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SB 175 - Fleeing, Attempting to Elude Police Officer - felony

Price, Richard J (28th)

Status Summary	SC:	Pub S	HC:		FR:	02/17/99	LA:	01/10/00	S - Read 3rd Time

First Reader Summary

A bill to amend Article 15 of Chapter 6 of Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to serious crimes and offenses involving motor vehicles and traffic, so as to change the punishment for fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer; to provide that such offense shall be a felony and shall be subject to a mandatory term of imprisonment.

Code Sections - 40-6-395

SB 175 99                                          LC 14 7169 
 
      SENATE BILL  175 
 
      By:  Senator Price of the 28th 
 
 
                        A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 
                               AN ACT 
 
 
  1- 1  To amend Article 15 of Chapter 6 of Title 40 of the Official 
  1- 2  Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to serious crimes and 
  1- 3  offenses involving motor vehicles and traffic, so as to 
  1- 4  change the punishment for fleeing or attempting to elude a 
  1- 5  police officer; to provide that such offense shall be a 
  1- 6  felony and shall be subject to a mandatory term of 
  1- 7  imprisonment; to provide that such offense shall include 
  1- 8  certain conduct on the part of a passenger in the vehicle; 
  1- 9  to provide that a passenger shall not be charged if the 
  1-10  passenger surrenders when the vehicle ultimately comes to a 
  1-11  stop; to provide for related matters; to provide for an 
  1-12  effective date and for applicability; to repeal conflicting 
  1-13  laws; and for other purposes. 
 
  1-14       BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA: 
 
  1-15                           SECTION 1. 
 
  1-16  Article 15 of Chapter 6 of Title 40 of the Official Code of 
  1-17  Georgia Annotated, relating to serious crimes and offenses 
  1-18  involving motor vehicles and traffic, is amended by striking 
  1-19  Code Section 40-6-395, relating to fleeing or attempting to 
  1-20  elude a police officer, and inserting in its place a new 
  1-21  Code section to read as follows: 
 
  1-22    "40-6-395. 
 
  1-23      (a)(1) It shall be unlawful for any driver of a vehicle 
  1-24      willfully to fail or refuse to bring his or her vehicle 
  1-25      to a stop or otherwise to flee or attempt to elude a 
  1-26      pursuing police vehicle or police officer when given a 
  1-27      visual or an audible signal to bring the vehicle to a 
  1-28      stop.  The signal given by the police officer may be by 
  1-29      hand, voice, emergency light, or siren.  The officer 
  1-30      giving such signal shall be in uniform prominently 
  1-31      displaying his or her badge of office, and his or her 
  1-32      vehicle shall be appropriately marked showing it to be 
  1-33      an official police vehicle. 
 
 
 
 
                                 -1- 
 
 
 
  2- 1      (2) It shall be unlawful for any passenger in a vehicle 
  2- 2      which is unlawfully fleeing or attempting to elude a 
  2- 3      pursuing police vehicle or police officer to: 
 
  2- 4        (A) Encourage or assist the driver in such unlawful 
  2- 5        activity; or 
 
  2- 6        (B) Flee or attempt to elude the pursuing police 
  2- 7        officer or officers after the vehicle ultimately comes 
  2- 8        to a stop. 
 
  2- 9      However, no passenger shall be charged or convicted 
  2-10      under this paragraph if the passenger surrenders at the 
  2-11      time that the vehicle ultimately comes to a stop. The 
  2-12      passenger shall be considered to have surrendered if the 
  2-13      passenger remains in or immediately adjacent to the 
  2-14      stopped vehicle and does not offer resistance to the 
  2-15      pursuing police officer or officers. 
 
  2-16      (b)(1) Any person violating the provisions of subsection 
  2-17      (a) of this Code section shall be guilty of a high and 
  2-18      aggravated misdemeanor and: felony and upon conviction 
  2-19      shall be imprisoned for a mandatory term of ten years. 
  2-20      Such sentence shall not be subject to suspension, stay, 
  2-21      or probation.  
 
