Existing law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to immediately revoke the driving privilege of a person upon receipt of a duly certified abstract of the record of a court showing that the person has been convicted of, among other things, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. Existing law requires a person who has been convicted of driving a motor vehicle while intoxicated, as specified, to install an interlock ignition device on the vehicle they operate for a mandatory period of time as ordered by the court.
This bill, Irene's Law, would require the department, commencing on January 1, 2031, to revoke the driving privilege of a person upon a showing that the person has been convicted of a violation of driving while intoxicated that proximately causes bodily injury to any person other than the driver and has 4 or more prior convictions within a 10-year period for, among other things, driving while under the influence of an alcoholic beverage. The bill would additionally prohibit the department from reinstating that person's driving privileges until the expiration of 72 months after the date of revocation, subject to certain requirements, including, among others, agreeing to maintain a functioning, certified ignition interlock device, for a mandatory term of 72 months.