HB267: HB267 Riley Gaines Act; enact

26 LC 49 2843S The Senate Committee on Judiciary offered the following substitute to HB 267: A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to motor vehicles and1 traffic, so as to revise the authorized fee for driver improvem ent clinics; to provide for2 instruction standards for DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Programs; to revise the3 authorized fees relative to such programs; to require restituti on for certain convictions of4 homicide by vehicle in which the offense was caused by the operation of such vehicle under5 the influence of alcohol or drugs; to provide for standards for such award amount; to provide6 for related matters; to provide for an effective date and appli cability; to repeal conflicting7 laws; and for other purposes.8 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:9 SECTION 1.10 Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to motor vehicles and traffic, is11 amended in Code Section 40-5-83, relating to approval and operation of driver improvement12 clinics, criteria for defensive driving courses, alcohol and dr ug courses, and driving under13 the influence risk reduction programs, by revising subsections (a) and (e) as follows:14 "(a)(1) The commissioner shall establish criteria for the approval of driver improvement15 clinics. To be approved, a clinic shall provide and operate a defensive driving course. 16 - 1 - 26 LC 49 2843S Clinics shall be composed of uniform education and training programs consisting of six17 hours of instruction designed for the rehabilitation of problem drivers. The commissioner18 shall establish standards and requirements concerning the contents of defensive driving19 courses, qualifications of instructors, attendance requirements for students, and20 examinations. Approved clinics shall charge a fee of $95.00 $125.00 for a defensive21 driving course, except that such clinics may charge different fees of their own choosing22 if the person is not enrolling in such course pursuant to court order or department23 requirement. No clinic shall be approved unless such clinic agrees in writing to allow the24 examination and audit of the books, records, and financial stat ements of such clinic. 25 Clinics may be operated by any individual, partnership, or corporation. Nothing in this26 paragraph shall be construed to affect in any way driving progr ams established for27 purposes of insurance premium reductions under the provisions of Code Section 33-9-42.28 (2)(A) No driver improvement clinic shall be permitted to use, adopt, or conduct any29 business under any name that is like or deceptively similar to any name used by any30 other driver improvement clinic, Georgia company, or Georgia corporation registered31 with the Secretary of State. This subparagraph shall not prohi bit the franchising or32 licensing of any part or all of the name of a driver improvement clinic by the owner or33 the rights thereof to another licensed driver improvement clinic.34 (B) This paragraph shall not prohibit the franchising or licensing of any part or all of35 the name of a clinic by the owner of the rights therein to anot her licensed driver36 improvement clinic."37 "(e)(1) The department is designated as the agency responsible for establishing criteria38 for the certification of DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Programs. An applicant39 shall meet the certification criteria promulgated by the department through its standards40 and shall provide assessment component services and intervention component services. 41 A certified DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program shall require that a risk42 assessment component be conducted prior to administering the intervention component43 - 2 - 26 LC 49 2843S of such program. A certified DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Redu ction Program may44 include a clinical evaluation component after an individual completes risk assessment and45 intervention services. Only clinical evaluators licensed by the Department of Behavioral46 Health and Developmental Disabilities shall be qualified to conduct clinical evaluations. 47 The department is designated as the agency responsible for esta blishing rules and48 regulations concerning the contents and duration of the components of DUI Alcohol or49 Drug Use Risk Reduction Programs, qualifications of instructors , attendance50 requirements for students, examinations, and program evaluations. Qualified instructors51 shall be certified for periods of four years each, which may be renewed, and instruction52 shall be provided through in-person instruction or remote participation platforms utilizing53 in-person instruction providers.54 (2) Certified DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Programs shall charge a fee of55 $100.00 for the assessment component and $235.00 for the interv ention component56 $395.00. An additional fee for required student program materials shall be established57 by the department in such an amount as is reasonable and necessary to cover the cost of58 such materials.59 (3) No DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program shall be certified unless such60 program agrees in writing to submit reports as required in the rules and regulations of the61 department and to allow the examination and audit of the books, records, and financial62 statements of such DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program by the department63 or its authorized agent.64 (4) DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Programs may be operated by any public,65 private, or governmental entity; provided, however, that, excep t as otherwise provided66 in this subsection, in any political subdivision in which a DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk67 Reduction Program is operated by a private entity, whether for profit or nonprofit, neither68 the local county board of health nor any other governmental ent ity shall fund any new69 programs in that area. Programs in existence prior to July 1, 1990, which are operated70 - 3 - 26 LC 49 2843S by local county boards of health or any other governmental entities shall be authorized71 to continue operation. New programs may be started in areas wh ere no private DUI72 Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Programs have been made available in the political73 subdivision.74 (5) The Department of Corrections shall be authorized to operate DUI Alcohol or Drug75 Use Risk Reduction Programs in its facilities where offenders a re not authorized to76 participate in such programs in the community, provided that su ch programs meet the77 certification criteria promulgated by the Department of Driver Services. All such78 programs operated by the Department of Corrections shall be exe mpt from all fee79 provisions established in this subsection specifically including the rebate of any fee for80 the costs of administration.81 (6) No DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program shall be certified unless such82 program agrees in writing to pay to the state, for the costs of administration, a fee of83 $30.00 for each offender assessed, provided that nothing in thi s Code section shall be84 construed to allow the department to retain any funds required by the Constitution to be85 paid into the state treasury; and provided, further, that the department shall comply with86 all provisions of Part 1 of Article 4 of Chapter 12 of Title 45 , the 'Budget Act,' except87 Code Section 45-12-92, prior to expending any such miscellaneous funds."88 SECTION 2.89 Said title is further amended in Code Section 40-6-393, relating to homicide by vehicle, by90 adding a new subsection to read as follows:91 "(e)(1) In addition to the penalties provided for in this Code section, the court shall order92 any person 18 years of age or older convicted, under subsection (a) or (d) of this Code93 section, of causing the death of another person through a violation of subsection (a) of94 Code Section 40-6-391 to make restitution pursuant to Article 1 of Chapter 14 of Title 1795 when the deceased person was the parent or guardian of a minor child. Such restitution96 - 4 - 26 LC 49 2843S shall be in the form of financial assistance to each minor chil d of the deceased person97 until the earlier date of when such child reaches the age of 18 or graduates from high98 school. In making a determination of the appropriate amount of financial assistance for99 a child, the court shall consider:100 (A) The financial resources and needs of the child;101 (B) The financial resources and needs of the surviving parent or guardian of the child,102 which may include the state if the child is in the protective custody of the Division of103 Family and Children Services of the Department of Human Services;104 (C) The standard of living to which the child is accustomed;105 (D) The physical and emotional condition of the child and the child's educational106 needs;107 (E) The child's physical and legal custody arrangements; and108 (F) The reasonable work related child care expenses of the sur viving parent or109 guardian.110 (2) Restitution made pursuant to this subsection shall not pre clude any party from111 obtaining any other civil or criminal remedy available under any other provision of law."112 SECTION 3.113 This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2026, and shall apply to offenses committed on114 or after that date.115 SECTION 4.116 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.117 - 5 -