Panel OKs bill against bad drivers ‘Tina’s Law’ targets habitual offenders

AUGUSTA – Members of a legislative panel gave unanimous approval Monday to a bill that provides new mandatory minimum sentences for some of Maine’s worst drivers. The 11-0 vote by the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee greatly improves the bill’s chances of passing when it reaches the full Legislature.

The original bill, LD 1906, was largely rewritten to take a targeted aim at habitual offenders of the state’s driving laws, those people who have accumulated three or more major offenses. The bill focuses on moving violations and would not affect drivers whose licenses have been suspended due to nondriving-related offenses, such as for unpaid child support.

Officially titled an “Act to Safeguard Maine Highways,” the bill more commonly has been referred to as “Tina’s Law” in memory of the victim of a fatal accident on Interstate 95 last year. On July 29, Tina Turcotte, 40, of Scarborough was killed when a tractor-trailer crashed into the rear of her car. The truck was driven by Scott Hewitt, 33, of Caribou, whose record includes 63 driving convictions and 23 license suspensions. He is now in Kennebec County Jail facing manslaughter and other charges.

Rather than beef up the state’s existing laws regarding operating after suspension, the criminal justice committee chose to use Maine’s habitual-offender laws to confront Mainers who persist in driving their motor vehicles – or motor vehicles belonging to others – after their licenses have been suspended. The problem is out of control, according to the sponsors of the measure, Sen. Bill Diamond, D-Windham, and Rep. Darlene Curley, R-Scarborough, who cited state statistics that 44,000 of the state’s current 985,000 drivers have had their operating privileges suspended five to nine times.

As amended, the bill singles out what Diamond called “the worst of the worst” of Maine’s drivers: those convicted of being habitual offenders under Maine’s motor vehicle laws and who continue to drive illegally.

Under the measure approved by the committee, mandatory minimum penalties ratchet upward if the habitual offender has previous convictions for driving as a habitual offender after his license has been revoked or if he also has been convicted of driving while under the influence of alcoholic beverages or drugs. The new bill creates a new class of crime of aggravated operating after habitual offender revocation.

“We used the habitual-offender structure and used that as a vehicle to implant our intent into the law,” Diamond said Monday. “The concept is still good. We’re going after people after three serious offenses, and if they continue to ignore the law and drive after suspension, they’re going to get hit even harder.”

The bill also adds a section of law addressing situations in which a person is injured or killed by another who is operating after his license has been revoked or suspended. Although mandatory minimum sentences are not applied under the law in these instances, a person involved in an incident resulting in bodily injury would be charged with a Class C crime. Under the law, the courts would be free to impose a jail sentence of up to five years and a fine of up to $5,000, and would be required to suspend the individual’s license for five years.

Should the actions of an operator with a revoked license result in the death of another individual, the driver would be charged with a Class B crime and the courts would be free to impose a jail sentence of up to 10 years and a fine of up to $20,000, and would be required to suspend the individual’s license for 10 years.

Tina Turcotte’s husband, Scott Turcotte, who was present for Monday’s committee vote, said afterward that he was disappointed the proposed changes were not stronger.

“I just wish they could have given them more jail time,” he said.

A person now is guilty of being a habitual offender under Maine’s motor vehicle laws if three or more convictions stemming from one or more of 12 different motor vehicle violations are accumulated. Those violations range from the death of another person resulting from the operation of a motor vehicle to failure to report a motor vehicle accident with property damage.

The amended bill adds operating a motor vehicle in excess of 30 mph over the posted speed limit to that definition list and also would designate a person a habitual offender who accumulated 10 or more moving violations over a five-year period.

Depending on the number of times a person has been convicted of operating after habitual-offender revocation and-or driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, the new bill would impose mandatory minimum penalties ranging from $500 and 30 days in jail to $1,000 and two years in prison.

“This is a positive move toward getting chronic violators off the road,” Curley said.

The revised bill also added the new crime of aggravated operating after habitual-offender revocation. The offense would apply to a person who operates a motor vehicle after his license has been revoked for being a habitual offender and who at the time of the violation also was engaged in one or more of the following activates including:

. Operating while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

. Driving to endanger.

. Eluding a police officer.

Depending upon the mix of violations committed over a 10-year period, a person charged with the aggravated offense could face mandatory minimum penalties ranging from a $500 fine and a six-month jail term to a $3,000 fine and a five-year prison term.

The committee’s bill also asks the Maine Sheriffs Association to report back to the panel next January to assess the impact the legislation has had on the jail population. The bill also directs the secretary of state to take “reasonable actions” to physically retrieve driver’s licenses from those whose privilege to drive has been revoked or suspended.