HB80

Report Title:

Commercial Driver's License; suspension; controlled substance

Description:

Prohibits a person from operating a commercial motor vehicle if the driver tests positive for a controlled substance or alcohol. Allows the examiner of drivers to suspend, revoke, or cancel any commercial driver's license or permit without a hearing under certain circumstances.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	80
TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2005
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating to commercial driver's licensing.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. Act 103, Session Laws of Hawaii 2004, is amended by amending section 8 to read as follows:

"SECTION 8. Section 286-240, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§286-240 Disqualification and cancellation. (a) A person is disqualified from driving a commercial motor vehicle for a period of not less than one year if convicted of a first violation of:

(1) Driving a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol, a controlled substance, or any drug which impairs driving ability;

(2) Driving a commercial motor vehicle while the alcohol concentration of the driver's blood is 0.04 per cent or more by weight;

(3) Refusing to submit to a test to determine the driver's alcohol concentration while driving a motor vehicle as required under sections 286-243 and 291E-11;

(4) Using a motor vehicle in the commission of any felony;

(5) Leaving the scene of an accident involving the motor vehicle driven by the person;

(6) Unlawful transportation, possession, or use of a controlled substance while on-duty time;

(7) Driving a commercial motor vehicle when, as a result of prior violations committed while operating a commercial motor vehicle, the driver's commercial driver's license had been revoked, suspended, or canceled, or the driver was otherwise disqualified from operating a commercial motor vehicle; or

(8) Causing a fatality through the operation of a commercial motor vehicle, including but not limited to the crimes of manslaughter and negligent homicide in any degree.

(b) A person is disqualified for a period of not less than three years for any conviction of a violation of any offense listed in subsection (a) that is committed while a hazardous material required to be placarded is being transported.

(c) A person is disqualified from driving a commercial motor vehicle for life if convicted two or more times for violations of any of the offenses listed in subsection (a).

(d) A person is disqualified from driving a commercial motor vehicle for life if the person uses a motor vehicle in the commission of any felony involving the manufacturing, distributing, or dispensing of a controlled substance, or possession with intent to manufacture, distribute, or dispense a controlled substance.

(e) A person is disqualified from driving a commercial motor vehicle for a period of not less than sixty days if convicted of two serious traffic violations, or one hundred twenty days if convicted of three serious traffic violations, committed in a commercial motor vehicle arising from separate incidents occurring within a three-year period. These disqualification periods shall also apply to offenses committed while operating a noncommercial motor vehicle only if the conviction for the offense results in the revocation, cancellation, or suspension of the driver's license.

(f) A person is disqualified from driving a commercial motor vehicle or from resubmitting an application for a period of not less than sixty days, if the examiner of drivers finds that a commercial driver's license holder or applicant for a commercial driver's license has falsified information or failed to report or disclose required information either before or after issuance of a commercial driver's license.

(g) A person is disqualified from driving a commercial motor vehicle for a period of not less than ninety days and not more than one year for a first violation, or for at least one year and not more than five years for a second violation, or at least three years and not more than five years for a third or subsequent violation of a driver or vehicle out-of-service order committed in a commercial motor vehicle arising from separate incidents occurring within a ten-year period.

(h) A person is disqualified from driving a commercial motor vehicle for a period of not less than one hundred eighty days or more than two years for a first violation, or for at least three years and not more than five years for any subsequent violation, of a driver or vehicle out-of-service order committed in a commercial motor vehicle transporting hazardous materials or designed to transport sixteen or more occupants, arising from separate incidents occurring within a ten-year period.

(i) A person is disqualified from driving a commercial motor vehicle for a period of not less than sixty days if convicted of a first violation, not less than one hundred twenty days if convicted of a second violation during any three-year period, or not less than one year if convicted of a third or subsequent violation during any three-year period for a violation of a federal, state, or local law or regulation pertaining to one of the following six offenses at a railroad-highway grade crossing:

(1) For all drivers who are not required to always stop, failing to slow down and check that the tracks are clear of an approaching train;

(2) For all drivers who are not required to always stop, failing to stop before reaching the crossing, if the tracks are not clear;

(3) For all drivers who are always required to stop, failing to stop before driving onto the crossing;

(4) For all drivers, failing to have sufficient space to drive completely through the crossing without stopping;

(5) For all drivers, failing to obey a traffic control device or the directions of an enforcement official at the crossing; or

(6) For all drivers, failing to negotiate a crossing because of insufficient undercarriage clearance.

(j) A person is disqualified from driving a commercial motor vehicle when the driver's driving is determined to constitute an imminent hazard, as defined in section 286-231, and the disqualification is imposed in accordance with the provisions of Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations Section 383.52.

(k) A person is disqualified from driving a commercial motor vehicle when the driver tests positive for a controlled substance or alcohol as provided under Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 382, Subpart C. The disqualification shall be in effect until the driver has met the requirements of 49 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 40, Subpart O.""

SECTION 2. Section 286-241.4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

"(a) The examiner of drivers may suspend, revoke, or cancel any commercial driver's license or permit without a hearing when the examiner of drivers has probable cause to believe that the licensee is disqualified under section 286-240(c) through (h)[.] and (k)."

SECTION 3. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on September 30, 2005.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________