Senate Bill S-2427 if passed would require court to order convicted drunk driver to install ignition interlock device or to suspend the offender's driver's license.

Senate Bill S-2427 if passed would require court to order convicted drunk driver to install ignition interlock device or to suspend the offender's driver's license.

Under the provisions of this bill, the court is required to order an intoxicated driver to install an ignition interlock device (IID) in a motor vehicle the offender owns, leases or principally operates for a period specified in the bill.  An offender who does not own or lease a motor vehicle, or have access to a vehicle which he or she principally operates, would suffer the loss of his or her driver’s license.

         For a first offender whose blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is greater than .08% but less than .10%, the IID would be installed for three to six months; if the first offender’s BAC is greater than .10%, the device would be installed for seven months to one year.

A second offender would be required to install the IID for two to four years.  In the case of a third or subsequent offender, the IID would be installed for 10 to 20 years. 

If the offender does not own or lease a motor vehicle or have access to a vehicle that he or she principally operates in which an IID could be installed, the offender’s driver’s license would be suspended for the periods prescribed in R.S.39:4-50.

     The bill also revises the required period of suspension for second and third offenders under current law, so that the suspension period will be the same as the period mandated for IID installation.  At present, a second offender offender’s license is suspended for two years; the bill requires a second offender’s driver’s license to be suspended for two to four years.  Current law requires a third or subsequent offender’s license to be suspended for 10 years; under the bill, a third or subsequent offender’s license would be suspended for 10 to 20 years.

     The bill also permits a third or subsequent offender to serve the entire prison term that the court may impose, up to 180 days, in an inpatient rehabilitation program.  Current law permits the court to reduce the prison term up to a maximum of 90 days for each day served in an impatient program.

     Any violation of the interlock requirements by the offender would be a disorderly person’s offense, and those penalties would be in addition to the driver’s license suspension required under current law.