MOTOR VEHICLES: Clarifies references to substances applicable to operating a motor vehicle under the influence

Tighter rules for impaired Louisiana drivers

Louisiana’s impaired-driving rules now cover any drug, multiple drugs, and alcohol combined with drugs. License suspensions last 12 months for a first offense, 24 months for a second, and 36 months for a third or later offense. The third-or-later count uses qualifying prior convictions, guilty or no-contest pleas, or bond forfeitures within five years of the first offense. License consequences apply after the specified conviction, plea and sentence, or bail forfeiture. The same suspension and revocation periods apply to watercraft, and affected people cannot operate watercraft on Louisiana waterways during those periods. Implied-consent testing now covers alcohol, any drug, and these substance combinations. Drivers under 21 are covered when officers have reasonable grounds to believe they drove or controlled a vehicle after consuming them. The testing officer specifies the tests through written designation. Reinstatement fees are $100 for one prior offense, $200 for two prior offenses, and $300 for each conviction thereafter. After an impaired-driving suspension or refusal to take chemical tests, reinstatement requires proof of financial responsibility for every vehicle registered in the person’s name. That proof, such as qualifying insurance coverage, must be maintained for three years. Louisiana also joins the Driver License Compact, which requires member states to report convictions to drivers’ home states. Reports include the driver’s identity, law violated, court, sentence, plea, and relevant special findings. Home states must treat reported impaired driving, vehicle-related manslaughter or negligent homicide, motor-vehicle felonies, and injury or fatal hit-and-run as local conduct. Other convictions follow home-state law, using substantially similar descriptions when laws differ. Licensing agencies must check applicants’ license history in other member states. They may deny a new license when another state’s license remains suspended, revoked, or otherwise unterminated, and may require its surrender. States retain their own legal authority and may cooperate with nonmember states. Licensing agency heads jointly develop Compact procedures. Membership takes effect upon enactment; withdrawal requires repeal and takes effect six months after notice to other states’ executive heads. Earlier conviction reports remain valid, and valid Compact provisions survive if another part is struck down.