The county will know by Aug. 15 how it plans to supervise state legislation that requires convicted drunk drivers to install and maintain technology that prevents them from starting their vehicle if they’ve been drinking alcohol.
The Public Safety/Emergency Management Committee appointed a list Wednesday of area law enforcement and county officials to serve on a committee that will review options on how to supervise the legislation.
County officials approved to be on the committee:
District Attorney John Crandall, Probation Director Josephine Sohnn, Sheriff Christopher Farber, Indigent Defense Counsel Keith Bowers, Legislator Robert Hyde, R- Mohawk, and Stop-DWI Director Michael Edwards.
Local judges on approved for the committee:
Herkimer County Court Judge Patrick L. Kirk, and Schuyler Town Court Judge George Luther.
The legislation is part of the Child Passenger Protection Act, which is commonly known as Leandra’s Law in honor of 11-year-old Leandra Rosado who was killed in an accident caused by a drunk driver. Governor David Paterson signed the act into law last November.
In addition to stiffening the penalties for driving while intoxicated convictions, the law also requires courts to order the new technology.
Courts must order all drivers convicted of a misdemeanor or felony DWI to install and maintain an ignition interlock on any vehicle owned and operated by such driver for at least 6 months, in addition to any term imprisonment, according to the law.
The device that makes the car inoperable unless the individual demonstrates via breathalyzer that he or she is not under the influence of alcohol, according to the governor’s office. The installation of such a device as a sanction for a DWI offense was previously left to the court’s discretion.
In order to meet the Aug. 15 deadline for courts to begin ordering the device be installed and maintained, counties must submit a plan on how they will supervise the program.
The offender must pay for the installation of the device and maintenance fee, which are estimated to cost hundreds of dollars.
State agencies have provided options for the program, according to county Administrator James Wallace. Many of the options of standard, such as dealing with convictions, but there is a question on who is responsible for monitoring conditional discharges, he said.
The committee will make a recommendation to the county Legislature to approve and submit to the state prior to the deadline.
The review committee will decide to place conditional discharges under the county Sheriff, Probation or Stop-DWI offices, according to Wallace.
Counties expect to get between $50,000 to $60,000 in state aid to implement the program, Wallace said.
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The county will know by Aug. 15 how it plans to supervise state legislation that requires convicted drunk drivers to install and maintain technology that prevents them from starting their vehicle if they’ve been drinking alcohol.
The Public Safety/Emergency Management Committee appointed a list Wednesday of area law enforcement and county officials to serve on a committee that will review options on how to supervise the legislation.
County officials approved to be on the committee:
District Attorney John Crandall, Probation Director Josephine Sohnn, Sheriff Christopher Farber, Indigent Defense Counsel Keith Bowers, Legislator Robert Hyde, R- Mohawk, and Stop-DWI Director Michael Edwards.
Local judges on approved for the committee:
Herkimer County Court Judge Patrick L. Kirk, and Schuyler Town Court Judge George Luther.
The legislation is part of the Child Passenger Protection Act, which is commonly known as Leandra’s Law in honor of 11-year-old Leandra Rosado who was killed in an accident caused by a drunk driver. Governor David Paterson signed the act into law last November.
In addition to stiffening the penalties for driving while intoxicated convictions, the law also requires courts to order the new technology.
Courts must order all drivers convicted of a misdemeanor or felony DWI to install and maintain an ignition interlock on any vehicle owned and operated by such driver for at least 6 months, in addition to any term imprisonment, according to the law.
The device that makes the car inoperable unless the individual demonstrates via breathalyzer that he or she is not under the influence of alcohol, according to the governor’s office. The installation of such a device as a sanction for a DWI offense was previously left to the court’s discretion.
In order to meet the Aug. 15 deadline for courts to begin ordering the device be installed and maintained, counties must submit a plan on how they will supervise the program.
The offender must pay for the installation of the device and maintenance fee, which are estimated to cost hundreds of dollars.
State agencies have provided options for the program, according to county Administrator James Wallace. Many of the options of standard, such as dealing with convictions, but there is a question on who is responsible for monitoring conditional discharges, he said.
The committee will make a recommendation to the county Legislature to approve and submit to the state prior to the deadline.
The review committee will decide to place conditional discharges under the county Sheriff, Probation or Stop-DWI offices, according to Wallace.
Counties expect to get between $50,000 to $60,000 in state aid to implement the program, Wallace said.
