Effective: September 29, 2017
Latest Legislation: House Bill 49 - 132nd General Assembly
(A) As used in this section:
(1) "First-time offender" means a person whose driver's license or commercial driver's license or permit or nonresident operating privilege has been suspended for being convicted of, or pleading guilty to, an OVI offense under any of the following:
(a) Division (G)(1)(a) or (H)(1) of section 4511.19 of the Revised Code;
(b) Section 4510.07 of the Revised Code for a municipal OVI offense when the offense is equivalent to an offense under division (G)(1)(a) or (H)(1) of section 4511.19 of the Revised Code;
(c) Division (B) or (D) of section 4510.17 of the Revised Code when the offense is equivalent to an offense under division (G)(1)(a) or (H)(1) of section 4511.19 of the Revised Code.
(2) "OVI offense" means a violation of section 4511.19 of the Revised Code or a violation of a substantially similar municipal ordinance or law of another state or the United States.
(3) "Unlimited driving privileges" means driving privileges that are unrestricted as to purpose, time, and place, but that are subject to any other reasonable conditions imposed by a court under division (C)(2) of this section.
(B) A first-time offender may file a petition for unlimited driving privileges with a certified ignition interlock device during the period of suspension imposed for an OVI offense in the same manner and in the same venue as the person is permitted to apply for limited driving privileges.
(C)(1) With regard to a first-time offender, in any circumstance in which a court is authorized to grant limited driving privileges under section 4510.021, 4510.13, or 4510.17 of the Revised Code during the period of suspension, as applicable, the court may instead grant unlimited driving privileges with a certified ignition interlock device. No court shall grant unlimited driving privileges with a certified ignition interlock device during any period, or under any circumstance, that the court is prohibited from granting limited driving privileges.
(2) All of the following apply when a court grants unlimited driving privileges with a certified ignition interlock device to a first-time offender:
(a) The court shall issue an order authorizing the first-time offender to operate a motor vehicle only if the vehicle is equipped with a certified ignition interlock device, except as provided in division (C) of section 4510.43 of the Revised Code. The order may include any reasonable conditions other than conditions that restrict the driving privileges in terms of purpose, time, or place.
The court shall provide to the first-time offender a copy of the order and a notice that the first-time offender is subject to the sanctions specified in division (E) of this section.
The court also shall submit a copy of the order to the registrar of motor vehicles.
(b) The court may reduce the period of suspension imposed by the court by an amount of time not greater than half the period of suspension.
(c) The court shall suspend any jail term imposed for the OVI offense. The court shall retain jurisdiction over the first-time offender until the expiration of the period of suspension imposed for the OVI offense and, if the offender violates any term or condition of the order during the period of suspension, the court shall require the first-time offender to serve the jail term.
(D)(1) A first-time offender shall present to the registrar or to a deputy registrar an order issued under this section and a certificate affirming the installation of a certified ignition interlock device that is in a form established by the director of public safety and that is signed by the person who installed the device. Upon presentation of the order and certificate to the registrar or a deputy registrar, the registrar or deputy registrar shall issue the offender a restricted license, unless the offender's driver's or commercial driver's license or permit is suspended under any other provision of law and limited driving privileges have not been granted with regard to that suspension. A restricted license issued under this division shall be identical to an Ohio driver's license, except that it shall have printed on its face a statement that the offender is prohibited from operating any motor vehicle that is not equipped with a certified ignition interlock device.
(2)(a) No person who has been granted unlimited driving privileges with a certified ignition interlock device under this section shall operate a motor vehicle prior to obtaining a restricted license. Any person who violates this prohibition is subject to the penalties prescribed in section 4510.14 of the Revised Code.
(b) The offense established under division (D)(2)(a) of this section is a strict liability offense and section 2901.20 of the Revised Code does not apply.
(E) If a first-time offender has been granted unlimited driving privileges with a certified ignition interlock device under this section and the first-time offender either commits an ignition interlock device violation as defined under section 4510.46 of the Revised Code or the first-time offender operates a motor vehicle that is not equipped with a certified ignition interlock device, the following applies:
(1) On a first violation, the court may require the first-time offender to wear a monitor that provides continuous alcohol monitoring that is remote.
(2) On a second violation, the court shall require the first-time offender to wear a monitor that provides continuous alcohol monitoring that is remote for a minimum of forty days.
(3) On a third or subsequent violation, the court shall require the first-time offender to wear a monitor that provides continuous alcohol monitoring that is remote for a minimum of sixty days.
(4) With regard to any instance, the judge may increase the period of suspension and the period during which the first-time offender must drive a motor vehicle equipped with a certified ignition interlock device in the same manner as provided in division (A)(8)(c) of section 4510.13 of the Revised Code. The limitation under division (E) of section 4510.46 of the Revised Code applies to an increase under division (E)(4) of this section.
(5) If the instance occurred within sixty days of the end of the suspension of the offender's driver's or commercial driver's license or permit or nonresident operating privilege and the court does not increase the period of the suspension under division (E)(4) of this section, the court shall proceed as follows:
(a) Issue an order extending the period of suspension and the period of time during which the first-time offender must drive a vehicle equipped with a certified ignition interlock device so that the suspension terminates sixty days from the date the offender committed that violation.
(b) For each violation subsequent to a violation for which an extension was ordered under division (E)(5)(a) of this section, issue an order extending the period of suspension and the period of time during which the first-time offender must drive a vehicle equipped with a certified ignition interlock device so that the suspension terminates sixty days from the date the offender committed that violation.
The registrar of motor vehicles is prohibited from reinstating a first-time offender's license unless the applicable period of suspension has been served and no ignition interlock device violations have been committed within the sixty days prior to the application for reinstatement.
(F) With respect to an order issued under this section, the judge shall impose an additional court cost of two dollars and fifty cents upon the first-time offender. The judge shall not waive this payment unless the judge determines that the first-time offender is indigent and waives the payment of all court costs imposed upon the indigent first-time offender. The clerk of court shall transmit one hundred per cent of this mandatory court cost collected during a month on or before the twenty-third day of the following month to the state treasury to be credited to the public safety - highway purposes fund created under section 4501.06 of the Revised Code. The department of public safety shall use the amounts collected to cover costs associated with maintaining the habitual OVI/OMWI offender registry created under section 5502.10 of the Revised Code.
A judge may impose an additional court cost of two dollars and fifty cents upon the first-time offender. The clerk of court shall retain this discretionary two dollar and fifty cent court cost, if imposed. The clerk shall deposit it in the court's special projects fund that is established under division (E)(1) of section 2303.201, division (B)(1) of section 1901.26, or division (B)(1) of section 1907.24 of the Revised Code.