House Bill 469 Makes A Comeback
A bill that requires ignition interlock devices to be installed on cars has been reintroduced to Ohio representatives. First time OVI offenders could be required to have these devices installed if House Bill 388 is passed.
House Bill 388 is not an unfamiliar law with Ohio legislators. Last year, a similar law was introduced to Ohio legislators as House Bill 469.
The Beginning and History of House Bill 469
In July of 2013, Annie Rooney was riding a bike, which she borrowed from a friend, when she was struck by a drunk driver who was a first time OVI offender. Annie was killed at the scene.
Upon Annie’s death, the Dr. Richard Rooney and the rest of his family approached to Rep. Johnson and Rep. Scherer with an idea for a law that would be known as House Bill 469 or “Annie’s Law.”
Annie’s Law would allow first time OVI offenders to petition to have an ignition interlock device installed on their car. According to the House Bill 388, the newly, re-written version of House Bill 469, the offender would be allowed to have unlimited driving privileges at the discretion of the court.
However, House Bill 469 faced some complications when it was brought up to the final general assembly before voting and Representative Gary Scherer’s office was able to provide information on the bill.
The judicial discretion of the bill was a major issue during the last general assembly. Judges and prosecutors felt that the law was taking away from the judge’s discretion when sentencing first time OVI offenders.
Father of Annie Rooney and Partial Author of House Bill 469 and 388 Dr. Richard Rooney says he was shocked to find out that the bill had been shut down in the last general assembly.
Annie’s Law Makes A Comeback
House Bill 469 did not make it through the last general assembly, however, this has did not stop Rep. Johnson, Rep. Scherer and the Rooney family.
From information provided from Representative Scherer’s office, House Bill 469 has been tweaked to make it back to the Ohio General Assembly as House Bill 388.
Due to the very intense and strict OVI laws in Ohio, the bill had to be tweaked and re-written to accommodate other lawmakers and the state OVI laws.
Under House Bill 388, first time OVI offenders can petition to receive unlimited driving privileges with an ignition interlock device. Offenders would go through the same process as when petitioning to receive limited driving privileges.
This would allow offenders to continue with their every day lives easier compared to having limited driving privileges.
Ignition Interlock Devices In Other States
Twenty-one states across the country have mandatory ignition interlock device laws for OVI offenders. The other 29 states laws say ignition interlock devices are an option while undergoing probation for an OVI offense.
States such as Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut and Delaware have these mandatory laws implemented state wide.
According to the National Conference of State Legislature’s website, Alabama’s state law says:
First offenders with .08 to .14 blood alcohol level must have an ignition interlock for a period of six months.If a first time offender has a child of 14 years old or younger, has a BAC of 0.15 or higher, or causes an injury to another person, an ignition interlock device must be installed for 2 years, once their license has been returned to them. Second offenders have the same requirement, regardless of extenuating circumstances. A first time offender may also elect for an ignition interlock device for six months in lieu of the mandatory ninety day license suspension. For third-time offenders the period is 3 years, and for fourth and subsequent offenses, the period is 5 years.
In Ohio, the state law says that ignition interlock devices could be an option:
If imposed, as a condition of probation by the court, offenders must obtain a specially marked driver’s license indicating they may only operate a vehicle equipped with such an ignition interlock device.
For first and second offenses, the court may order a person to use ignition interlock devices when using an occupational license; for third and subsequent offenses, the court must require a person to use these devices when using an occupational license.
The Rooney Family And Steps Towards Passing House Bill 388
Since the Annie’s death, Annie’s Father Dr. Richard Rooney has spent countless hours looking over Ohio OVI laws and finding ways to help this law make it through the Ohio General Assembly.
[pullquote]”We were completely blindsided,” Rooney said. “We thought we had taken all of the steps to have the bill passed.” [/pullquote]
Rooney says that the Ohio Judicial Conference came to the last General Assembly and brought up numerous concerns with the writing of House Bill 469.
“The informal vote count was 12 to 2, to vote it out,” Rooney said. “They [Ohio Judicial Conference] snuck in hours before the committee met and handed the judge problems with bill.”
Rooney says that the bill was cancelled due to this opposition.
Since then, the bill has been rephrased and the group has once again presented the bill to the Ohio General Assembly.
On December 8th, House Bill 388 was read for the first time since it was re-written to House Armed Services, Veteran Affairs, and Public Safety Committee.
Rooney says that he and his family hopes that this time around House Bill 388 will pass in honor of his daughter.
