AB 156

The bill changes the monetary and imprisonment penalties for operation of a

motor vehicle while under the influence of an intoxicant or controlled substance

offenses (OWI) as follows:

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See PDF for table

To determine the number of previous OWI offenses under current law, the court

counts the number of convictions during the person's lifetime of OWI-related

offenses that resulted in injury or death plus the number of suspensions, revocations,

and convictions for violations related to OWI, except that for second offenses, only

the number of suspensions, revocations, and convictions related to OWI violations

within any 10-year period are counted. Under the bill, the court counts the number

of convictions during the person's lifetime of OWI-related offenses that resulted in

injury or death plus the number of suspensions, revocations and other convictions

of violations related to OWI within the 10 years immediately preceding the current

violation.

Under current law, a county may seek reimbursement from a person who was

confined to the county jail for the actual per-day cost of maintaining the person in

the jail, for the cost of investigating the person's financial status, and for other county

expenses related to collecting the reimbursement. Under this bill, if the county

decides to seek reimbursement from a person who was confined in the county jail as

the result of an OWI-related violation, the Department of Transportation (DOT)

may not reinstate the violator's operating privilege until the county notifies DOT

that the person has reimbursed the county or that the county is no longer seeking

reimbursement from the person.