BILL NUMBER: S775A
SPONSOR: COONEY
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law and the penal law, in
relation to the ignition interlock program
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To establish standards and incentives for increased utilization of the
ignition interlock device (IID) to protect the public and reduce reci-
divism in a manner consistent with best practices.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Sets forth the Legislative Findings.
Section 2. Deletes subsection (iii) of paragraph (c) of subdivision 1 of
§ 1193 of the Vehicle & Traffic Law (VTL), which is incorrectly located
in the felony penalty provision of that section. The provision is modi-
fied and placed in paragraph (g) of subdivision 1 of
§ 1193 of the VTL.
Section 3: Adds a new paragraph (g) to VTL § 1193(1) to:
(1) Cross-reference the applicable definitions from VTL § 1198;
(2) Require a court - in addition to any fine, period of imprisonment,
or license sanction imposed - to sentence any driver convicted of a
misdemeanor-level violation of subdivision (2),(2-a),(3) or (4-a) of VTL
§ 1192 to a period of probation or conditional discharge which expressly
prohibits the person from operating any motor vehicle without an IID for
at least twelve months and requires the person to install and maintain
an IID in any motor vehicle the person operates for at least 180 days
after the driver's license is restored. As an incentive for compliant
use, once the ignition interlock monitor declares 120. consecutive days
of violation-free usage, the mandated period of IID usage will be deemed
satisfied;
(3) Upon motion of a defendant, permit the court, in lieu of suspending
or revoking the driver's license, to impose an alternative sentence for
conviction of a violation of subdivision (2),(2-a),(3) or (4-a) of VTL §
1192 to a period of probation or conditional discharge which prohibits
the person from operating any motor vehicle without an IID for twelve
months or more and requires the person to install and maintain an IID in
any motor vehicle the person operates during a period of at least twelve
months. As an incentive for compliant use, once the ignition interlock
monitor declares 300 consecutive days of violation-free usage, the
mandated period of IID usage will be deemed satisfied. An alternative
sentence may not be imposed on any person subject to additional penal-
ties under subdivision 1-a or who has also been convicted of a violation
of any provision of article one hundred twenty or one hundred twenty-
five of the penal law involving the operation of a motor vehicle; and
(4) prohibit the commissioner from restoring a person's license unless
and until the ignition interlock monitor declares the person to have
operated the motor vehicle substantially violation-free for the period
of IID usage. If a person fails to operate the motor vehicle free of any
prohibited violation, the mandated period of IID usage shall reset from
the date of such violation.
*Adds a new paragraph (h) to VTL § 1193(1) to provide that whenever a
person charged with a misdemeanor violation of subdivision (2),
(2-a),(3) or (4-a) of VTL § 1192 enters into a plea reduction to a traf-
fic infraction under subdivision (1) of VTL § 1192, and such person has
either a prior conviction under VTL § 1192 within the previous 10 years;
or has a BAC of .13 or more; or has refused a breathalyzer test; or the
underlying charge involved the combined use of drugs and alcohol, then a
condition of such plea must include use of an IID for a period of 6
months regardless of any other sanction. As an incentive for compliant
use, once the ignition interlock monitor declares 90 consecutive days of
violation-free usage, the mandated period of IID usage will be deemed
satisfied;
*Adds a new paragraph (i) to:
-permit certain persons subject to lifetime revocation to obtain a post-
revocation conditional license, provided their license has been revoked
for at least 5 years, they have not been convicted of a moving violation
during those 5 years, and they have not been involved in a crash result-
ing in a conviction under the Penal Law.
-requires the Commissioner Of Motor Vehicles, upon application (which
shall also include documentation that all other sanctions have been
satisfied) to provide a post-revocation conditional license which
includes conditions expressly prohibiting operation of any motor vehicle
without an IID for a period of twenty-four months and requires the
person to install and maintain an IID in any motor vehicle the person
operates for a period of twenty-four months. Following twenty-four
months of substantially violation-free IID usage, there will be a
rebuttable presumption that the person is rehabilitated and may petition
the commissioner to restore their license. During the mandated period of
IID usage, certain violations will result in immediate revocation,
including operating a vehicle with a suspended or revoked license, any
violation of VTL § 1192, or a refusal to submit to a chemical test;
*Adds a new paragraph (j) to VTL § 1193(1) to set forth the specific
actions and non-actions constituting non-compliance with the terms of
IID usage.
*Adds a new paragraph (k) to VTL § 1193(1) to address those cases where
the duration of the ignition interlock requirement exceeds the period of
probation or conditional discharge by transferring jurisdiction to the
Commissioner of Motor Vehicles.
*Adds a new paragraph (1)stating that when a sentence imposed under this
subdivision includes a sentence of imprisonment, such term shall not
reduce or limit the IID requirements.
*Adds a new paragraph (m) to provide that a person who successfully
completes the ignition interlock requirement will no longer be subject
to, and the commissioner shall refund payment of, the driver responsi-
bility fee imposed pursuant to VTL § 1199 ($250/year for three years).
Section 4: Amends paragraph (c) of subdivision 1-a of VTL § 1193 relat-
ing to felony DWI to require the court to, as a condition of sentence,
order installation of an IID during the period of license revocation and
to impose a post-revocation period of IID usage of not less than 12
months. Such period of mandatory IID usage may not be reduced or limited
by satisfying any period of imprisonment.
Section 5:
*Amends subdivisions 1, 2 and 3 of VTL § 1198 to conform them with the
amendments to § 1193(1).
*Adds a new subdivision 1-a to set forth the definitions of terms appli-
cable to VTL § 1198 and subdivision 1 or VTL 1193
*Amends subdivision 4 of VTL § 1198 to set forth the process by which an
offender may demonstrate good cause for not installing an IID pursuant
to the provisions of this chapter.
*Amends subdivision 5 of VTL § 1198 to add a new paragraph (c) to clari-
fy that failure to install an IID, failure to appear for service, or
circumvention or tampering with the device, will be deemed a violation
of the person's condition of sentence, probation or conditional
discharge.
Section 6: Amends subdivision k-1 of § 65.10 of the Penal Law to author-
ize use of the IID as a condition of sentence for a violation of VTL §
1192(1), making it consistent with new paragraph (h) of VTL § 1193(1),
which permits use of the IID as a condition of a plea from a misdemeanor
to a traffic infraction.
Section 7: Requires the Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) to
compile and publish annually a report on its website of the total number
of repeat convictions with respect to violations for the 5 years follow-
ing and the 5 years preceding the effective date.
Section 8: Authorizes DCJS in consultation with DMV to promulgate neces-
sary rules for the implementation of this act.
Section 9: Establishes the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
New York has made significant progress to remove impaired drivers from
the roads by addressing both enforcement and rehabilitation efforts.
Ignition interlock devices (IIDs) represent an important tool to be used
in both efforts. IIDs protect the public from drunk driving events and
also alter driver behavior to reduce recidivism. This bill seeks to
enhance New York's existing IID law by promoting expanded usage to
reflect what the data overwhelmingly demonstrates: all persons convicted
of alcohol-related traffic offenses should be required to utilize an IID
for a specified minimum period of time.
Despite significant empirical data supporting the effectiveness of IID
usage, IIDs remain vastly underutilized in New York. Indeed, although
current law mandates misdemeanor/felony-level DWI offenders to install
and maintain a functioning IID for a set post-revocation period, only
26% of such offenders actually install the device. This abysmal partic-
ipation rate undermines clear legislative intent and forfeits an effec-
tive method for achieving NY's dual goals of advancing public safety and
reducing recidivism.
 
