(1) A person who operates a commercial motor vehicle in violation of an out-of-service order commits a class 1 traffic misdemeanor.
No court shall accept a plea of guilty to another offense from a person charged with aviolation of subsection (1) of this section; except that the court may accept such a plea upon a good faith representation by the prosecuting attorney that there is not a prima facie case for the original offense.
Upon receipt of notice of a conviction or deferred sentence under subsection (1) ofthis section, the department shall immediately suspend the commercial driver's license for the maximum period set forth in the United States federal regulations governing violations of out-ofservice orders for commercial drivers and section 42-2-403 (1).
Notice of suspension under subsection (3) of this section shall be mailed to the person by the department in compliance with section 42-2-119 (2).
(a) Upon receipt of the notice of suspension, the person may request a hearing in writing if the person has surrendered to the department a commercial driver's license issued by any state. The department, upon notice to the person, shall hold a hearing as soon as practicable at the district office of the department closest to the residence of the person; except that, at the discretion of the department, all or part of the hearing may be conducted in real time by telephone or other electronic means in accordance with section 42-1-218.5.
The only issues at such hearing are whether the driver was convicted of or received adeferred sentence for a violation of subsection (1) of this section and the appropriate length of suspension. If the driver was convicted, the license shall be suspended. The hearing officer may reduce the period of suspension based on findings at the hearing, including without limitation the circumstances of the violation, the prior driving record, and aggravating and mitigating factors. A hearing officer shall not reduce the suspension period below the minimum disqualification period imposed by 49 CFR 383.51.
(I) The order of the hearing officer is the final agency action and may be appealedunder section 42-2-135. A petition for judicial review must be filed within thirty-five days after the date of the order.
Judicial review shall be on the record of the hearing without taking additional testimony. If the court finds that the department exceeded its constitutional or statutory authority, made an erroneous interpretation of the law, acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner, or made a determination that is unsupported by the evidence in the record, the court may reverse the department's determination.
The court may grant a stay of the order only upon motion, after a hearing, and upona finding that there is a reasonable probability that the petitioner will prevail upon the merits and that the petitioner will suffer irreparable harm if the order is not stayed.
Source: L. 2006: Entire section added, p. 261, § 4, effective March 31. L. 2015: (5)(c)(I) amended, (HB 15-1021), ch. 25, p. 64, § 4, effective August 5.