Relating to the driver’s license revocation effective date following an operating-while-intoxicated violation or refusal to test

Under current law, a person who operates a motor vehicle in a manner that gives reasonable grounds to believe that the person is operating while intoxicated (OWI) is deemed to have given consent to the withdrawal of specimens of the person’s blood, breath, or urine and to a chemical test of the specimens to determine the alcohol concentration or presence of a controlled substance or other drugs. The department of transportation (DOT) is required to revoke the driver’s license of a person if the results of a test indicate an OWI violation or if the person refuses to provide a specimen for testing. The revocation begins days after notice of the revocation is mailed by the DOT or immediately served by the peace officer who requested chemical testing. If a peace officer serves immediate notice of the revocation, the officer must take the driver’s license and issue a temporary driver’s license valid for days. This bill extends the period before an OWI driver’s license revocation begins, and extends the validity of a temporary driver’s license issued following an OWI revocation, from days to days after notice is served. The bill does not amend the 10-day periods for a person to request a hearing or challenge the decision of the DOT director on an OWI driver’s license revocation.