Relates to disposition of fine money from conditional license holders and the distribution of mandatory surcharge for alcohol related offenses

(2) Cleans up a long-standing anomaly by providing that fines and mandatory surcharges imposed for the offense of driving outside of the terms of a conditional license (alcohol-related) will be deposited to the credit of the appropriate STOP-DWI Program.

Justification

The STOP-DWI Program was enacted by the Legislature in 1981(1) to empower local efforts to reduce alcohol and other drug-related crashes. The STOP-DWI Law (VTL §1197) permits each of the State's 57 counties and the City of New York to establish a STOP-DWI program which, in turn, qualifies the county/NYC for the return of all fines collected for alcohol and other drug-related traffic offenses occurring within its jurisdiction. Collectively, the State's 58 programs comprise a comprehensive and financially self-sustaining statewide alcohol and highway safety program - one that serves as a model of excellence for the rest of the nation.(2) Since the STOP-DWI Program was enacted in November of 1981, the likelihood of being killed by a drunk driver in New York has been reduced by an astounding 69%.

Despite the success of STOP-DWI, the Program is institutionally fragile because the Program is funded exclusively by fines that are levied on convicted drunk drivers. This effort began with the establishment of mandatory minimum fines of $250 for DWAI and $350 for DWI in the 1981 legislation. A rational fine scheme based on high collection rates is a crucial part of the success of the Program, and as such, has been subject to very limited increases over the years.

In 1983 the State began to assess "mandatory surcharges" on Penal Law offenses and most offenses under the Vehicle and Traffic Law. These surcharges were used to close budget gaps or to displace General Fund funding for existing programs starting out innocuously enough - beginning at $10 per conviction in 1983 and increasing to $17 in 1988 and $25 in 1989.(3) In the 1990s, the Legislature began to peg the level of the surcharge to the gravity of the offense ($150-felony; $85- misdemeanor; $25-offense/infraction). Those amounts have gradually increased and additional special surcharges have been added with each budget shortfall. Ultimately, the revenue language in the 2008/2009 budget increased felony surcharges to $300, misdemeanors to $175 and traffic infractions to $55. In addition, a special surcharge of S170 was imposed on all alcohol-related convictions including DWAI.

Thus, a person convicted of an alcohol-related offense and assessed the minimum statutory fine will now pay the following:

DWI (Infraction) DWI (Misdemeanor) Fine: $ 350 $ 500 Surcharges: $ 225 $ 345 Victims Fee: $ 25 $ 25 Driver Assessment: $ 750 ($250 x 3 years) $ 750

Total $1350 $1620

Of the total amount, only $350 for a DWAI conviction or $500 for a DWI conviction goes back to support the programs in our communities that constitute the backbone of the comprehensive fight to reduce drunk driving, while $975 goes for budget relief. The unintended consequences are obvious and notable: courts are imposing lower fines because of the massive financial burden engendered by the surcharges and courts are having a difficult time collecting the entire amounts. Furthermore, if the entire amount is not collected, the Comptroller pays the State portion first, thereby depriving the programs of essential revenue. The combined impact on New York's nationally-recognized local-option programs has been significant, and does not bode well for the future, as declining revenue will ultimately result in less enforcement, prosecution, rehabilitation and education programs - all at the expense of the core mission of the program when established in 1981: to reduce the incidence of alcohol-related traffic fatalities.

The purpose of this legislation is to restore the original intent of the 1981 STOP-DWI legislation by linking fine and surcharges for alcohol-related offenses and having them deposited to the credit of the local programs.

Prior legislative history

New bill.

Fiscal implications

Adjusting for average collection rates based on level of offense: $4.5M shifted to localities.

Effective date

The provisions of this act shall take effect on April 1, 2010. (1) Chapters 910 and 913 of the Laws of 1981 (2) Congress has awarded federal incentive funding to other states to adopt self-sufficient programs modeled on STOP-DWI. The Program has also been the recipient of a Presidential Award for excellence in highway safety and was the first recipient of NHTSA's Safety Champion Award (2006). (3) Thus, for example, by 1989, a person convicted of DWI would face a fine of $350 (returned to the county STOP-DWI Program) and $25 to the State.