HB 4514 Text

H. B. 4514
(By Delegates Amores, Hrutkay, Craig, Mahan,
Pethtel, DeLong and Schadler)

(Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary)

[February 18, 2004]

A BILL to amend the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new article, designated §17C-5C-1, §17C-5C-2, §17C-5C-3, §17C-5C-4, §17C-5C-5, §17C-5C-6, §17C-5C-7, §17C- 5C-8, §17C-5C-9, §17C-5C-10, §17C-5C-11, §17C-5C-12, §17C-5C- 13, §17C-5C-14, §17C-5C-15 and §17C-5C-16, all relating to establishing a specialized court referral officer program to promote the screening, evaluation, education, treatment and rehabilitation of persons who are repeat offenders or serious offenders under provisions related to driving while under the influence of alcohol, controlled substances or drugs.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new article, designated §17C-5C-1, §17C-5C-2, §17C-5C-3, §17C-5C-4, §17C-5C-5, §17C-5C-6, §17C-5C-7, §17C-5C-8, §17C-5C-9, §17C-5C-10, §17C-5C-11, §17C-5C-12, §17C-5C-13, §17C-5C-14, §17C-5C-15 and §17C-5C-16, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5C. COURT REFERRAL OFFICER PROGRAM FOR CERTAIN OFFENSES RELATED TO DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE.

§17C-5C-1. Legislative findings and intent.
(a) The legislature finds that a specialized system for screening, evaluating, educating, treating and rehabilitating repeat offenders and other serious offenders arrested for offenses related to driving under the influence of alcohol, controlled substances or drugs is required.
(b) It is therefore the intent of the Legislature to establish a specialized court referral officer program to promote the screening, evaluation, education, treatment and rehabilitation of persons whose use or dependency on alcohol, controlled substances or drugs directly or indirectly contributed to the commission of certain serious offenses or repeat offenses related to driving under the influence of alcohol, controlled substances or drugs, and to establish mandatory alcohol and drug abuse treatment programs to provide treatment and rehabilitation for these identified offenders.
§17C-5C-2. Definitions.
For the purpose of this chapter, the following terms shall have the meaning ascribed to them in this section:
(1) "Alcohol or drug-related offenses" means all offenses, including municipal ordinance violations, related to driving under the influence of alcohol, controlled substances or drugs.
(2) "Court referral officer program" means a program established to evaluate defendants' use of alcohol, controlled substances or drugs and to provide assistance to courts in promoting the education and rehabilitation of defendants arrested, charged or convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol, controlled substances or drugs.
(3) "Court referral officers" means those persons within designated judicial circuits providing assessment or evaluation of defendants for alcohol or drug abuse, recommendations or referrals for education or treatment and monitoring for court-ordered compliance.
(4) "Director" means the director of the administrative office of the supreme court of appeals.
(5) "Driving under the influence" means driving or in actual physical control of a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, controlled substances or drugs as proscribed by article five, chapter seventeen-c of this code, or any other statute or ordinance.

§17C-5C-3. Court referral officers or contracting entities; appointment; supervision by director of the administrative office of the supreme court of appeals and circuit judges; compensation; duties.

(a) The director of the administrative office of the supreme court of appeals is authorized to appoint court referral officers or contract with individuals or entities to provide alcohol and drug assessment for courts and to conduct the court referral programs in each judicial circuit of the state. Such appointments or contracts shall be made or entered into with the advice of the chief judge of the circuit. The director shall designate the locations where said court referral programs, court referral officers or contracting entities or individuals shall serve, which designations may be changed from time to time: Provided, That all appointed court referral officers and approved court referral programs shall serve at the pleasure of the director. Any individual or entity which contracts to conduct the court referral program shall perform all the duties as set out in a statewide policies and procedures manual for court referral programs established by the administrative office of the supreme court of appeals. Court referral officers shall work under the general supervision and direction of the director and the judge or judges of the circuit to which they are assigned. Such court referral officers shall be compensated by the state from moneys contained in the alcohol and drug abuse court referral officer trust fund and any federal grants designated by the administrative office of the supreme court of appeals for this purpose.
(b) Court referral officers shall be required to perform the following duties:
(1) Attend municipal, magistrate and circuit courts as needed;
(2) Screen and evaluate all defendants ordered by the courts to participate and to recommend to the court appropriate educational or rehabilitative programs for such defendants;
(3) Develop and maintain a file on each defendant assigned to the court referral officer, which shall include, but shall not be limited to, information taken from arrest records, test scores, results of chemical blood alcohol tests, drug screens and other personal data;
(4) Continuously monitor defendants who are ordered to complete alcohol or drug related educational or rehabilitative programs and to report violations of such orders to the prosecutor or court;
(5) Provide such information and reports on defendants assigned to the court referral officer as may be required by the prosecutor, ordering court or the director;
(6) Provide information or education on the court referral program to judges, clerks, law-enforcement personnel, prosecutors and the general public;
(7) Collect and report statistics, data, and other information pertaining to the court referral program and alcohol and drug related offenses as required by the director;
(8) Collect and report information to the courts concerning results of urine screens, drug testing or other appropriate evaluative measures; and
(9) Perform such other duties or functions to further the purposes of this article as may be directed by the court which they serve or the director.
§17C-5C-4. Mandatory enrollment program; guidelines; conditions.

