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.