Laws: Cases and Codes : U.S. Code : Title 23 : Section 408


   
U.S. Code as of: 01/19/04
Section 408. Alcohol traffic safety programs

      (a) Subject to the provisions of this section, the Secretary
    shall make grants to those States which adopt and implement
    effective programs to reduce traffic safety problems resulting from
    persons driving while under the influence of alcohol or a
    controlled substance. Such grants may only be used by recipient
    States to implement and enforce such programs.
      (b) No grant may be made to a State under this section in any
    fiscal year unless such State enters into such agreements with the
    Secretary as the Secretary may require to ensure that such State
    will maintain its aggregate expenditures from all other sources for
    alcohol traffic safety programs at or above the average level of
    such expenditures in its two fiscal years preceding the date of
    enactment of this section.
      (c) No State may receive grants under this section in more than 5
    fiscal years. The Federal share payable for any grant under this
    section shall not exceed - 
        (1) in the first fiscal year the State receives a grant under
      this section, 75 per centum of the cost of implementing and
      enforcing in such fiscal year the alcohol and controlled
      substance traffic safety program adopted by the State pursuant to
      subsection (a);
        (2) in the second fiscal year the State receives a grant under
      this section, 50 per centum of the cost of implementing and
      enforcing in such fiscal year such program; and
        (3) in the third, fourth, and fifth fiscal years the State
      receives a grant under this section, 25 per centum of the cost of
      implementing and enforcing in such fiscal year such program.

      (d)(1) Subject to subsection (c), the amount of a basic grant
    made under this section for any fiscal year to any State which is
    eligible for such a grant under subsection (e)(1) shall equal 30
    per centum of the amount apportioned to such State for fiscal year
    1983 under section 402 of this title.
      (2) Subject to subsection (c), the amount of a supplemental grant
    made under this section for any fiscal year to any State which is
    eligible for such a grant under subsection (e)(2) shall not exceed
    20 per centum of the amount apportioned to such State for fiscal
    year 1983 under section 402 of this title. Such supplemental grant
    shall be in addition to any basic grant received by such State.
      (3) Subject to subsection (c), the amount of a special grant made
    under this section for any fiscal year to any State which is
    eligible for such a grant under subsection (e)(3) shall not exceed
    5 per centum of the amount apportioned to such State for fiscal
    year 1984 under sections 402 and 408 of this title. Such grant
    shall be in addition to any basic or supplemental grant received by
    such State.
      (e)(1) For purposes of this section, a State is eligible for a
    basic grant if such State provides - 
        (A) for the prompt suspension, for a period not less than
      ninety days in the case of a first offender and not less than one
      year in the case of any repeat offender, of the driver's license
      of any individual who a law enforcement officer has probable
      cause under State law to believe has committed an alcohol-related
      traffic offense, and (i) to whom is administered one or more
      chemical tests to determine whether the individual was
      intoxicated while operating the motor vehicle and who is
      determined, as a result of such tests, to be intoxicated, or (ii)
      who refuses to submit to such a test as proposed by the officer;
        (B) for a mandatory sentence, which shall not be subject to
      suspension or probation, of (i) imprisonment for not less than
      forty-eight consecutive hours, or (ii) not less than ten days of
      community service, of any person convicted of driving while
      intoxicated more than once in any five-year period;
        (C) that any person with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.10
      percent or greater when driving a motor vehicle shall be deemed
      to be driving while intoxicated; and
        (D) for increased efforts or resources dedicated to the
      enforcement of alcohol-related traffic laws and increased efforts
      to inform the public of such enforcement.

      (2) For purposes of this section, a State is eligible for a
    supplemental grant if such State is eligible for a basic grant and
    in addition provides for some or all of the criteria established by
    the Secretary under subsection (f).
      (3) For the purposes of this section, a State is eligible for a
    special grant if the State enacts a statute which provides that - 
        (A) any person convicted of a first violation of driving under
      the influence of alcohol shall receive - 
          (i) a mandatory license suspension for a period of not less
        than ninety days; and either
          (ii)(I) an assignment of one hundred hours of community
        service; or
          (II) a minimum sentence of imprisonment for forty-eight
        consecutive hours;

        (B) any person convicted of a second violation of driving under
      the influence of alcohol within five years after a conviction for
      the same offense, shall receive a mandatory minimum sentence of
      imprisonment for ten days and license revocation for not less
      than one year;
        (C) any person convicted of a third or subsequent violation of
      driving under the influence of alcohol within five years after a
      prior conviction for the same offense shall - 
          (i) receive a mandatory minimum sentence of imprisonment for
        one hundred and twenty days; and
          (ii) have his license revoked for not less than three years;
        and

        (D) any person convicted of driving with a suspended or revoked
      license or in violation of a restriction due to driving under the
      influence of alcohol conviction shall receive a mandatory
      sentence of imprisonment for at least thirty days, and shall upon
      release from imprisonment, receive an additional period of
      license suspension or revocation of not less than the period of
      suspension or revocation remaining in effect at the time of
      commission of the offense of driving with a suspended or revoked
      license.

      (f) The Secretary shall, by rule, establish criteria for
    effective programs to reduce traffic safety problems resulting from
    persons driving while under the influence of alcohol, which
    criteria shall be in addition to those required for a basic grant
    under subsection (e)(1). The Secretary shall establish such
    criteria in cooperation with the States and political subdivisions
    thereof, appropriate Federal departments and agencies, and such
    other public and nonprofit organizations as the Secretary may deem
    appropriate. Such criteria may include, but need not be limited to,
    requirements - 
        (1) for the establishment and maintenance of a statewide driver
      recordkeeping system from which repeat offenders may be
      identified and which is accessible in a prompt and timely manner
      to the courts and to the public;
        (2) for the creation and operation of rehabilitation and
      treatment programs for those arrested and convicted of driving
      while intoxicated;
        (3) for the impoundment of any vehicle operated on a State road
      by any individual whose driver's license is suspended or revoked
      for an alcohol-related driving offense;
        (4) for the establishment in each major political subdivision
      of a State of locally coordinated alcohol traffic safety programs
      which are administered by local officials and are financially
      self-sufficient;
        (5) for the grant of presentence screening authority to the
      courts;
        (6) for the setting of the minimum drinking age in such State
      at twenty-one years of age;
        (7) for the consideration of and, where consistent with other
      provisions of State law and constitution the adoption of,
      recommendations that the Presidential Commission on Drunk Driving
      may issue during the period in which rules are being made to
      carry out this section; and
        (8) for the creation and operation of rehabilitation and
      treatment programs for those arrested and convicted of driving
      while under the influence of a controlled substance or for the
      establishment of research programs to develop effective means of
      detecting use of controlled substances by drivers.

      (g) There is hereby authorized to be appropriated to carry out
    this section, out of the Highway Trust Fund, $25,000,000 for the
    fiscal year ending September 30, 1983, and $50,000,000 per fiscal
    year for each of the fiscal years ending September 30, 1984, and
    September 30, 1985. All provisions of chapter 1 of this title that
    are applicable to Federal-aid primary highway funds, other than
    provisions relating to the apportionment formula and provisions
    limiting the expenditures of such funds to Federal-aid systems,
    shall apply to the funds authorized to be appropriated to carry out
    this section, except as determined by the Secretary to be
    inconsistent with this section and except that sums authorized by
    this subsection shall remain available until expended. Sums
    authorized by this subsection shall not be subject to any
    obligation limitation for State and community highway safety
    programs.



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