ASSEMBLY LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 3073

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: OCTOBER 23, 2008

      The Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Assembly Bill No. 3073.

      Assembly Bill No. 3073, entitled “Ricci’s Law,” clarifies that all persons convicted of a first, second or subsequent offense of drunk driving are required to install an ignition interlock device in any motor vehicle they own, lease, or operate during the period that the person's license is suspended for the drunk driving offense, in addition to installing the device following restoration of the person’s driver’s license as required under current law.

      Under the State's drunk driving statute, R.S.39:4-50, the court may require first time drunk driving offenders to install an ignition interlock device for a period of six months to one year.  Persons convicted of a second offense are required to install this device or have their registration certificate and license plates revoked for two years, and persons convicted of third or subsequent offenses are required to install these devices or have their registration certificate and license plates revoked for 10 years.

      This bill requires persons convicted of first, second, and subsequent drunk driving offenses to have an ignition interlock installed during the period that the person's license is suspended for the drunk driving offense, in addition to the period of installation that may be imposed under current law after restoration of the driver’s license. The bill removes the option available under current law permitting revocation of the person’s registration and license plates if an ignition interlock device is not installed.

      Finally, the bill allows a person to start a motor vehicle equipped with an ignition interlock device for the purpose of safety or mechanical repair of the device or repair of the motor vehicle, but only if the person required to have the device installed does not operate the vehicle.  Under the ignition interlock law, it currently is a disorderly persons offense to blow into an ignition interlock device or otherwise start a motor vehicle equipped with such a device to provide an operable motor vehicle to the person required to have the device, or to tamper with such a device to circumvent its operation.

      It is the sponsors’ intent that this bill be named “Ricci’s Law” in memory of Ricci Branca, a 17-year-old boy from Egg Harbor Township.  Ricci was riding his bicycle with friends when a drunk driver plowed into their group and fled the scene of the accident. Several teenagers in the group were injured, and Ricci succumbed to his injuries four days after the accident.  The driver’s blood alcohol concentration was .339%, more than four times New Jersey’s legal limit of .08%.  It is the sponsors’ hope that expansion of the ignition interlock requirement will provide another tool to keep intoxicated drivers off of the State’s roadways.