(a) A person who is convicted of an offense relating to driving under the influence under the provisions of section two, article five of this chapter shall be ordered by the sentencing court having jurisdiction over the offense to enroll in an alcohol or drug abuse treatment program provided for in this article, if:
(1) At any time prior to the time that the offense was committed, the person had been previously convicted two or more times of an offense under section two of article five;
(2) At the time the offense was committed, the person had an alcohol concentration in his or her blood of twenty hundredths (.20) of one percent or more, by weight; or
(3) At the time the offense was committed, the person tested positive for a controlled substance listed on schedule I, II, or III, article two, chapter sixty-a of this code.
(b) Upon enrollment in the evaluation, education and rehabilitation program the offender is subject to the following conditions. The offender shall:
(1) Provide information needed to conduct an assessment of his treatment needs;
(2) Complete the recommended treatment;
(3) Complete a drug or alcohol testing program;
(4) Pay any restitution as may be ordered by the court;
(5) Unless indigent, pay for his assessment, treatment, and monitoring.
§17C-5C-5. Enforcement.
Compliance with any order authorized pursuant to this chapter relating to evaluation, education and rehabilitation may be enforced by the court through exercise of its contempt powers.

§17C-5C-6. Bureau of public health to develop policies and procedures; certification.

The bureau for public health of the department of health shall develop policies and procedures which shall be followed in the treatment of offenders.

§17C-5C-7. Alcohol and drug abuse court referral officer trust fund established; use.

The alcohol and drug abuse court referral officer trust fund is hereby established and created as a separate fund in the state treasury. Such fund shall be used for operation of the alcohol and drug abuse court referral officer program. This fund shall consist of all moneys paid into the state treasury to the credit of such fund pursuant to this article and all moneys received for the benefit of the court referral officer program by legislative appropriation, grant, gift, or contributions by counties or municipalities, or otherwise. Such moneys shall be used and expended by the director to establish, organize, and administer the alcohol and drug abuse court referral officer program throughout the state. Any unexpended or unencumbered sums remaining in the fund at the end of the fiscal year except appropriations from other state funds shall remain in the fund to be preserved for the administration of the alcohol and drug abuse court referral officer program.

§17C-5C-8. Alcohol and drug abuse court referral officer trust fund - purpose of expenditures; effect on other appropriations.

Moneys contained in the alcohol and drug abuse court referral officer trust fund shall be expended by the director for purposes set out in section three of this article. Appropriations heretofore or hereafter made to the budget of the supreme court of appeals shall not be reduced by the amount of any funds contained in the alcohol and drug abuse court referral officer trust fund.
§17C-5C-9. Court referral officer assessment cost.
In addition to the imposition of any other costs, penalties, or fines imposed pursuant to law, any person convicted as an adult or adjudicated a youthful offender or juvenile delinquent based on the offense of driving under the influence or other alcohol or drug-related offenses as defined in this chapter shall be ordered by the presiding court to pay an alcohol and drug abuse court referral officer assessment cost in an amount recommended by the director and approved by the supreme court of appeals. The state treasurer shall credit such sums to the alcohol and drug abuse court referral officer trust fund.
§17C-5C-10. Monitoring cost.
Any alcohol or drug-related offender referred for assessment shall pay a monitoring cost to the court referral officer which shall also be remitted to the state treasurer by the court referral officer by the tenth day of each month. The assessment cost and monitoring costs shall be established and regulated by the director and can be adjusted to ensure that adequate financial resources are available to support the court referral program and administration of the programs.

§17C-5C-11. Eligibility of court referral programs to receive payments from fund.

The director shall establish criteria to determine the eligibility of court referral programs to receive payment from the court referral officer trust fund. All such programs shall be nonprofit agencies.

§17C-5C-12. Indigent offender alcohol and drug treatment trust fund - established cost; sanctions for failure to remit costs.

The indigent offender alcohol and drug treatment trust fund is hereby established and created as a separate fund in the state treasury. Such fund shall provide for payment to eligible alcohol and drug treatment programs for treatment and rehabilitation of indigent offenders. This fund shall consist of all moneys paid into the state treasury to the credit of such fund pursuant to this chapter and all moneys received for the benefit of the indigent offender alcohol and drug treatment trust fund by legislative appropriation, grant, or otherwise. A cost recommended by the director and approved by the supreme court of appeals shall be collected from each offender. The state treasurer shall credit such sums to the indigent offender alcohol and drug treatment trust fund. Failure of a court referral program or court referral officer to remit all costs collected shall be grounds for termination from the program.

§17C-5C-13. Indigent offender alcohol and drug treatment fund - criteria for eligibility of programs to receive payment from fund.

The bureau of public health shall establish criteria to determine which treatment programs shall be eligible to receive payment for treatment services for indigent offenders from this fund, and shall establish rates of reimbursement for treatment of indigent offenders. Such programs must be certified by the bureau of public health.

§17C-5C-14. Indigent offender alcohol and drug treatment trust fund - purpose of expenditures.

Moneys contained in the indigent offender trust fund shall be expended by the director for purposes set out in section twelve of this article. Such moneys shall be used and expended by the director to establish, organize, and administer the indigent offender alcohol and drug treatment program throughout the state, including all functions or projects of the department of health directly or indirectly relating thereto. Any unexpended or unencumbered sums remaining in the fund at the end of the fiscal year except appropriations from other state funds shall remain in the fund to be preserved for the administration of the indigent offender treatment program.

§17C-5C-15. Waiver of payment of costs for indigents; revocation of waiver; community service in lieu of payment.

Any person determined to be indigent by the court may request waiver of all or part of the costs established by this chapter. In such cases where a waiver of costs is granted, such waiver shall be limited to the time when the offender is unable to pay. If the offender becomes able to pay during the course of monitoring or treatment, or another future date, the waiver of costs may be revoked. The judge may order an indigent offender to perform community service in lieu of payment of costs.
§17C-5C-16. Exemption from liability.
The director, employees of the administrative office of the supreme court of appeals, and the employees of the department of health, including the commissioner of the bureau of public health, shall be exempt from civil liability for alleged acts of ordinary negligence for actions taken in performance of their official duties in carrying out the provisions of this article.

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