PROTECTING THE PUBLIC AND SAVING LIVES:
*Nationally, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) reports that between
December 1, 2006 and December 31, 2020, 3.8 million attempts to drive
while legally intoxicated (.08+) were stopped by the IID. In additional,
25.4 million attempts were foiled for persons who had been drinking.
*Over the same time-period in New York, MADD reports IIDs prevented more
than 111,000 drunk driving attempts, and an additional 439,427 attempts
by convicted drunk drivers who attempted to start a vehicle after
consuming alcohol.
*A 2016 University of Pennsylvania study found that alcohol-related
fatalities decreased by 15% in states with all-offender interlock laws.
A similar study in 2018 by the Insurance Institute for Auto and Highway
Safety came to a similar conclusion: a decrease in alcohol-related traf-
fic deaths of 16%.
 
REDUCING RECIDIVISM:
*A 2016 California study concluded that IIDs are 74% more effective in
reducing DWI recidivism than license suspension alone during the first
six months after conviction and 45% more effective over the course of a
year.
*The same study notably found that IIDS are 70% more effective than
license suspension alone in preventing repeat offenses among second-time
offenders for the first year after conviction and 58% more effective
over two years. Third-time offenders who only suffered license action
were 3.4 times as likely to commit a fourth offense when compared with
those offenders subject to IID.
*A NHTSA study found that the record of breath tests logged via the IID
is effective at predicting future recidivism risk.
*A 2016 study published in the International Review of Law and Economics
concluded that the potential for IID programs to prevent alcohol
involved driving and alcohol-related crashes is most significant when
the program is applied to a broader cross-section of offenders and a
higher proportion of offenders have the IID installed.
This bill will increase interlock usage across all offenders, dras-
tically reduce grounds for avoiding the sanction, make first offenders
subject to IID usage when they enter into a plea reduction, and provide
incentives for violation- free use of the device, including reduced
mandatory time periods for usage and a refund of the "driver responsi-
bility fee."
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2021-2022:A.1325-B - referred to Transportation S.6598-A - passed Senate
on 6/1/22
2019-2020:A.7494a - referred to Transportation S.5671a - passed Senate
on 6/18/19 and 7/21/20
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeeding the
date on which it shall have become a law, provided, however, that the
amendments to section 1198 of the vehicle and traffic law made by
section five of this act shall not affect the repeal of such section and
shall be deemed repealed therewith.

Statutes affected:
S775: 65.10 penal law, 65.10(2) penal law
S775A: 65.10 penal law, 65.10(2) penal law