SPAC/SB 437
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AN ACT
RELATING TO DRIVING WHILE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF INTOXICATING
LIQUOR OR DRUGS; REQUIRING AN IGNITION INTERLOCK LICENSE
PRIOR TO ISSUANCE OF A NEW MEXICO DRIVER'S LICENSE FOR
CERTAIN PERSONS WHO HAVE DWI CONVICTIONS IN OTHER STATES;
RECONCILING MULTIPLE AMENDMENTS TO THE SAME SECTION OF LAWS
IN LAWS 2005.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
Section 1. Section 66-5-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978,
Chapter 35, Section 227, as amended by Laws 2005, Chapter
241, Section 1 and by Laws 2005, Chapter 269, Section 1) is
amended to read:
"66-5-5. PERSONS NOT TO BE LICENSED.--The division
shall not issue a driver's license under the Motor Vehicle
Code to any person:
A. who is under the age of eighteen years, except
the division may, in its discretion, issue:
(1) an instruction permit to a person
fifteen years of age or over who is enrolled in and attending
or has completed a driver education course that includes a
DWI education and prevention component approved by the bureau
or offered by a public school;
(2) a provisional license to any person
fifteen years and six months of age or older:
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(a) who has completed a driver
education course approved by the bureau or offered by a
public school that includes a DWI education and prevention
component and has had an instruction permit for at least six
months; and
(b) who has successfully completed a
practice driving component;
(3) a driver's license to any person sixteen
years and six months of age or older:
(a) who has had a provisional license
for the twelve-month period immediately preceding the date of
the application for the driver's license;
(b) who has complied with restrictions
on that license;
(c) who has not been convicted of a
traffic violation that was committed during the ninety days
prior to applying for a driver's license; and
(d) who has not been adjudicated for an
offense involving the use of alcohol or drugs during that
period and who has no pending adjudications alleging an
offense involving the use of alcohol or drugs at the time of
application; and
(4) to any person thirteen years of age or
older who passes an examination prescribed by the division, a
license restricted to the operation of a motorcycle,
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provided:
(a) the motorcycle is not in excess of
one hundred cubic centimeters displacement;
(b) no holder of an initial license may
carry any other passenger while driving a motorcycle; and
(c) the director approves and certifies
motorcycles as not in excess of one hundred cubic centimeters
displacement and by rule provides for a method of
identification of such motorcycles by all law enforcement
officers;
B. whose license or driving privilege has been
suspended or denied, during the period of suspension or
denial, or to any person whose license has been revoked,
except as provided in Section 66-5-32 NMSA 1978 and the
Ignition Interlock Licensing Act;
C. who is an habitual user of narcotic drugs or
alcohol or an habitual user of any drug to a degree that
renders the person incapable of safely driving a motor
vehicle;
D. who is four or more times convicted of driving
a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating
liquor or narcotic drug regardless of whether the convictions
are under the laws or ordinances of this state or any
municipality or county of this state or under the laws or
ordinances of any other state, the District of Columbia or
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any governmental subdivision thereof, except as provided in
the Ignition Interlock Licensing Act. Five years from the
date of the fourth conviction and every five years
thereafter, the person may apply to any district court of
this state for restoration of the license, and the court,
upon good cause being shown, may order restoration of the
license applied for; provided that the person has not been
subsequently convicted of driving a motor vehicle while under
the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs. Upon issuance
of the order of restoration, a certified copy shall
immediately be forwarded to the division, and if the person
is otherwise qualified for the license applied for, the four
previous convictions shall not prohibit issuance of the
license;
E. who was convicted on or after June 17, 2005 of
driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of
intoxicating liquor or drugs pursuant to the laws or
ordinances of any other state, the District of Columbia or
any governmental subdivision thereof, unless the person
obtains an ignition interlock license as provided in the
Ignition Interlock Licensing Act for a period of one year for
a first conviction; a period of two years for a second
conviction; a period of three years for a third conviction;
or the remainder of the offender's life for a fourth or
subsequent conviction, subject to a five-year review as
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provided in Subsection D of this section. Upon presentation
of proof satisfactory to the division, the division may
credit time spent by a person operating a motor vehicle with
an ignition interlock or comparable device, as a condition of
the person's sentence for a conviction in another
jurisdiction pursuant to this subsection, against the
ignition interlock time requirements imposed by this
subsection. The division shall promulgate rules necessary
for granting credit to persons who participate in comparable
out-of-state programs following a conviction for driving a
motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating
liquor or drugs. The requirements of this subsection shall
not apply to a person who applies for a driver's license ten
years or more from the date of the person's last conviction,
except for a person who is subject to lifetime driver's
license revocation for a conviction in another jurisdiction.
F. who has previously been afflicted with or who
is suffering from any mental disability or disease that would
render the person unable to drive a motor vehicle with safety
upon the highways and who has not, at the time of
application, been restored to health;
G. who is required by the Motor Vehicle Code to
take an examination, unless the person has successfully
passed the examination;
H. who is required under the laws of this state to
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deposit proof of financial responsibility and who has not
deposited the proof;
I. when the director has good cause to believe
that the operation of a motor vehicle on the highways by the
person would be inimical to public safety or welfare; or
J. as a motorcycle driver who is less than
eighteen years of age and who has not presented a certificate
or other evidence of having successfully completed a
motorcycle driver education program licensed or offered in
conformance with rules of the bureau."
Section 2. Section 66-5-502 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2003,
Chapter 239, Section 2, as amended) is amended to read:
"66-5-502. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Ignition
Interlock Licensing Act:
A. "denied" means having an instructor's permit,
driver's license or provisional license denied for driving
while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs,
pursuant to the provisions of Subsection D or E of Section
66-5-5 NMSA 1978;
B. "ignition interlock device" means a device,
approved by the traffic safety bureau, that prevents the
operation of a motor vehicle by an intoxicated or impaired
person;
C. "ignition interlock license" means a driver's
license issued to a person by the division that allows that
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person to operate a motor vehicle with an ignition interlock
device after that person's instructor's permit, driver's
license or provisional license has been revoked or denied.
The division shall clearly mark an ignition interlock license
to distinguish it from other driver's licenses; and
D. "revoked" means having an instructor's permit,
driver's license or provisional license revoked for driving
while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs,
pursuant to the provisions of Section 66-8-102 or 66-8-111
NMSA 1978."
Section 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the
provisions of this act is July 1, 2007.