I have been hesitating to write about the new Kansas DUI laws which will go into effect on July 1, 2011, until I had more information about what the procedure will be for people to take advantage of them. But, I am already getting a lot of calls about it so I wanted to at least acknowledge it.
On May 26, 2011, the governor signed Senate Bill 6 which partially revamps Kansas DUI laws. Here are the hightlights:
– Refusal of a breath, blood or urine test is a one year suspension, followed by ignition interlock requirement (length of interlock is dependent on priors), regardless of how many prior Kansas DUI occurrences a person has;
– Failure of a breath test with a result between .08 and .15, on the first occurrence, is a 30 day suspension followed by 6 months of ignition interlock device if your record is clear, and 12 months of interlock if you have a prior MIP, Open Container or 3 moving violations;
– Failure of a breath test with a result over .15 the first time, or over .08 on a second or subsequent occurrence is a one year suspension followed by ignition interlock (length of interlock is dependent on priors);
– BUT, ANYONE WHO IS SUSPENDED FOR ONE YEAR MAY OBTAIN A RESTRICTED LICENSE TO ALLOW DRIVING TO AND FROM SCHOOL, WORK AND ALCOHOL TREATMENT AFTER 45 DAYS. So, the one year suspension will be a 45 day suspension as long as you are willing to put an interlock device in your car pursuant to the restriction on the license;
– THE NEW LAW CAN BE APPLIED RETROACTIVELY TO PEOPLE WHO WERE SUSPENDED BEFORE JULY 1, 2011, UPON APPLICATION AND PAYMENT OF A $100.00 APPLICATION FEE. So, people who are currently suspended may be able to get the restricted license if they have already served 45 days or more of their suspension;
– There will be a $50.00 fee to request an administrative hearing after July 1, 2011 (why shouldn’t you pay the government for the privilege of a hearing before it takes your property?);
– The minimum fines on all Kansas DUI convictions are going up by $250.00 (so, a first is $750, a 2nd is $1,250);
– Apparently, there is no longer a residential treatment option as opposed to jail for 2nd and subsequent DUI’s, and a 2nd conviction requires a minimum of 48 hours in jail plus either 72 hours in work release (excluding the hours the person is working) or 120 hours on house arrest (excluding the hours the person is working);
– A 3rd time DUI in Kansas will be a misdemeanor if there have been no prior DUI convictions in the last 10 years. The minimum sentence for a 3rd time misdemeanor DUI is $1,750 fine, 48 hours in jail followed by 192 hours of work release (excluding the hours spent at work) or house arrest with a G.P.S. for 240 hours excluding the time the person is allowed out of the house;
– A 3rd time DUI with a prior within 10 years is a felony but the minimum punishment is the same as for a 3rd time misdemeanor;
– A 4th time Kansas DUI will be a felony with a minimum $2,500 fine, 72 hours in jail followed by 168 hours of work release (excluding hours spent at work) or 240 hours of house arrest with G.P.S.(excluding hours allowed out of the house);
– DUI CONVICTIONS AND DIVERSIONS PRIOR TO JULY 1, 2001 DO NOT COUNT AS PRIOR CONVICTIONS IN DETERMINING WHETHER A DUI CONVICTION IS A FIRST, SECOND, ETC. CONVICTION. So, a person who gets convicted of a DUI occurring after July 1, 2011, and who has one prior DUI from 1999, could only be convicted of a first time DUI.
– A DUI may be expunged after 10 years
So, it is all a little more complicated than I have made it sound above, but I think I have boiled it down fairly accurately. What remains to be seen is what the Kansas Department of Revenue will require in terms of applying for retroactive application of the laws to old suspensions, and what will have to be done to get the interlock restriction after 45 days of suspension. I have not seen the forms for making these requests or heard how it is going to work, or how long it is going to take to process the avalanche of applications they are about to get. Once I figure that out I will try to post something.