HB 878-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2007 SESSION
03/01
HOUSE BILL 878-FN
AN ACT relative to drivers’ licenses issued to persons 70 years of age and older and relative to the medical/vision advisory board.
SPONSORS: Rep. Morrison, Belk 2; Rep. Tobin, Belk 2; Rep. Estes, Graf 7; Sen. Reynolds, Dist 2
This bill:
I. Shortens the validity period for drivers’ licenses issued to persons 70 years of age and older.
II. Requires reexamination prior to the issuance of a driver’s license to persons 70 years of age and older.
III. Expands the authority of the medical/vision advisory board.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
07-0438
03/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Seven
AN ACT relative to drivers’ licenses issued to persons 70 years of age and older and relative to the medical/vision advisory board.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Medical/Vision Advisory Board. Amend RSA 263:6-b to read as follows:
263:6-b Medical/Vision Advisory Board.
I. In order to advise the director on medical criteria for the reporting and examination of drivers with medical impairments, a medical/vision advisory board is hereby established within the division. The board shall be composed of 3 members appointed by the director. Two of the members of the board shall be licensed physicians and residents of this state, and one member of the board shall be a licensed optometrist and a resident of this state. Of the original appointees, one shall serve for a term of 2 years and 2 shall serve for terms of 4 years. Subsequent appointees shall each serve for a term of 4 years or until their successors are appointed and approved. Any vacancy shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment for the remainder of the term. The members of the board shall receive no compensation for their services [and shall not hire any staff personnel] but shall be paid mileage when attending to the duties of the committee at the maximum rate established in the Internal Revenue Code and regulations. [After the first full year of operation of the advisory board, the board shall meet no more than 4 times per year.]
II. No civil or criminal action shall lie against any member of the medical/vision advisory board who acts in good faith in advising the director under the provisions of this section. Good faith shall be presumed on the part of members of the medical/vision advisory board in the absence of a showing of fraud or malice.
III. The medical/vision advisory board shall:
(a) Create and keep current criteria and science-based guidelines for use by division hearing examiners in making licensing determinations.
(b) Develop and promote assessment techniques available to healthcare providers to assist patients in driving-related issues.
(c) Assist the division in developing policy regarding medical conditions’ effects on driving.
(d) Serve as liaison to the healthcare community in promoting best medical practices related to driving safely.
(e) Review all complaints submitted to the director regarding medically-related driver impairment.
(f) Upon the petition of any person denied a driver’s license following reexamination pursuant to RSA 263:7, review the medical circumstances for the denial, including any records of the division and any information submitted to the board by the petitioner, and, if appropriate, recommend that the director reconsider the denial and issue either an unrestricted or restricted license.
IV. Members of the board shall receive compensation of $50 per diem and shall be reimbursed for necessary travel expenses.
2 Reexamination. Amend RSA 263:7 to read as follows:
263:7 Reexamination. The director may require with cause any person holding a license to drive motor vehicles or applying for reissue of such license to pass such examination as to the person’s qualifications as the director shall prescribe. Such reexamination may include an examination for visual acuity as prescribed by the director. All license examinations shall be conducted by department of safety personnel. No license shall be reissued to such person or continued in effect until the director is satisfied as to such person’s fitness to drive a motor vehicle. Every person upon reaching his or her [seventy-fifth] seventieth birthday, and thereafter upon each application for renewal, shall demonstrate his or her physical and mental qualifications to hold a license by examination, as prescribed by the director. Any such person denied a license may petition the medical/vision advisory board for a review of the medical circumstances for the denial under RSA 263:6-b.
3 License Expiration. Amend RSA 263:10 to read as follows:
263:10 License Expiration.
I. Except as provided in paragraph II and in RSA 263:14 and RSA 263:39-a, III, all licenses shall expire on the fifth anniversary of the license holder’s date of birth following the date of issuance.
II. Licenses issued to persons 70 years of age and older shall expire on the second anniversary of the license holder’s date of birth following the date of issuance. Licenses issued to persons 76 years of age and older shall expire on the first anniversary of the license holder’s date of birth following the date of issuance.
III. The department shall notify each holder of a license by mail addressed to the holder’s last known address, 30 days prior to the expiration date thereof of a place and time when he or she shall appear for the issuance of a new license.
4 Driver’s License Fees. Amend RSA 263:42, I to read as follows:
I. For each original driver’s license and examination or driver’s license renewal, other than for a commercial vehicle or motorcycle- $50; for each driver’s license renewal for a person 70 years of age or older- $10 per year plus a $20 fee for the reexamination required by RSA 263:7; for each youth operator’s license and examination- $10 per year, not to exceed $50; for each license issued to a nonresident alien for less than 5 years- $10 per year or portion thereof; for each original commercial driver license and examination or commercial driver license renewal- $60; for each commercial driver license reexamination in a one-year period- $20; for each commercial vehicle endorsement, renewal of an endorsement, or removal of a restriction- $10; for each special motorcycle original license and examination or special motorcycle license renewal- $50; for each original motorcycle endorsement- $25; for each motorcycle endorsement renewal- no charge. For each original driver’s license issued, $5 shall be credited to the driver training fund established by RSA 263:52. Except as provided in RSA 263:10, II, RSA 263:14, and RSA 263:39-a, III, every license shall expire on the licensee’s birth date in the fifth year following the issuance of such license. No fee collected under this paragraph shall be refunded once an examination has been taken or a license issued, except as provided in RSA 263:43.
5 Effective Date. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007.
LBAO
07-0438
Revised 02/08/07
HB 878 FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to drivers’ licenses issued to persons 70 years of age and older and relative to the medical/vision advisory board.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Safety states this bill will increase state and local revenue, and increase state expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2008 and each year thereafter. This bill will have no fiscal impact on county and local expenditures, or county revenue.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department of Safety states this bill would shorten the validity period for drivers’ licenses issued to persons 70 years of age and older, and lower the age at which reexamination is required to 70 years of age. The Department is unable to estimate the increase in state highway fund revenue resulting from these changes because it cannot estimate how many more licenses would be issued, or how many additional elderly persons would be affected by this bill. The Department cannot estimate the impact on state expenditures since it is dependent on the number of additional licenses that would be issued. The cost for each card blank is currently $1.51 and could possibly increase under a new contract for an upgraded licensing system with improved software and picture technology. State highway fund expenditures and local revenues for local highway aid would increase by 12% of the increase in highway fund revenue pursuant to RSA 235:23. The Department is unable to estimate the exact fiscal impact at this time.