1999 Legislation
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HOUSE BILL NO. 313 – MV law, certain, infractions

HOUSE BILL NO. 313

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H0313................................by JUDICIARY, RULES AND ADMINISTRATION
MOTOR VEHICLES - Amends existing law to impose infraction penalties for
violations of Chapter 3, Title 49, Idaho Code (driver's licenses), other
than 49-301, Idaho Code (Drivers to be licensed), and Chapter 4, Title 49,
Idaho Code (motor vehicle registration).

02/26    House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
03/01    Rpt prt - to Jud

Bill Text


H0313


                                                                        
 ||||              LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO             ||||
Fifty-fifth Legislature                 First Regular Session - 1999
                                                                        

                             IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                                    HOUSE BILL NO. 313

                     BY JUDICIARY, RULES AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE

 1                                        AN ACT
 2    RELATING TO INFRACTION VIOLATIONS; AMENDING SECTION  49-236,  IDAHO  CODE,  TO
 3        IMPOSE  INFRACTION  PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS OF CHAPTER 3, OTHER THAN SEC-
 4        TION 49-301, IDAHO CODE, AND CHAPTER 4, TITLE  49,  IDAHO  CODE;  AMENDING
 5        SECTION  49-301,  IDAHO  CODE,  TO PROVIDE THAT A VIOLATION OF THE SECTION
 6        SHALL BE A MISDEMEANOR; AMENDING SECTION 49-305, IDAHO  CODE,  TO  PROVIDE
 7        FOR  AN  INFRACTION  PENALTY  AND TO MAKE A TECHNICAL CORRECTION; AMENDING
 8        SECTION  49-331, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE FOR  AN  INFRACTION  PENALTY;  AND
 9        AMENDING SECTION 49-1501, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE FOR ISSUANCE OF A UNIFORM
10        CITATION  FOR  INFRACTION  VIOLATIONS OF CHAPTERS 3 AND 4, TITLE 49, IDAHO
11        CODE.

12    Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:

13        SECTION 1.  That Section 49-236, Idaho Code, be, and the  same  is  hereby
14    amended to read as follows:

15        49-236.  PENALTIES.  (1) It is a misdemeanor for any person to violate any
16    of the provisions of this title except the provisions of chapter s 
17     3, other than section 49-301,  Idaho  Code,  chapters  4  and    6
18    through 9, unless otherwise specifically provided.
19        (2)  It  is  an infraction for any person to violate any of the provisions
20    of chapters  3, 4 and  6 through 9 of this title  unless  otherwise
21    specifically provided.
22        (3)  Any offense punishable by imprisonment in the state penitentiary is a
23    felony.
24        (4)  Punishments  shall  be as provided in sections 18-111, 18-112, 18-113
25    and 18-113A, Idaho Code, unless otherwise specifically provided.
26        (5)  Whenever a person is arrested for any violation of the provisions  of
27    this  title  declared to be a felony, he shall be dealt with in like manner as
28    upon arrest for the commission of any other felony.
29        (6)  It is an infraction punishable by  a  fine  of  seventy-five  dollars
30    ($75.00)  for  any person to violate the provisions of either section 49-1229,
31    49-1232 or 49-1428, Idaho Code.

32        SECTION 2.  That Section 49-301, Idaho Code, be, and the  same  is  hereby
33    amended to read as follows:

34        49-301.  DRIVERS  TO  BE  LICENSED.  (1) No person, except those expressly
35    exempted by the provisions of this chapter, shall drive any motor vehicle upon
36    a highway unless the person has a valid  Idaho  driver's  license.  No  person
37    shall  operate a motorcycle upon a highway unless he has a motorcycle endorse-
38    ment on his valid driver's license. No person shall operate a commercial motor
39    vehicle as defined in section 49-123, Idaho Code, upon a highway unless he has
40    a seasonal or class A, B or C driver's license with required endorsements.  No
41    person  shall  operate  a  motor vehicle in violation of any valid restriction


                                          2

 1    identified on or attached to, his valid  driver's  license.  No  person  shall
 2    receive  a  driver's  license unless and until he surrenders to the department
 3    all driver's licenses in his possession issued to him by Idaho  or  any  other
 4    jurisdiction for use within the United States, or until he executes an affida-
 5    vit  that he does not possess a driver's license. No person shall be permitted
 6    to have more than one (1) driver's license issued for use  within  the  United
 7    States at any time.
 8        (2)  Any holder of a class A, B or C commercial driver's license issued by
 9    a  jurisdiction  other  than  Idaho shall apply for an Idaho-issued commercial
10    driver's license within thirty (30) days of establishing a domicile in Idaho.
11         A violation of this section is a midemeanor. 

