REFERENCE TITLE: defensive driving school certification; ownership

 

 

 

 

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-fourth Legislature

First Regular Session

2019

 

 

HB 2584

 

Introduced by

Representatives Carroll: Biasiucci, Campbell

 

 

AN ACT

 

amending section 28‑3395, Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to defensive driving schools.

 

 

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

 


Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1.  Section 28-3395, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE28-3395.  Supreme court authority and duties; rules; record; applicability; definition

A.  The supreme court may contract with a public or private agency that does not provide defensive driving schools in this state pursuant to this article to provide assistance in carrying out the duties of this article.

B.  The supreme court shall:

1.  Supervise the use of defensive driving schools by the courts in this state.

2.  Make public the amount of the court diversion fee assessed by each court in this state pursuant to this article and the total cost to attend a defensive driving school in each court.

3.  Establish an automated statewide database for keeping a record of persons who attend a defensive driving school.

4.  Adopt rules that establish criteria for the certification of qualified defensive driving schools and instructors used by the courts.

5.  Establish procedures for courts and schools to remit reports that are required by the supreme court.

6.  Certify and monitor defensive driving schools and instructors that serve as a court authorized diversion program.

7.  Require that a defensive driving school class not exceed a total of four and one-half hours, including any testing, reviewing and grading related to the defensive driving school class.

C.  The information contained in the database required by this section is not a public record.

D.  The rules adopted pursuant to subsection B, paragraph 4 of this section shall provide that if an owner of a certified defensive driving school in this state has a common ownership interest in another certified defensive driving school in this state or in the assets or the shared use of the assets of another certified defensive driving school in this state, the owner or schools that have a common ownership or use of assets may not participate in more than one school listing on the supreme court's defensive driving school website or on any other state-sponsored advertisement.  The supreme court shall determine whether each defensive driving school is in compliance with this subsection. The supreme court shall review any complaints that are submitted with supporting documentation and that allege a violation of this subsection.

E.  If a person has common ownership in more than one certified defensive driving school in this state on the effective date of this amendment to this section, the supreme court shall put only one of the schools on the administrative office of the court's list of supreme court certified defensive driving schools or on any other state-sponsored advertisement.  The other schools may never appear on the supreme court's website, printed list or other form of advertising to the public.

F.  If a defensive driving school shares an employee or staff with another entity, the entities shall be considered as one entity for the purpose of state taxpayer paid advertisement on the supreme court's website or on any other state-sponsored advertisement. 

G.  If a school violates this section, the supreme court shall revoke the school's certification.  If the supreme court revokes a certification pursuant to this subsection, a school may reapply for certification after one year from the date of revocation in a manner prescribed by the supreme court.

H.  Subsections D, E, F and g of this section apply to a defensive driving school beginning on the school's initial certification or renewal of certification with the supreme court only if the initial certification or renewal occurs on or after the effective date of this amendment to this section.

I.  For the purposes of this section, "common ownership or use of assets" means any property that has value, including financial, intangible and physical assets and includes all of the following:

1.  A web server or database.

2.  Equipment.

3.  Stock.

4.  A membership in a limited liability company.

5.  A partnership interest.

6.  A beneficial interest in a trust or another similar item. END_STATUTE