Judiciary committee reviews H.105 draft to set 90‑ and 145‑day suspensions, add notice and reporting rules

Ben Novogrovsky, legislative counsel in the Office of Legislative Council, told the House Judiciary Committee on Feb. 20 that draft 1.2 of a strike‑all amendment to H.105 would set a 90‑day suspension for a first offense and a 145‑day suspension for a second offense and would add procedures for issuing notices of suspension and reinstatement.

The measure also adds language describing what must appear on the notice that a law enforcement officer gives a person at the time of the violation, including the suspension effective date, duration, consequences, and “an explanation of the process to operate a motor vehicle with an ignition interlock restricted driver’s license or certificate,” Novogrovsky said. He described as new the provision that the commissioner of motor vehicles will send a notice of reinstatement to people automatically reinstated after serving a suspension.

The change to automatic reinstatement was explained as a practical step so people would receive a formal notice rather than having to seek reinstatement themselves. “Since we're creating that notion here, the way someone could know that their license is now back is to receive that notice from the commissioner rather than going through the process of reinstatement,” Novogrovsky said.

Novogrovsky…