12        SECTION 3.  That Section 49-305, Idaho Code, be, and the  same  is  hereby
13    amended to read as follows:

14        49-305.  INSTRUCTION  PERMITS  -- TEMPORARY LICENSES -- TEMPORARY DRIVER'S
15    TRAINING INSTRUCTION PERMIT. (1) Upon passage of the required knowledge  tests
16    appropriate  for  the  vehicle  being  operated,  the  department may issue an
17    instruction permit for the type of vehicle(s) the person  will  be  operating,
18    entitling  the applicant, while having the permit in his immediate possession,
19    to drive a motor vehicle upon the highways for a period of up to  one  hundred
20    eighty  (180)  days.  That  person  must be accompanied by an adult driver who
21    holds a driver's license appropriate for the vehicle being operated and who is
22    actually occupying a seat beside the driver.
23        (a)  Any person who has reached the age of fifteen (15) years, and who has
24        successfully completed an approved driver training course may apply for  a
25        class  D instruction permit with driving privileges restricted to daylight
26        hours only, and with full privileges at sixteen (16)  years  of  age.  The
27        restriction of daylight hours only shall mean that period of time one-half
28          (1/2)   hour before sunrise to one-half (1/2) hour after sun-
29        set. Any person applying for an instruction permit or  driving  privileges
30        who  is  under  the age of eighteen (18) years shall be in compliance with
31        school attendance requirements of section 49-303A, Idaho Code.
32        (b)  Any person who has reached the age of eighteen (18) years  may  apply
33        for a class A, B or C instruction permit.
34        (c)  On  and after April 1, 1992, federal highway administration rules and
35        regulations concerning instruction permits, as specified in  49  CFR  part
36        383, will be in effect for commercial motor vehicle operators.
37        (2)  The  department  may,  at  its  discretion, issue a temporary class D
38    driver's license to an applicant for a class D driver's license permitting him
39    to operate a motor vehicle while the department is completing  its  investiga-
40    tion  and  determination  of  all  facts  relative to the applicant's right to
41    receive a driver's license. The temporary license  may  be  cancelled  at  the
42    department's discretion at any time after issuance. The temporary license must
43    be  in  the  applicant's immediate possession while operating a motor vehicle,
44    and it shall be invalid when the applicant's driver's license has been  issued
45    or for good cause has been refused.
46        (3)  If  an  applicant  for  a driver's training instruction permit cannot
47    provide a certified copy of his birth certificate at the time of  application,
48    the department may issue a temporary driver's training instruction permit upon
49    receipt  of both a photo identification and a letter from the school verifying
50    the applicant's enrollment in a driver training course.
51        (4)  The department may issue a motorcycle endorsement instruction  permit
52    to an applicant who has a valid driver's license and who has successfully com-
53    pleted the motorcycle riders knowledge test and paid the appropriate fees. The


                                          3

 1    permit  entitles  the applicant, while having the permit in his immediate pos-
 2    session, to operate a motorcycle upon the highways for a period not to  exceed
 3    one  hundred  eighty (180) days. If the permittee passes the skills test for a
 4    motorcycle endorsement within one hundred eighty (180) days of issuance of the
 5    motorcycle endorsement instruction permit, he shall not be required to pay the
 6    motorcycle endorsement fee. A person holding a motorcycle  instruction  permit
 7    shall not carry any passenger  while operating a motorcycle, shall not operate
 8    a  motorcycle except during the hours of daylight only and shall not operate a
 9    motorcycle upon any interstate highway system.
10        A violation of the conditions of a motorcycle endorsement instruction per-
11    mit is a n infraction.   misdemeanor.    The  department
12    shall cancel the permit whether or not such violation results in conviction of
13    the  misdemeanor   infraction .