  2-22        (A) Upon conviction shall be fined not less than 
  2-23        $500.00 nor more than $5,000.00, which fine shall not 
  2-24        be subject to suspension, stay, or probation  and 
  2-25        imprisoned for not less than ten days nor more than 12 
  2-26        months. Any period of such imprisonment in excess of 
  2-27        ten days may, in the sole discretion of the judge, be 
  2-28        suspended, stayed, or probated;  
 
  2-29        (B) Upon the second conviction within a ten-year 
  2-30        period of time, as measured from the dates of previous 
  2-31        arrests for which convictions were obtained to the 
  2-32        date of the current arrest for which a conviction is 
  2-33        obtained, shall be fined not less than $1,000.00 nor 
  2-34        more than $5,000.00, which fine shall not be subject 
  2-35        to suspension, stay, or probation and imprisoned for 
  2-36        not less than 30 days nor more than 12 months.  Any 
  2-37        period of such imprisonment in excess of 30 days may, 
  2-38        in the sole discretion of the judge, be suspended, 
  2-39        stayed, or probated; and for purposes of this 
  2-40        paragraph, previous pleas of nolo contendere accepted 
  2-41        within such ten-year period shall constitute 
  2-42        convictions; and  
 
 
 
                                 -2- 
 
 
 
  3- 1        (C) Upon the third or subsequent conviction within a 
  3- 2        ten-year period of time, as measured from the dates of 
  3- 3        previous arrests for which convictions were obtained 
  3- 4        to the date of the current arrest for which a 
  3- 5        conviction is obtained, shall be fined not less than 
  3- 6        $2,500.00 nor more than $5,000.00, which fine shall 
  3- 7        not be subject to suspension, stay, or probation and 
  3- 8        imprisoned for not less than 90 days nor more than 12 
  3- 9        months. Any period of such imprisonment in excess of 
  3-10        90 days may, in the sole discretion of the judge, be 
  3-11        suspended, stayed, or probated; and for purposes of 
  3-12        this paragraph, previous pleas of nolo contendere 
  3-13        accepted within such ten-year period shall constitute 
  3-14        convictions.  
 
  3-15      (2) For the purpose of imposing a sentence under this 
  3-16      subsection, a plea of nolo contendere shall constitute a 
  3-17      conviction.  
 
  3-18      (3) If the payment of the fine required under paragraph 
  3-19      (1) of this subsection will impose an economic hardship 
  3-20      on the defendant, the judge, at his or her sole 
  3-21      discretion, may order the defendant to pay such fine in 
  3-22      installments and such order may be enforced through a 
  3-23      contempt proceeding or a revocation of any probation 
  3-24      otherwise authorized by this subsection.  
 
  3-25      (4) Notwithstanding the limits set forth in any 
  3-26      municipal charter, any municipal court of any 
  3-27      municipality shall be authorized to impose the 
  3-28      punishments provided for in this subsection upon a 
  3-29      conviction of violating this subsection or upon 
  3-30      conviction of violating any ordinance adopting the 
  3-31      provisions of this subsection.  
 
  3-32        (5)(A) Any person violating the provisions of 
  3-33        subsection (a) of this Code section who, while fleeing 
  3-34        or attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle or 
  3-35        police officer in an attempt to escape arrest for a 
  3-36        felony offense other than a violation of this chapter, 
  3-37        operates his or her vehicle in excess of 30 miles an 
  3-38        hour above the posted speed limit, strikes or collides 
  3-39        with another vehicle or a pedestrian, flees in traffic 
  3-40        conditions which place the general public at risk of 
  3-41        receiving serious injuries, or leaves the state shall 
  3-42        be guilty of a felony punishable by a fine of 
  3-43        $5,000.00 and imprisonment for not less than one year 
  3-44        nor more than five years.  
 
 
                                 -3- 
 
 
 
  4- 1        (B) Following adjudication of guilt or imposition of 
  4- 2        sentence for a violation of subparagraph (A) of this 
  4- 3        paragraph, the sentence shall not be suspended, 
  4- 4        probated, deferred, or withheld, and the charge shall 
  4- 5        not be reduced to a lesser offense, merged with any 
  4- 6        other offense, or served concurrently with any other 
  4- 7        offense. 
 
  4- 8    (c) It shall be unlawful for a person: 
 
  4- 9      (1) To impersonate a sheriff, deputy sheriff, state 
  4-10      trooper, agent of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, 
  4-11      agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, police 
  4-12      officer, or any other authorized law enforcement officer 
  4-13      by using a motor vehicle or motorcycle designed, 
  4-14      equipped, or marked so as to resemble a motor vehicle or 
  4-15      motorcycle belonging to any federal, state, or local law 
  4-16      enforcement agency; or 
 
  4-17      (2) Otherwise to impersonate any such law enforcement 
  4-18      officer in order to direct, stop, or otherwise control 
  4-19      traffic." 
 
  4-20                           SECTION 2. 
 
  4-21  This Act shall become effective July 1, 1999, and shall 
  4-22  apply with respect to offenses committed on or after that 
  4-23  effective date.  Offenses committed prior to that effective 
  4-24  date shall continue to be governed by, and shall be 
  4-25  punishable as provided by, prior law. 
 
  4-26                           SECTION 3. 
 
  4-27  All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are 
  4-28  repealed. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                 -4-