What's happening
This bill expands laws on repeat driving offenses, drugged driving, and speedy trials, adding stricter rules and definitions.
Why it matters
Expands “second felony offender” rules. to include felonies under vehicle and traffic law, not just the penal law—meaning repeat dangerous driving offenses (like felony-level DWIs) now count toward harsher sentencing as repeat felonies.
Broadens drugged driving definitions. by replacing a specific list of drugs with “any drug or impairing substance,” making it easier to prosecute impaired drivers no matter which substance is involved, even new or unlisted ones.
Requires automatic license suspension. for drivers charged with drug-impaired driving while awaiting trial, closing a loophole that previously applied mainly to alcohol-related charges and aiming to immediately remove potentially dangerous drivers from the road.
Adds more vehicular crimes to speedy trial exceptions,. potentially allowing more time for prosecution in serious vehicular offenses (like aggravated vehicular homicide), which could impact both justice for victims and defendants’ rights to a speedy trial.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Crack Down on Repeat Drivers
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Multi-sponsor
History
- Referred to codes
- Referred to codes
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Crack Down on Repeat Drivers
In Senate Committee · Codes · Sponsor Andrew J. Lanza
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1257
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 14, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. L. ROSENTHAL -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. D'URSO -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law and the criminal procedure law, in relation to repeat offenders of driving accidents; to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to drugged driving; and to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to speedy trials and certain vehicular crimes
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 70.06 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 410 of the laws of 1979, is amended to read as follows:
(a) A second felony offender is a person, other than a second violent felony offender as defined in section 70.04, who stands convicted of a felony defined in this chapter or in the vehicle and traffic law, other than a class A-I felony, after having previously been subjected to one or more predicate felony convictions as defined in paragraph (b) of this subdivision.
§ 2. Paragraphs (b) and (c) of subdivision 1 of section 160.10 of the criminal procedure law, as amended by chapter 762 of the laws of 1971, are amended to read as follows:
(b) A misdemeanor defined in the penal law or the vehicle and traffic law; or
(c) A misdemeanor defined outside the penal law or the vehicle and traffic law which would constitute a felony if such person had a previous judgment of conviction for a crime; or
§ 3. Section 114-a of the vehicle and traffic law, as added by chapter 163 of the laws of 1973, is amended to read as follows:
§ 114-a. Drug. The term "drug" when used in this chapter, means [and includes any substance listed in section thirty-three hundred six of the public health law] any drug or impairing substance.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03383-01-9
A. 1257 2
§ 4. Paragraph (e) of subdivision 2 of section 1193 of the vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a new subparagraph 8 to read as follows:
(8) Suspension pending prosecution; drug impairment. Except as provided in clause a-1 of subparagraph seven of this paragraph, a court shall suspend a driver's license, pending prosecution, of any person charged with a violation of subdivision four or four-a of section eleven hundred ninety-two of this article who, at the time of arrest, is alleged to have been ability impaired by drugs.
§ 5. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 3 of section 30.30 of the criminal procedure law, as amended by chapter 93 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows:
(a) Subdivisions one and two do not apply to a criminal action wherein the defendant is accused of an offense defined in sections 125.10, 125.12, 125.13, 125.14, 125.15, 125.20, 125.25, 125.26 and 125.27 of the penal law.
§ 6. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.