BILL NUMBER: S8692
SPONSOR: COONEY
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to suspension
of a license for failure to pay a fine for impaired driving violations
 
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this bill is to exempt DWAIs from the "no suspension"
clause and all impaired driving offenses from the provision that allows
courts to waive fines without cause or explanation.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Clarifies that a driver's license can be suspended for fail-
ure to pay a fine for any impaired driving offense, including VTL §
1192(1).
Section 2: Excludes the mandatory fines and surcharges imposed for
impaired driving offenses from the provision that permits the waiver of
fines imposed for traffic infractions.
Section 3: Establishes the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Chapters 382 of the Laws of 2020 and 76 of the Laws of 2021 made some
important fundamental policy changes by encouraging the use of payment
plans for the payment of fines imposed for traffic violations and elimi-
nating the use of license suspension as a tool to leverage payments.
Section 1197 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law established the NYS STOP-DWI
Program (Chapters 910 and 913 of the Laws 1981) which had two core
components: the establishment of a mandatory fine scheme, and the trans-
mission of any such fines to the county of conviction if such county
established a STOP-DWI Program charged with establishing a comprehen-
sive, locally-based plan designed specifically to reduce the incidence
of alcohol and other drug-related crashes. This became the nation's
first offender-funded program to attack the pervasive dangers presented
by impaired drivers. In the first 10 years of the Program, the likeli-
hood of being killed by an impaired driver was reduced by almost 70%.
The purpose of this legislation is to reconcile these two laws by making
clear that fines imposed by impaired drivers at any level should be
imposed and collected in accordance with the provisions of
Section 1197. The amendments do not, however, impair the provision of
the 2020 Chapter that encourages the use of payment plans for the
payment of all fines and surcharges, including those imposed for
impaired driving offenses.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it becomes a law.

Statutes affected:
S8692: 1802 vehicle and traffic law, 1802(2) vehicle and traffic law