§ 32:668 — Procedure following revocation or denial of license; hearing; court review; review of

Louisiana § 32:668

• Jurisdiction: Louisiana
• Title 32: Levees

Text

§668. Procedure following revocation or denial of license; hearing; court review; review of
final order; restricted licenses
A. Upon suspending the license or permit to drive or nonresident operating privilege
of any person or upon determining that the issuance of a license or permit shall be denied to
the person, the Department of Public Safety and Corrections shall immediately notify the
person in writing and upon his request shall afford him an opportunity for a hearing based
upon the department's records or other evidence admitted at the hearing, and in the same
manner and under the same conditions as is provided in R.S. 32:414 for notification and
hearings in the case of suspension of licenses, except that no law enforcement officer shall
be compelled by such person to appear or testify at such hearing, and there shall be a
rebuttable presumption that any inconsistencies in evidence submitted by the department and
admitted at the hearing shall be strictly construed in favor of the person regarding the
revocation, suspension, or denial of license. The scope of such a hearing for the purposes
of this Part shall be limited to the following issues:
(1) Whether a law enforcement officer had reasonable grounds to believe that the
person, regardless of age, had been driving or was in actual physical control of a motor
vehicle upon the public highways of this state, or had been driving or was in actual physical
control of a motor-powered watercraft upon the public navigable waterways of this state,
while under the influence of either alcoholic beverages or any drug, combination of drugs,
or combination of alcohol and drugs.
(2) Whether the person was placed under arrest.
(3) Whether he was advised by the officer as provided in R.S. 32:661.
(4) Whether he voluntarily submitted to an approved chemical test and whether the
test resulted in a blood alcohol reading of 0.08 percent or above by weight, or of 0.02 percent
or above if he was under the age of twenty-one years on the date of the test.
(5) Whether he refused to submit to the test upon the request of the officer.
(6) Such additional matters as may relate to the legal rights of the person, including
compliance with regulations promulgated by the Department of Public Safety and
Corrections and rights afforded to the person by law or jurisprudence.
B.(1)(a) In a case of first or second refusal, or a first or second submission to a test
for intoxication, if suspension is otherwise proper, upon a showing of proof satisfactory to
the department that an approved and functioning ignition interlock device has been installed
in the vehicle the person shall drive, and that the suspension of driving privileges would
prevent the person from earning a livelihood, the department may:
(i) Require the licensee to surrender his regular license and issue in its stead at a cost
to the person of fifty dollars plus the cost of the license a special restricted operator's license
designated as such by a large red R printed on the face of the license, to be effective for the
remaining period of suspension.
(ii) Designate in writing, and upon application of the person to amend as necessary,
the routes over which and the times during which the restricted licensee shall be permitted
to operate designated motor vehicles in order to earn his livelihood, which written
restrictions shall be attached to the restricted license and kept with it at all times.
(b) No person who has refused a chemical test for intoxication is eligible for a
restricted license for the first ninety days of the suspension. When a person submits to a
chemical test and the results show a blood alcohol level of 0.08 percent or above by weight,
or of 0.02 percent or above if the person was under the age of twenty-one years on the date
of the test, he is not eligible for a restricted license for the first thirty days of the suspension.
(c) However, any licensee who has had his license suspended for a first or second
offense of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcoholic beverages under
the provisions of this Subsection, shall, upon proof of need to the Department of Public
Safety and Corrections, be immediately eligible for and shall be issued an ignition interlock
restricted license sufficient to maintain livelihood or allow the licensee to maintain the
necessities of life. In the event that the department fails or refuses to issue the restricted
driver's license, the district court for the parish in which the licensee resides may issue an
order directing the department to issue the ignition interlock restricted license either by ex
parte order or after contradictory hearing.
(2) However, the department shall immediately cancel and seize the restricted license
upon receiving satisfactory evidence of violation of the restrictions, and no person shall have
driving privileges of any kind for a period of six months from the receipt by the department
of the cancelled restricted license.
C.(1) After a person has exhausted his remedies with the department, he shall have
the right to file a petition in the appropriate court for a review of the final order of suspension
or denial by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections in the same manner and under
the same conditions as is provided in R.S. 32:414 in the cases of suspension, revocation, and
cancellation of licenses. The court in its review of the final order of suspension or denial by
the Department of Public Safety and Corrections may exercise any action it deems necessary
under the law including ordering the department to grant the person restricted non-commercial driving privileges where appropriate as provided in Subsection B of this Section.
(2) Upon filing a petition for review, the licensee shall serve the Department of
Public Safety and Corrections with a copy of the petition and summons. Upon receipt of a
copy of the petition for review, the department shall issue the licensee driving privileges,
which shall be valid until the decision on the petition for review is final. The court on its
own motion, or on the motion of either party, may modify or vacate such driving privileges
upon a showing of good cause.
D. Any person who has his license suspended, revoked, or is subject to installation
of an ignition interlock device pursuant to R.S. 32:667(I) or R.S. 14:98, 98.1, 98.2, 98.3, or
98.4 shall receive credit for the time period of which the ignition interlock device was
installed.
NOTE: Section 6 of Acts 2001, No. 781, provides that the provisions of the
Act shall become null and of no effect if and when Section 351 of P.L. 106-346 regarding the withholding of federal highway funds for failure to enact
a 0.08 percent blood alcohol level is repealed or invalidated for any reason.

Legislative History

Acts 1983, No. 632, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1984. Acts 1984, No. 409, §1; Acts 1985, No. 194, §1, eff. July 6, 1985; Acts 1985, No. 816, §1; Acts 1985, No. 572, §1; Acts 1990, No. 932, §1; Acts 1992, No. 605, §1; Acts 1993, No. 17, §1, eff. May 18, 1993; Acts 1993, No. 453, §1; Acts 1994, 3rd Ex. Sess., No. 20, §2; Acts 1995, No. 516, §1; Acts 1995, No. 520, §2; Acts 1995, No. 1070, §1; Acts 1997, No. 1184, §1; Acts 1997, No. 1296, §3, eff. July 15, 1997; Acts 1997, No. 1297, §1, eff. July 15, 1997; Acts 1999, No. 1146, §1; Acts 1999, No. 1212, §1; Acts 2000, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 91, §1; Acts 2001, No. 781, §4, eff. Sept. 30, 2003; Acts 2001, No. 886, §1; Acts 2007, No. 413, §1; Acts 2009, No. 287, §1; Acts 2012, No. 559, §1; Acts 2013, No. 388, §3, eff. June 18, 2013; Acts 2016, No. 366, §1; Acts 2024, 2 nd Ex. Sess., No. 9, §2, eff. July 1, 2024; Acts 2024, No. 662, §2.