NY State Senate Bill 2021-S1220

Senate Bill S1220

2021-2022 Legislative Session

Provides for the permanent disqualification of school bus drivers who fail a random alcohol or drug test in certain cases

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Transportation Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 05, 2022	referred to transportation
Jan 08, 2021	referred to transportation

2021-S1220 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Transportation
Law Section:: Vehicle and Traffic Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §509-cc, V & T L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2017-2018: S5865
2019-2020: S1186
2023-2024: S5428

2021-S1220 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Provides for the permanent disqualification of school bus drivers who fail a random alcohol or drug test in certain cases, under the code of federal regulations, where they have previously failed such test or met comparable criteria.

2021-S1220 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S1220

SPONSOR: RITCHIE
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to the perma-
nent disqualification of school bus drivers for failing a random alcohol
or drug test

 
PURPOSE:

To protect the safety of school children and the motoring public.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

This bill provides for the permanent disqualification of school bus
drivers who fail a random drug or alcohol test administered according to
federal rules and regulations, if such drivers have, in the preceding
five years, failed a previous random drug or alcohol test, or refused to
submit to a chemical test, or been convicted of DWI or DWAI.

The bill allows DMV to waive the permanent disqualification after five
years, if the individual has not been convicted of any additional
DWI/DWAI charges, and the individual submits acceptable documentation to
the Commissioner either that he or she is not in need of alcohol or drug
treatment or has satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of treat-
ment.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The safety of the thousands of children who ride a school bus to school
every day is a critical concern. According to the National Highway Traf-
fic Safety Administration, nationwide since 1986, 283 school-aged pedes-
trians have died in school bus-related crashes.  Nearly, two-thirds
763%) were killed by school buses, 5% by vehicles functioning as school
buses, and 33% by other vehicles involved in crashes. One half of all
school-age pedestrians killed in school bus-related crashes were between
the ages of five and seven.

New York State has an excellent school bus safety record. In the 1994-95
school year alone, close to 2.3 million students were transported, and
school buses logged over 400 million miles.  Significant safety measures
have been enacted, yet there have been a number of recent incidents
involving school bus drivers operating while under the influence of
alcohol or drugs.

Federal law and regulation requires that any individual holding a
commercial driver's license (CDL) submit to random drug and alcohol
testing. These tests are administered either just before, during, or
just after the performance of a safety sensitive function, in this case,
operating a school bus. Persons who fail such random tests with either a
.04% BAC for alcohol or a positive result for controlled substances are
immediately removed from driving responsibilities and referred for eval-
uation and treatment.

Before such a driver can return to duty, (s)he must be evaluated by a
substance abuse professional, successfully complete a rehabilitation
program, and undergo a return-to-duty alcohol test or a controlled
substances test with verified negative results. Such driver also is
subject to unannounced follow-up alcohol and controlled substances test-
ing consisting of at least six tests within 12 months.

While most drivers do an excellent job under often difficult situations,
we should reduce the risk posed by those individuals who have proven
that they have a problem that could place students and other users of
the highways in serious jeopardy, either through the failure of a previ-
ous random drug or alcohol test, a previous refusal to submit to a chem-
ical test, or a previous conviction for DWI or DWAI.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2017-2018: S.5865/A.1019

2019-2020: S.1186

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
September first after it shall have become a law.

2021-S1220 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1220
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              January 8, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. RITCHIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation
 
 AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to  the  perma-
   nent disqualification of school bus drivers for failing a random alco-
   hol or drug test

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of  section  509-cc  of  the
 vehicle  and traffic law is amended by adding a new subparagraph (iv) to
 read as follows:
   (IV) WAS FOUND TO HAVE .04 OF ONE PER CENTUM  OR  MORE  BY  WEIGHT  OF
 ALCOHOL  IN  SUCH  PERSON'S  BLOOD  OR  A POSITIVE TEST FOR A CONTROLLED
 SUBSTANCE AS SHOWN BY A RANDOM ALCOHOL AND  CONTROLLED  SUBSTANCES  TEST
 ADMINISTERED  IN  ACCORDANCE  WITH  PART  382 OF TITLE 49 OF THE CODE OF
 FEDERAL REGULATIONS, AS SUCH REGULATIONS MAY,  FROM  TIME  TO  TIME,  BE
 AMENDED; AND
   (1)  SUCH PERSON WAS FOUND WITHIN THE PRECEDING FIVE YEARS TO HAVE .04
 OF ONE PER CENTUM OR MORE BY WEIGHT OF ALCOHOL IN SUCH PERSON'S BLOOD OR
 A POSITIVE TEST FOR A CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE AS SHOWN BY A RANDOM  ALCOHOL
 AND  CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES TEST ADMINISTERED IN ACCORDANCE WITH PART 382
 OF TITLE 49 OF THE CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS, AS SUCH REGULATIONS MAY,
 FROM TIME TO TIME, BE AMENDED; OR
   (2) SUCH PERSON HAS HAD A PRIOR REVOCATION OF THEIR  DRIVER'S  LICENSE
 RESULTING FROM REFUSAL TO SUBMIT TO A CHEMICAL TEST PURSUANT TO SUBDIVI-
 SION  TWO  OF  SECTION ELEVEN HUNDRED NINETY-FOUR OF THIS CHAPTER WITHIN
 THE PRECEDING FIVE YEARS; OR
   (3) SUCH PERSON HAS BEEN CONVICTED OF A VIOLATION OF  ANY  SUBDIVISION
 OF  SECTION  ELEVEN  HUNDRED NINETY-TWO OF THIS CHAPTER NOT ARISING FROM
 THE SAME INCIDENT, WITHIN THE PRECEDING FIVE YEARS.  PROVIDED,  HOWEVER,
 THE COMMISSIONER MAY WAIVE SUCH DISQUALIFICATION AS PROVIDED FOR IN THIS
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD04512-01-1

