2017 Louisiana Laws
Revised Statutes
TITLE 32 - Motor Vehicles and Traffic Regulation
RS 32:853 - Commissioner to furnish operating records; other information; fees; withdrawal of forms or information
§853. Commissioner to furnish operating records; other information; fees; withdrawal of forms or information
A.(1)(a) The commissioner shall, upon request, furnish any person a certified abstract of the operating record of any person subject to the provisions of this Chapter. The operating record of an individual driver shall include only those offenses where an individual has pled guilty and been sentenced thereupon, forfeited bond resulting in a final judgment of forfeiture, or been found guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction of violating a law in the operation of a motor vehicle, or civil actions in which an individual has been adjudged at fault, and any accident in which the driving privileges of the person are suspended for failure to provide liability security or proof of financial security.
(b) On accidents occurring after December 31, 1984, it shall be noted on the record whether or not such person was issued a citation, or whether an individual has pled guilty, forfeited bond, or been found guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction of violating a law in the operation of a motor vehicle, or civil actions in which an individual has been adjudged at fault.
(c) The operating record of a person shall not include those arrests for a first or second violation of any state, local, parish, city, municipal, or other government ordinance, statute, or legal provision making criminal the operating of a motor vehicle while intoxicated or under the influence of alcoholic beverages, including but not limited to R.S. 14:98, nor shall it include any record of any civil sanction imposed, including the suspension of a license, as a result of such an arrest when any of the following occurs:
(i) The person submitted to an approved chemical test and the test resulted in a blood alcohol reading of less than 0.08 percent by weight, or of less than 0.02 percent by weight, if the person was under the age of twenty-one years on the date of the test, and the person is found not guilty.
(ii) The person was found not guilty whether or not he submitted to a test.
(iii) The person was convicted or entered a plea, and the court, clerk, or district attorney subsequently reports that the person achieved a final dismissal under the provisions of Code of Criminal Procedure Article 894. Unless and until such notice is received, the department shall add a conviction entered under Article 894 to the person's operating record and suspend or revoke the license in accordance with law after issuance of proper notice to the person.
(d) The operating record shall not include those arrests or convictions for a first or second violation of R.S. 14:98.1, if at least two years have elapsed since the date of conviction and the offender has not been convicted of an additional offense for violation of R.S. 14:98 or 98.1. If he has been convicted of one or more of these additional offenses during the two-year period, then the earlier offense shall remain on his record for a period of four years from the date of that conviction.
(e) The operating record of an individual shall not include citations for violation of any statute or ordinance requiring use of a seatbelt or wearing a motorcycle helmet.
(2) The commissioner shall also, upon request, advise as to whether any person subject to the provisions of this Chapter has complied with the requirements concerning the deposit of security, and, if so, shall designate the manner of compliance, the nature and amount of security deposited, or the name and address of the liability insurance company insuring such person.
(3)(a) No insurance company shall use the certified abstract of the operating record to increase an insured's premium without complying with the following conditions:
(i) Furnish a copy of the abstract to the insured.
(ii) Determine that the insured is over fifty percent at fault in any accident shown on the abstract.
(iii) Provide to the insured a notice in writing that the insured has a right to appeal the determination of fault by requesting a hearing before the Department of Public Safety and Corrections. The notice shall contain the procedure for requesting the hearing and the address to which the request is to be transmitted.
(b) Should the insured not agree that the insured is over fifty percent at fault, the insured may appeal the matter to the Department of Public Safety and Corrections for determination. The department shall provide notice of the hearing to the insured, to the insurance company of the insured, and to each person who suffered personal injury or property damage as a result of the accident. The notice shall be transmitted by first class mail to the last known address of the person.
(c) The Department of Public Safety and Corrections shall notify the insured and insurance company of their findings. If the Department of Public Safety and Corrections finds the insured not over fifty percent at fault in the accident, the insurance company shall remove any additional premium charged to the insured for that accident.
(4) Whenever it is determined that the person is not over 50% at fault, the department shall note such finding on the person's operating record.
(5) No insurance company shall increase an insured's premium for an accident in which he was not over 50% at fault.
(6)(a) The provisions of this Subsection shall not apply to accidents involving publicly owned emergency vehicles operated by any public safety or law enforcement officer, whether fulltime, parttime, or volunteer, including but not limited to firefighters in the employ of any municipality, parish or fire protection district; deputy sheriffs; municipal police officers; officers of the Louisiana State Police; officers of the enforcement division of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries; and emergency medical vehicle operators with respect to accidents in which these persons are involved while engaged in the operation of a publicly owned emergency vehicle in the course and scope of their employment.
(b) No accident involving the operation of a publicly owned emergency vehicle by any of the persons described in this Paragraph shall be included on the individual officer's operating record nor shall any insurance company increase the premium on that person's privately owned vehicle because of that accident.
B. The commissioner shall be entitled to charge and collect a fee of sixteen dollars for each copy of a certified abstract and for each copy of any information furnished upon request of any person from the files of the financial responsibility division of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections. Notwithstanding any other fees as stipulated herein, the fee for furnishing motor vehicle reports that are derived from computer generated requests shall not exceed sixteen dollars for records from all sources.
C. When any person files a form, or furnishes information, which is provided for under this Chapter, and the person was not at that time required by law to file the form or furnish the information, that person may request that the form, and all of the information contained in the form, and any other information furnished by him be withdrawn from the files maintained by the commissioner. If the commissioner determines that the law as it existed at that time did not require the form to be filed, or the information to be submitted, he shall return the form to the person who filed it and shall delete from the files of the commissioner any information concerning the form and any other information furnished by that person.
Acts 1991, No. 980, §1; Acts 1992, No. 984, §18; Acts 1994, 3rd Ex. Sess., No. 20, §2; Acts 1997, No. 1296, §3, eff. July 15, 1997; Acts 1997, No. 1343, §1; Acts 2001, No. 456, §1; Acts 2001, No. 781, §4, eff. Sept. 30, 2003; Acts 2005, No. 507, §1; Acts 2009, No. 366, §1; Acts 2014, No. 458, §1; Acts 2015, No. 111, §1, July 1, 2015.
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.
