(i)(C)(I) is a conviction under
59     Section 41-6a-502 that does not involve alcohol or a conviction under Section 41-6a-517 and
60     whose prior convictions described in Subsection (1)(b)(i)(C)(II) are all convictions under
61     Section 41-6a-502 that did not involve alcohol or convictions under Section 41-6a-517; [or]
62          (B) whose conviction described in Subsection (1)(b)(i)(B) or (F) does not involve
63     alcohol and the convicting court notifies the Driver License Division at the time of sentencing
64     that the conviction does not involve alcohol[.]; or
65          (C) whose conviction described in Subsection (1)(b)(i)(B), (C), or (F) does not involve
66     alcohol and the ignition interlock restriction is removed as described in Subsection (7).
67          (2) The division shall post the ignition interlock restriction on a person's electronic
68     record that is available to law enforcement.
69          (3) For purposes of this section, a plea of guilty or no contest to a violation of Section
70     41-6a-502 which plea was held in abeyance under Title 77, Chapter 2a, Pleas in Abeyance,
71     prior to July 1, 2008, is the equivalent of a conviction, even if the charge has been subsequently
72     reduced or dismissed in accordance with the plea in abeyance agreement.
73          (4) An interlock restricted driver who operates or is in actual physical control of a
74     vehicle in the state without an ignition interlock system is guilty of a class B misdemeanor.
75          (5) It is an affirmative defense to a charge of a violation of Subsection (4) if:
76          (a) the interlock restricted driver operated or was in actual physical control of a vehicle
77     owned by the interlock restricted driver's employer;
78          (b) the interlock restricted driver had given written notice to the employer of the
79     interlock restricted driver's interlock restricted status prior to the operation or actual physical
80     control under Subsection (5)(a);
81          (c) the interlock restricted driver had on the interlock restricted driver's person, or in
82     the vehicle, at the time of operation or physical control employer verification, as defined in
83     Subsection 41-6a-518(1); and
84          (d) the operation or actual physical control described in Subsection (5)(a) was in the
85     scope of the interlock restricted driver's employment.

86          (6) The affirmative defense described in Subsection (5) does not apply to:
87          (a) an employer-owned motor vehicle that is made available to an interlock restricted
88     driver for personal use; or
89          (b) a motor vehicle owned by a business entity that is entirely or partly owned or
90     controlled by the interlock restricted driver.
91          (7) (a) An individual with an ignition interlock restriction may petition the division for
92     removal of the restriction if the individual's offense did not involve alcohol.
93          (b) If the division is able to establish that an individual's offense did not involve
94     alcohol, the division may remove the ignition interlock restriction.