The state Senate on Tuesday approved legislation that would limit the impounding of cars of unlicensed drivers at DUI checkpoints.
The bill, AB 353, by Assemblyman Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, would prohibit police from impounding the car of an unlicensed driver who is sober if the car wasn’t used in a crime, other than being driven by an unlicensed driver; if a licensed driver is available to drive the car at the time; or an officer is able to park the car in a place that does not impede traffic or threaten public safety.
If the car ended up being impounded, the bill would allow the registered owner or his or her representative, such as a friend, retrieve the car the next day after showing a valid driver’s license and car registration. State law now requires that a car of unlicensed drivers be impounded for at least 30 days in most cases.
The Senate vote was 30-7. AB 353 now goes back to the Assembly. It was approved there earlier but the Assembly must approve changes made in the Senate before it can go to Gov. Jerry Brown.
Assemblyman Michael Allen, D-Santa Rosa, pushed a similar bill, AB 1389, also approved in the Assembly, but later joined forces with Cedillo on AB 353.
“Sobriety checkpoints are meant to stop intoxicated drivers from endangering the safety of the public,” Allen said in a statement Wednesday. “However, checkpoints in some communities have veered off course from the intended purpose, placing more emphasis on impounding the vehicles of sober, unlicensed drivers than on removing the most dangerous drivers from our roads. AB 353, in partnership with my bill, AB 1389, will clarify the original intent of the Legislature — as well as cities, counties and law enforcement — with regard to impoundments and help peace officers devote more time, energy and resources toward deterring and catching intoxicated drivers.”
Allen has said he introduced his bill after being approached by social action committees from local churches about the fear Latinos have at the checkpoints and the possible impoundment of their cars for not having licenses. He has said his research showed police around the state were inconsistent in their checkpoint policies and some were using the impoundments to generate income for their cities.
The Los Angeles Times reported some Republican senators opposed the bill because they feared public safety would be jeopardized.
“If we lower this standard, what we are doing is encouraging more people without driver’s licenses to be on the roads,” the Times reported state Sen. Joel Anderson, R-San Diego, as saying. “There is a reason they don’t have a driver’s license. It’s not because they are a good driver.”
To read an earlier story on Allen’s bill, CLICK HERE.
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