Bill to aid illegal drivers focuses on DUI checkpoints

Santa Rosa Assemblyman Michael Allen's legislation that would have limited police impounds of cars at DUI/license checkpoints has taken a turn in the state Senate.

The impoundment provision has been dropped from his AB 1389 and what remains is language that would require that DUI checkpoints to be conducted uniformly around the state and would require police to give at least 48 hours notice of a checkpoint's location.

An Allen aide said the impoundment component was shifted to a different bill, AB 353, by Assemblyman Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles.

Allen, a Democrat, had introduced his legislation after being approached by social action committees from local churches about the fear Latinos have at the checkpoints and the possible impoundment of their cars for not having licenses. He has said his research showed police around the state were inconsistent in their checkpoint policies and some were using checkpoints to generate income for their cities.

State law now allows a police officer to arrest a driver and impound the vehicle if the driver doesn't have a driver's license or is driving with a suspended or invalid license. Allen's bill would have stopped police from impounding cars in these cases except in limited cases, such as if the car was used to commit a crime or contained evidence of a crime.

Instead of impoundment, an officer under Allen's bill would have had several options: To allow the driver to turn the car over to a friend, relative, neighbor or someone else with a valid license; allow the driver to park the car in a safe place until a licensed driver comes; or permit the officer to move the vehicle "that not impede traffic or threaten public safety." If none of these could be achieved, then the car could be impounded.

The Assembly approved his bill 54-22 in May.

But the impoundment provisions were dropped from Allen's bill in the Senate, and the surviving part of the bill now awaits possible action on the Senate floor.

Allen aide David Miller said Allen and Cedillo decided to team up on the impoundment issue and to become joint authors of AB 353. The bill, which is pending in the Senate, would limit the impounding of cars of unlicensed drivers at DUI checkpoints if the car wasn't used in a crime. Under the bill, a car couldn't be impounded if a licensed driver was available, or an officer was able to park the car in a safe place.

Allen's legislation now "deals only with DUI checkpoints," Miller said.

Another change in Allen's bill involves publicizing the location of checkpoints in advance. Initially, he had wanted police to cite the actual location, but his bill was amended in the Assembly to "general location." In the Senate version, the word "general" was deleted, apparently in a desire to require police to be more specific on locations.

Miller said publicizing locations remains the "subject of ongoing negotiations with law enforcement and social justice groups."

He said Allen wants to ensure that sobriety checkpoints focus on drunk drivers. Studies have shown that giving notice is helpful in deterring some instances of drunk driving.

Impoundment of cars has been controversial in Sonoma County, with some groups saying it unfairly targets illegal immigrants who are prohibited from having California driver's licenses.

Allen's bill had been supported by several activist groups, such as the ACLU, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund and North Bay Organizing Project.

Opposition included several police organizations, such as the California District Attorneys Association and California Police Chiefs Association; the city of Fresno and Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

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