AB 178

Under current law, if a court suspends or revokes a person's operating privilege,

the court must take possession of the person's operator's license and forward it to the

Department of Transportation (DOT). If a person is arrested for operating a motor

vehicle while under the influence of an intoxicant (OWI), a law enforcement officer

requests the person to take a test to determine the amount of alcohol in his or her

blood or breath, and the person either refuses to take the test or the test results

indicate a prohibited alcohol concentration, the officer must take possession of the

person's operator's license and forward it to DOT.

Under this bill, a court that suspends or revokes a person's operating privilege

may take possession of a person's operator's license but is not required to do so. If

a court does take possession of a person's operator's license, the court must destroy

the license. Upon reinstatement of the person's operating privilege, instead of

returning the license, DOT must issue a new license. Also, a law enforcement officer

who arrests a person for OWI may not take possession of a person's operator's license.

The bill also allows a person who is otherwise eligible to obtain an occupational

license to do so without surrendering his or her revoked operator's license.

Under current law, if a court suspends a person's operating privilege for certain

violations and at the time of the suspension the person does not have a valid

operator's license, the period of operating privilege suspension does not begin until

the person is eligible and applies for an operator's license or until a specified period

of time elapses, whichever occurs first.

Under this bill, a person need not apply for issuance, renewal, or reinstatement

of an operator's license to trigger the commencement of the period of operating

privilege suspension. The period of operating privilege suspension begins when the

person first becomes eligible for issuance, renewal, or reinstatement of an operator's

license. This bill also eliminates the requirement that a nonresident whose

operating privilege is revoked in this state obtain a valid operator's license issued by

his or her resident state as a condition of reinstatement by DOT of the nonresident's

operating privilege.

Current law provides in most cases for automatic reinstatement of a person's

suspended operating privilege after the period of operating privilege suspension has

terminated and the person has paid the reinstatement fee. However, after revocation

of a person's operating privilege, disqualification of a person's authorization to

operate a commercial motor vehicle, or cancellation of a person's operator's license,

in most cases reinstatement requires DOT to issue a new operator's license.

Reinstated licenses expire two years from the person's next birthday.

This bill provides for automatic reinstatement of a person's revoked operating

privilege if the applicable period of revocation has expired and the person has applied

for reinstatement and paid to DOT the applicable fee. The bill also provides for

automatic reinstatement of a person's canceled operator's license or identification