Legislative Watch
OAR and OWS Law Changes Begin
On Jan. 1, 2000, the Department of
Transportation put into effect several changes made as part of the
Operating After Revocation Law rewrite, 1997 Wis. Act 84. More changes
will become effective on May 1, 2000, and the remaining portions of the
law will go into effect in 2001.
By John Sobotik
1997 Wis. Act 84 completely rewrote Wisconsin's Operating After
Revocation and Suspension laws. The changes
made are so extensive that DOT needed to completely replace some of
its aging computer systems. In order to accommodate DOT in this regard,
the Legislature gave DOT authority to set effective dates for provisions
in Act 84 as its computer systems became ready for the change.1 A good number of changes have now been put into
effect, and more changes will be implemented later this spring.
In August 1998, DOT put into effect Act 84
provisions related to habitual traffic offender status calculation. As
of Jan. 1, 2000, DOT put into effect most of Act 84 provisions related
to the suspension or revocation of driver licenses. DOT expects to
implement the changes to section
343.44 (the actual OAR law) on May 1, 2000, and the remaining
portions of Act 84 by May 1, 2001.
Simplified Charging System
Under current law, whether a driver is subject to civil or criminal
penalties for operating a motor vehicle after suspension or revocation
of his or her operating privilege, depends on the reason the person's
privilege was suspended or revoked. Act 84 will eliminate the need to
determine the reason for a suspension or revocation. Instead, penalties
apply based on whether a person's privilege is in a suspended or revoked
status. Persons who operate while suspended are subject to civil
penalties. Persons who operate while revoked and have one or more prior
OAR violations face criminal penalties. For an interim period, from the
effective date of the new law until May 1, 2002, first offense OAR
violators are subject to civil penalties.2
Thereafter, even first offense OAR violators will be subject to criminal
penalties. DMV hopes to implement these changes on May 1 of this
year.
New law specifies applicable sanctions. In order to
make this simplified charging system work, the Legislature needed to
make choices about whether to suspend or revoke operating privileges for
most driving offenses. Under prior law, courts and DOT generally had
authority to either suspend or revoke the privilege. Because of the
significant difference in treatment between drivers in suspended or
revoked status, the new law specifies which sanction applies. For most
offenses, the operating privilege sanction, if any, is a suspension.
Revocation action is reserved for very serious anti-social driving
behavior such as drunk driving, refusing chemical tests, hit and run,
eluding police, and repeated operating after suspension. DOT's notice in
the Dec. 1, 1999, administrative register puts into effect most of the
Legislature's choices in this regard.
It is worth noting that these changes are different, but not
necessarily more lenient toward bad drivers. For example, more than
21,000 first offense drunk drivers will face license revocation instead
of suspension upon conviction when Act 84 is fully implemented in 2001.
(As under current law, proof of financial responsibility will not be
required of those drivers.)
Statutory requirements supersede judicial orders. A
complete list of the affected statutory sections accompanies this note.
As of Jan. 1, 2000, drivers committing any of the
offenses listed will be subject only to the operating privilege sanction
permitted by the statutes as amended by 1997 Wis. Act 84. Judicial
orders in conflict with these statutory requirements will be implemented
consistent with these changes in the law. For example, DOT will suspend
the operating privilege of a driver convicted of a nondriving juvenile
alcohol violation if it receives an order to revoke that privilege under
section
125.07 of the Wisconsin Statutes.
The other major provisions of Act 84 being put into effect are
related to the length of suspensions imposed for nonpayment of fees,
fines, and forfeitures. Where prior law called for five-year
suspensions, 1997 Act 84 reduced those periods to two years. Where DMV
receives judicial orders for five-year suspensions, it will impose the
two-year suspension authorized by the newly amended statutes rather than
return the order.
Conclusion
Many of the provisions of 1997 Wis. Act 84 that specify whether an
operating privilege should be suspended or revoked for particular
driving offenses have been put into effect as of Jan. 1, 2000. DOT
expects to put the changes in 1997 Wis. Act 84 related to the offenses
of operating after suspension, revocation, or disqualification into
effect on May 1, 2000. Judicial orders in conflict with these new
statutory provisions will be implemented consistent with the new
statutory scheme.
Endnotes
1 Wis. Stat. §
85.515.
2 1997 Wis. Act 237 §
2751.
John Sobotik, U.W. 1985, is assistant
general counsel of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.
Wisconsin Lawyer
