Senate Bill No. 559
(By Senator Rowe)
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[Introduced February 8, 2002; referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section one-a, article five-a, chapter
seventeen-c of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to making a nolo
contendere plea a conviction for the offense of driving under
the influence of alcohol, controlled substances or drugs equal
to a plea of guilty or conviction for purposes of
administrative license revocation proceedings.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section one-a, article five-a, chapter seventeen-c of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5A. ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES FOR SUSPENSION AND
REVOCATION OF LICENSES FOR DRIVING UNDER THE
INFLUENCE OF ALCOHOL, CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES OR
DRUGS.
§17C-5A-1a. Revocation upon conviction for driving under the
influence of alcohol, controlled substances or
drugs.
(a) If a person is convicted for an offense defined in section
two, article five of this chapter or for an offense described in a
municipal ordinance which has the same elements as an offense
described in said section two of article five, because the person
did drive a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol,
controlled substances or drugs, or the combined influence of
alcohol or controlled substances or drugs, or did drive a motor
vehicle while having an alcoholic concentration in his or her blood
of ten hundredths of one percent or more, by weight, or did drive
a motor vehicle while under the age of twenty-one years with an
alcohol concentration in his blood of two hundredths of one percent
or more, by weight, but less than ten hundredths of one percent, by
weight, and if the person does not act to appeal the conviction
within the time periods described in subsection (b) of this
section, the person's license to operate a motor vehicle in this
state shall be revoked or suspended in accordance with the
provisions of this section.
(b) The clerk of the court in which a person is convicted for
an offense described in section two, article five of this chapter
or for an offense described in a municipal ordinance which has the
same elements as an offense described in said section two of
article five, shall forward to the commissioner a transcript of the judgment of conviction. If the conviction is the judgment of a
magistrate court, the magistrate court clerk shall forward the
transcript when the person convicted has not requested an appeal
within twenty days of the sentencing for such conviction. If the
conviction is the judgment of a mayor or police court judge or
municipal court judge, the clerk or recorder shall forward the
transcript when the person convicted has not perfected an appeal
within ten days from and after the date upon which the sentence is
imposed. If the conviction is the judgment of a circuit court, the
circuit clerk shall forward the transcript when the person
convicted has not filed a notice of intent to file a petition for
appeal or writ of error within thirty days after the judgment was
entered.
(c) If, upon examination of the transcript of the judgment of
conviction, the commissioner shall determine that the person was
convicted for an offense described in section two, article five of
this chapter or for an offense described in a municipal ordinance
which has the same elements as an offense described in said section
two of article five, because the person did drive a motor vehicle
while under the influence of alcohol, controlled substances or
drugs, or the combined influence of alcohol or controlled
substances or drugs, or did drive a motor vehicle while having an
alcoholic concentration in his or her blood of ten hundredths of
one percent or more, by weight, the commissioner shall make and
enter an order revoking the person's license to operate a motor vehicle in this state. If the commissioner determines that the
person was convicted of driving a motor vehicle while under the age
of twenty-one years with an alcohol concentration in his blood of
two hundredths of one percent or more, by weight, but less than ten
hundredths of one percent, by weight, the commissioner shall make
and enter an order suspending the person's license to operate a
motor vehicle in this state. The order shall contain the reasons
for the revocation or suspension and the revocation or suspension
periods provided for in section two of this article. Further, the
order shall give the procedures for requesting a hearing which is
to be held in accordance with the provisions of section two of this
article. The person shall be advised in the order that because of
the receipt of a transcript of the judgment of conviction by the
commissioner a presumption exists that the person named in the
transcript of the judgment of conviction is the person named in the
commissioner's order and such constitutes sufficient evidence to
support revocation or suspension and that the sole purpose for the
hearing held under this section is for the person requesting the
hearing to present evidence that he or she is not the person named
in the transcript of the judgment of conviction. A copy of the
order shall be forwarded to the person by registered or certified
mail, return receipt requested. No revocation or suspension shall
become effective until ten days after receipt of a copy of the
order.
(d) The provisions of this section shall not apply if an order reinstating the operator's license of the person has been entered
by the commissioner prior to the receipt of the transcript of the
judgment of conviction.
(e) For the purposes of this section, a person is convicted
when the person enters a plea of guilty, enters a plea of nolo
contendere or is found guilty by a court or jury.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to
make a nolo contendere
plea a conviction for the offense of driving under the influence of
alcohol, controlled substances or drugs equal to a plea of guilty
or conviction for purposes of administrative license revocation
proceedings.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
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