 S. 1220                             2
 
 SUBPARAGRAPH  AFTER  A PERIOD OF FIVE YEARS HAS EXPIRED FROM THE DATE OF
 SUCH DISQUALIFICATION PROVIDED:
   (A)  THAT  DURING SUCH FIVE YEAR PERIOD SUCH PERSON HAS NOT BEEN FOUND
 TO HAVE REFUSED A CHEMICAL TEST PURSUANT TO SECTION ELEVEN HUNDRED NINE-
 TY-FOUR OF THIS CHAPTER AND HAS NOT BEEN CONVICTED OF ANY  VIOLATION  OF
 SECTION ELEVEN HUNDRED NINETY-TWO OF THIS CHAPTER; AND
   (B)  THAT SUCH PERSON PROVIDES ACCEPTABLE DOCUMENTATION TO THE COMMIS-
 SIONER THAT SUCH PERSON IS NOT IN NEED OF ALCOHOL OR DRUG  TREATMENT  OR
 HAS SATISFACTORILY COMPLETED A PRESCRIBED COURSE OF SUCH TREATMENT; OR
   § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 509-cc of the vehicle and traffic law is
 amended by adding a new paragraph (b-1) to read as follows:
   (B-1)  PERMANENTLY,  IF  THAT  PERSON WAS FOUND TO HAVE .04 OF ONE PER
 CENTUM OR MORE BY WEIGHT OF ALCOHOL IN SUCH PERSON'S BLOOD OR A POSITIVE
 TEST FOR A CONTROLLED  SUBSTANCE  AS  SHOWN  BY  A  RANDOM  ALCOHOL  AND
 CONTROLLED  SUBSTANCES  TEST ADMINISTERED IN ACCORDANCE WITH PART 382 OF
 TITLE 49 OF THE CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS, AS  SUCH  REGULATIONS  MAY,
 FROM TIME TO TIME, BE AMENDED; AND
   (I)  SUCH PERSON WAS FOUND WITHIN THE PRECEDING FIVE YEARS TO HAVE .04
 OF ONE PER CENTUM OR MORE BY WEIGHT OF ALCOHOL IN SUCH PERSON'S BLOOD OR
 A POSITIVE TEST FOR A CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE AS SHOWN BY A RANDOM  ALCOHOL
 AND  CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES TEST ADMINISTERED IN ACCORDANCE WITH PART 382
 OF TITLE 49 OF THE CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS, AS SUCH REGULATIONS MAY,
 FROM TIME TO TIME, BE AMENDED; OR
   (II) SUCH PERSON HAS HAD A PRIOR REVOCATION OF THEIR DRIVER'S  LICENSE
 RESULTING FROM REFUSAL TO SUBMIT TO A CHEMICAL TEST PURSUANT TO SUBDIVI-
 SION  TWO  OF  SECTION ELEVEN HUNDRED NINETY-FOUR OF THIS CHAPTER WITHIN
 THE PRECEDING FIVE YEARS; OR
   (III) SUCH PERSON HAS BEEN CONVICTED OF A VIOLATION OF ANY SUBDIVISION
 OF SECTION ELEVEN HUNDRED NINETY-TWO OF THIS CHAPTER  NOT  ARISING  FROM
 THE  SAME  INCIDENT, WITHIN THE PRECEDING FIVE YEARS. PROVIDED, HOWEVER,
 THE COMMISSIONER MAY WAIVE SUCH DISQUALIFICATION  AS  PROVIDED  IN  THIS
 PARAGRAPH AFTER A PERIOD OF FIVE YEARS HAS EXPIRED FROM THE DATE OF SUCH
 DISQUALIFICATION PROVIDED:
   (A)  THAT  DURING SUCH FIVE YEAR PERIOD SUCH PERSON HAS NOT BEEN FOUND
 TO HAVE REFUSED A CHEMICAL TEST PURSUANT TO SECTION ELEVEN HUNDRED NINE-
 TY-FOUR OF THIS CHAPTER AND HAS NOT BEEN CONVICTED OF ANY  VIOLATION  OF
 SECTION ELEVEN HUNDRED NINETY-TWO OF THIS CHAPTER; AND
   (B)  THAT SUCH PERSON PROVIDES ACCEPTABLE DOCUMENTATION TO THE COMMIS-
 SIONER THAT SUCH PERSON IS NOT IN NEED OF ALCOHOL OR DRUG  TREATMENT  OR
 HAS SATISFACTORILY COMPLETED A PRESCRIBED COURSE OF SUCH TREATMENT.
   §  3.  This  act  shall  take  effect  on  the first of September next
 succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.

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