14        SECTION  4.  That  Section  49-331, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
15    amended to read as follows:

16        49-331.  UNLAWFUL USE OF DRIVER'S  LICENSE.  It  is  a  n  infraction
17       misdemeanor  for any person:
18        (1)  To  display or cause or permit to be displayed or have in his posses-
19    sion any mutilated or illegible, cancelled, revoked, suspended,  disqualified,
20    fictitious or fraudulently altered driver's license;
21        (2)  To  lend his driver's license to any other person or knowingly permit
22    the use of his driver's license by another;
23        (3)  To display or represent as one's own a driver's license not issued to
24    him;
25        (4)  To fail or refuse to surrender to the  department,  upon  its  lawful
26    demand,  any  driver's license which has been suspended, revoked, disqualified
27    or cancelled;
28        (5)  To use a false or fictitious name in any application for  a  driver's
29    license,  or  to  knowingly  make a false statement, or to knowingly conceal a
30    material fact or otherwise commit a fraud in any application;
31        (6)  To permit any unlawful use of a driver's license issued to him;
32        (7)  To manufacture, produce, sell, offer for sale or transfer to  another
33    person  any  document  purporting  to  be  a  certificate of birth or driver's
34    license; or
35        (8)  To do any act forbidden or fail to perform any act specified in  this
36    chapter.
37        In addition to the  misdemeanor   infraction  penal-
38    ties  that  may  be  imposed for violation of the provisions of paragraphs (1)
39    through (7) of this section, the court upon  conviction  may  enter  an  order
40    directing  the  department to suspend the driver's license, a permit to drive,
41    privileges or any nonresident's driving privileges for a period of ninety (90)
42    days. A conviction under this section shall not be used as a factor or consid-
43    ered in any manner for the purpose of  establishing  rates  of  motor  vehicle
44    insurance  charged by a casualty insurer, nor shall such conviction be grounds
45    for nonrenewal of any insurance policy as provided in section  41-2507,  Idaho
46    Code.

47        SECTION  5.  That  Section 49-1501, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
48    amended to read as follows:

49        49-1501.  INFRACTION CITATION -- ISSUANCE. A peace officer  or  authorized
50    employee  of  the  Idaho  transportation department may issue an Idaho uniform
51    citation for any infraction   specified  in      violation  of


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 1      the  provisions  of chapters  3, 4 and  6 through 9 of this
 2    title, or any other section of this title for which an infraction  penalty  is
 3    specifically  provided,  in  which  he  shall  certify  that he has reasonable
 4    grounds to believe and does believe,  that  the  person  cited  committed  the
 5    infraction contrary to law.

Statement of Purpose / Fiscal Impact


                       STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

                             RS 09065

This bill reduces misdemeanor penalties in chapter 3
(operator licenses) and chapter 4 (vehicle registration) of
the Motor Vehicle Code to infraction penalties with the
exception of I.C.  49-301 (driving without a valid driver's
license) which will continue as a misdemeanor penalty.

A defendant charged with any of the misdemeanor offenses
presently established in chapter 3 and 4 of title 49 is
entitled to a jury trial to contest the charge. Jurors have
expressed to presiding judges that jury trials on violations
of the various provisions of chapter 3 and 4, title 49, do not
constitute a productive use of a juror's time.

A person charged with an infraction is not entitled to a
jury trial, but may defend against the charge before a judge
in a court trial. An infraction is a public offense which does
not constitute a crime and which does not carry a jail
sentence. It is punishable by a monetary penalty. In most
cases, a defendant charged with an infraction mails a fine to
the clerk of the court without having to appear before a
judge.

                           FISCAL NOTE

This bill will save costly jury trials and court time,
and will have a positive impact on state and local funds.





Contact Person
Representative Randy Hansen
Idaho State Legislature
(208) 332-1000

                                                   Statement of Purpose/Fiscal Note     H 313