MELANIE’S LAW

There is a new law in Massachusetts that you may have heard about but do not really understand its significance. Melanie’s Law was publicized as being a law that gets tougher with repeat offenders of operating under the influence of liquor or drugs.  If that is all the new law did, I could keep this article really short.  Melanie’s Law goes beyond the repeat offender and may even create new criminals among us, YOU!

Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 90, Section 12 has four new subsections.  The first deals with the hiring of employees as motor vehicle operators who have no license to operate a motor vehicle.  The operative word in the new addition is, “knowingly.”  The question becomes one of did you know the operator did not have a license.  Further, this supposes that you check the license of an employee who is going to operate a motor vehicle, prior to hiring her.  It would seem reasonable that one would check for a license in such a case.  If you fail to do it now, you are facing a fine of up to $500 for the first violation and for the second violation up to $1,000 or up to 1 year in the house of correction.

Another subsection provides penalties for allowing the operation of a motor vehicle you own or have under your control by someone who is unlicensed or who has had her license suspended.  In this case, however, the penalty is $500 and 1 year in the house of correction, rather than up to $500 and not up to 1 year in the house of correction.

Other changes regarding operating a motor vehicle under the influence of liquor or drugs (OUI), involve enhanced license suspensions for breath test refusal and repeat OUI offenders.  To start, the prior law allowed for a fifteen day temporary license when police took the driver’s license after an OUI arrest.  This no longer exists.  Refusal of breath tests now carry significant suspensions.  On your first refusal, a 180 day loss of license is imposed.  Then things get tougher.  A second offender’s refusal or a refusal by a driver under the age of 21, results in a 3 year suspension, a third offender’s refusal gets a 5 year suspension and a fourth timer gets a lifetime suspension, this is not an error, it is truly a lifetime suspension.

The penalties for OUI also changed. A first offender penalty stayed the same.  The second offender gets not  less than 60 days and not more than 2 ½ years in the house of correction.  Of the 60 days, 30 days must be served.  She also gets a suspended license for 2 years.  This suspension is stacked on top of the suspension for refusing a breath test, if applicable.

The third time offender gets 180 days, 150 to serve, fourth gets 2 years, mandatory 1 year to serve.  All repeat offenders get a new device called a ignition interlocking device.  In short, the car cannot be started unless the operator blows into this device and it registers .02 percent alcohol or less.  This is the equivalent to roughly one drink.  Anything more than that level and the car will not start.  After the vehicle starts random rolling tests will be given.  Failure of two or more of these tests in a 30 day period results in a lockout or engine not starting at the next attempt and can result in a 10 year loss of license up to a lifetime loss.

The legislature put real teeth in this law after many significant changes over the years.  Beware!