Youngstown Daily Legal News

Bill would expand use of ignition breathalyzers for OVI offenders

TIFFANY L. PARKS
Special to the Legal News
Published: January 28, 2016

In the last General Assembly, Rep. Gary Scherer stumped for a bill that would have required first-time OVI offenders to have an ignition interlock breathalyzer installed on their car.

In this legislature, the Circleville lawmaker has filed a measure that would allow such first time offenders to petition the court for unlimited driving privileges with a certified ignition interlock device, or IID, during the period of the offender’s driver’s license suspension.

“Our current laws contain an ineffective system of limited driving privileges,” Scherer said in testimony for House Bill 388 before the House Armed Services, Veterans Affairs and Public Safety Committee.

“The offender first has a period of 15 days where he or she cannot drive at all. Then he or she can obtain limited driving privileges from the judge and may be granted access to any occupational, educational, vocational or medical destinations as well as commercial licensing exams and court mandated appearances during certain times of the day.”

Second-time offenders are required to use an IID if restricted driving has been permitted.

“Second-time offenders are also required to employ yellow license plates on their vehicles. The second offense provisions, unfortunately, give rise to plea bargains to reduce the overall punishment,” Scherer said.

The proposed legislation, also known as Annie’s Law, would permit first-time OVI offenders to petition the court for unlimited driving privileges with an IID during the period of the offender’s driver’s license suspension and also under any circumstance in which the court is allowed to grant limited driving privileges.

If enacted, the bill would extend the overall first time suspension from six months to 12 months but would allow the court to reduce a first-time offender’s suspension by up to half if the court grants unlimited driving privileges with an IID.

House Bill 388 also requires a first time offender to obtain a restricted driver’s license that indicates that the offender is required to use an IID.

The bill would increase the “lookback period” that is used to determine whether a person has committed a prior OVI-related offense from six years to 10 years.

Scherer said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that IIDs are effective in reducing repeat drunk driving offenses by nearly 70 percent.

“HB 388 will eliminate the 15-day hard suspension and replace the needlessly complex and unenforceable system of regulating who can drive when and where by implementing a simpler system where an offender can drive anywhere anytime so long as they use the IID,” he said.

“Additionally, the bill specifies that a person who has been granted limited or unlimited driving privileges with an IID is not subject to a rolling retest, which is a requirement that the offender breathe into the IID while the vehicle is running to retest the concentration of alcohol in the person’s breath after the vehicle has been started.”

Scherer told committee members he voluntarily had an IID installed on his personal vehicle to test out its functionality. He also talked about the bill’s namesake.

“Annie Rooney was an amazing young lady that attended and graduated from Brown University before ultimately going to law school. She then became a prosecuting attorney in Bozeman, Montana where she aggressively prosecuted domestic violence cases while also serving as the assistant music director for a local radio station,” he said.

“She then moved back to her hometown of Chillicothe, Ohio to open her own law practice. Annie was sadly killed by a drunk driver in July of 2013.”

The woman who hit Annie had at least three misdemeanor charges of operating a vehicle while impaired filed against her.

“Since her death, Annie’s family has worked with Mothers Against Drunk Driving and others in their cause to reduce the number of casualties to this horrible tragedy that occurs far too often,” Scherer said.

“In the time following Annie’s tragic death, I have learned how complex the OVI section of the Ohio Revised Code remains to be. As a result, this bill is complex and very much appreciate the input from interested parties and from members of the committee.”

Scherer said the Ohio Judicial Conference has suggested amendments to the proposal and he is hopeful they can work together.

HB 388 has not been scheduled for additional hearings.

[Back]