House Bill 247
By: Representatives Powell of the 33rd, Crowe of the 118th, Jasperse of the 11th, Ridley of the
6th, Corbett of the 174th, and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Article 4 of Chapter 5 of Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to restoration of licenses to persons completing defensive driving course or alcohol
or drug program, so as to authorize written consent for release of certain information to be
obtained and transferred electronically; to require certain training for clinical evaluators
performing assessment components; to revise the authorized fees relating to such courses;
to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Article 4 of Chapter 5 of Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
restoration of licenses to persons completing defensive driving course or alcohol or drug
program, is amended by revising subsection (d) of Code Section 40-5-82, relating to
administration of program, as follows:
"(d) All DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program records including, but not
limited to, assessment results and other components attended shall be confidential and shall
not be released without the written consent of the DUI offender, except that such records
shall be made available to the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental
Disabilities and the Department of Driver Services. <ins>The written consent required by this
subsection may be obtained and transferred in electronic format.</ins> The provision of
assessments to the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities shall
be according to an interagency agreement between the Department of Driver Services and
the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, and the agreement
may provide for assessment fees to be transmitted to the Department of Behavioral Health
and Developmental Disabilities."
SECTION 2.
Said article is further amended in Code Section 40-5-83, relating to approval and operation
of driver improvement clinics and criteria for defensive driving courses, alcohol and drug
courses, and driving under the influence risk reduction programs, by revising paragraph (1)
of subsection (a) and paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (e) as follows:
"(a)(1) The commissioner shall establish criteria for the approval of driver improvement
clinics. To be approved, a clinic shall provide and operate a defensive driving course.
Clinics shall be composed of uniform education and training programs consisting of six
hours of instruction designed for the rehabilitation of problem drivers. The commissioner
shall establish standards and requirements concerning the contents of defensive driving
courses, qualifications of instructors, attendance requirements for students, and
examinations. Approved clinics shall charge a fee of <del>$95.00</del> <ins>$125.00</ins> for a defensive
driving course, except that such clinics may charge different fees of their own choosing
if the person is not enrolling in such course pursuant to court order or department
requirement. No clinic shall be approved unless such clinic agrees in writing to allow the
examination and audit of the books, records, and financial statements of such clinic.
Clinics may be operated by any individual, partnership, or corporation. Nothing in this
paragraph shall be construed to affect in any way driving programs established for
purposes of insurance premium reductions under the provisions of Code Section 33-9-42."
"(e)(1) The department is designated as the agency responsible for establishing criteria
for the certification of DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Programs. An applicant
shall meet the certification criteria promulgated by the department through its standards
and shall provide assessment component services and intervention component services.
A certified DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program shall require that a risk
assessment component be conducted prior to administering the intervention component
of such program. A certified DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program may
include a clinical evaluation component after an individual completes risk assessment and
intervention services. Only clinical evaluators licensed by the Department of Behavioral
Health and Developmental Disabilities <ins>with training in alcohol and drug abuse evaluation
or assessment</ins> shall be qualified to conduct clinical evaluations. The department is
designated as the agency responsible for establishing rules and regulations concerning the
contents and duration of the components of DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction
Programs, qualifications of instructors, attendance requirements for students,
examinations, and program evaluations. Qualified instructors shall be certified for
periods of four years each, which may be renewed.
(2) Certified DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Programs shall charge a fee of
<del>$100.00</del> <ins>$150.00</ins> for the assessment component and <del>$235.00</del> <ins>$350.00</ins> for the intervention
component. <ins>The fee for intervention component services authorized by this paragraph
shall include any costs associated with the transfer of documents associated with the
performance of a required assessment component.</ins> An additional fee for required student
program materials shall be established by the department in such an amount as is
reasonable and necessary to cover the cost of such materials."
SECTION 3.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.