Current through 2024-38, September 18, 2024
A. Suspension. Except where a longer period
of suspension is otherwise provided by law, the Secretary of State shall
suspend the commercial driver's license or permit to operate, privilege to
operate a commercial motor vehicle and privilege to apply for or obtain a
commercial driver's license of any person:
1
As to whom there is received a record of conviction or adjudication for
operating a commercial motor vehicle while having 0.04% or more by weight of
Alcohol in the blood, while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or
drugs, or with an excessive blood-alcohol level; or
2 As to whom the Secretary of State
determines has operated a commercial motor vehicle while having 0.04% or more
by weight of alcohol in the blood.
B. Determination of Suspension. The Secretary
of State shall make the determination of suspension required by section 3(A)(2)
as follows.
1 The Secretary of State shall
make a determination on the basis of the information required in Section 3(C),
and this determination is final unless a hearing is requested and held. If a
hearing is held, the Secretary of State shall review the matter and make a
final determination on the basis of the evidence received at the
hearing.
2 The determination of
these facts by the Secretary of State is independent of the determination of
the same or similar facts in the adjudication of any civil or criminal charges
arising out of the same occurrence. The disposition of those civil or criminal
charges does not affect any suspension issued pursuant to these
rules.
C. Report by Law
Enforcement Officer. A law enforcement officer shall forward a report to the
Secretary of State as follows.
1 A law
enforcement officer who has probable cause to believe that any person operated
a commercial motor vehicle while having 0.04% or more by weight of alcohol in
the blood shall forward to the Secretary of State a report under oath of all
information relevant to the incident including a statement of the officer's
grounds for belief that the person was operating a commercial motor vehicle
while having 0.04% or more by weight of alcohol in the blood and a certificate
under 29-A MRSA Section2431 of the results of any blood-alcohol tests by a
self-contained breath-alcohol testing apparatus which were conducted.
2 The report required in Section 3(C)(1)
shall be made on forms supplied by or approved by the Secretary of
State.
3 If the blood-alcohol test
was not analyzed by a law enforcement officer, the person who analyzed the
results shall cause a copy of the certificate under 29-A MRSA Section2431 to be
sent to the Secretary of State.
D. Period of Suspension. The period of
suspension for a person determined to have operated a commercial motor vehicle
while having 0.04% or more by weight of alcohol in the blood, while under the
influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs, or with an excessive blood alcohol
level is as follows.
1 A one year suspension
in the case of a person having no previous convictions for operating a
commercial motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or
drugs or with an excessive blood-alcohol level and no previous suspensions for
failure to comply with the duty to submit to and complete chemical testing
involving the operation of a commercial motor vehicle or for operating a
commercial motor vehicle while having 0.04% or more by weight of alcohol in the
blood. If the person was operating a commercial motor vehicle containing
hazardous materials, the suspension must be for a period of three
years.
2 A permanent suspension in
the case of a person having a previous conviction for operating a commercial
motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs or with
an excessive blood-alcohol level or a previous suspension for failure to comply
with the duty to submit to and complete chemical testing involving the
operation of a commercial motor vehicle or for operating a commercial motor
vehicle while having 0.04% or more by weight of alcohol in the blood.
3 For the purposes of these rules, a
conviction, adjudication or suspension includes a conviction, adjudication or
suspension obtained or issued pursuant to the laws, rules, or regulations of
this state, any other state or province, and the federal government of the
United States.
E.
Implied Consent. A person who operates a commercial motor vehicle shall submit
to a test to determine the blood-alcohol level or drug concentration by
analysis of the blood or breath, if there is probable cause to believe the
person has operated a commercial motor vehicle while having 0.04% or more by
weight of alcohol in the blood or while under the influence of drugs. The
provisions of 29-A MRSA section2523 apply.
F. Notice of Suspension. The notice of
suspension by the Secretary of State shall be made as follows:
1 Upon receipt of the information required in
Section 3(C) of these rules, the Secretary of State shall make the
determination described in Section 3(A)(2). If the Secretary of State
determines that the person is subject to license suspension, the Secretary of
State shall immediately issue a notice of suspension.
2 The notice of suspension must be sent in
accordance with 29-A MRSA Section2482 or to the address provided in the report
of the law enforcement officer if that address differs from the address of
record. The notice is deemed received 3 days after mailing, unless returned by
postal authorities.
3 The notice of
suspension must clearly specify the reason and statutory grounds for the
suspension, the effective date of the suspension, the right of the person to
request a hearing, the procedure for requesting a hearing and the date by which
the request for a hearing must be made. The notice of suspension must also
clearly state that a copy of the report of the law enforcement officer and the
blood-alcohol test certificate will be provided to the person upon request to
the Secretary of State.
G. Effective date and period of suspension.
The effective date and period of suspension are determined as follows.
1 Any suspension imposed must be effective on
a specified date not less than 10 days after the mailing of the notification of
suspension by the Secretary of State. A suspension served in hand may become
effective when served. If a person whose license is suspended desires to have a
hearing, the person shall notify the Secretary of State, in writing, within 10
days from the effective date of suspension. If within ten days from the
effective date of the suspension, the Secretary of State receives a written
request for a hearing for a suspension issued pursuant to section 3(A)(2), the
suspension must be stayed until a hearing is held and a decision is issued.
Notwithstanding this subsection, there may be no stay of suspension during the
period of any delay in hearing which is caused or requested by the
petitioner.
2 When a person's
commercial driver's license is suspended pursuant to these rules and is also
suspended after having been adjudicated or convicted on charges arising out of
the same occurrence for a violation of 29-A MRSA Section 2411 or 15 MRSA
section 3103(l)(F), the period of time that person's commercial driver's
license has been suspended under this section prior to the adjudication or
conviction must be deducted from the period of time of any suspension of the
commercial driver's license ordered by the court or imposed by the Secretary of
State.
H. Request for
hearing. A person who has received notice of suspension issued pursuant to
Section 3(A)(2) may request a hearing as follows.
1 A person who has received a notice of
suspension may make a written request for a review of the determination of the
Secretary of State at a hearing.
2
The request for a hearing must be made within 10 days from the effective date
of the suspension. If a written request for a hearing is made after the 10-day
period and the Secretary of State finds that the person was unable to make a
timely request due to lack of actual notice of the suspension or due to factors
of physical incapacity, the Secretary of State shall waive the period of
limitation, reopen the matter and grant the hearing request, except, in such a
case, a stay of suspension pending the hearing shall not be granted.
I. Hearing. The hearing and notice
shall be as follows.
1 The hearing and notice
shall be as provided in 29-A MRSA Sections2483, 2484, and 2485.
2 The scope of the hearing shall include
whether, by a preponderance of the evidence:
a
There was probable cause to believe that the person was operating a commercial
motor vehicle while having 0.04% or more by weight of alcohol in the
blood;
b The person operated a
commercial motor vehicle; and
c At
the time the person had 0.04% or more by weight of alcohol in the
blood.
3 A certificate
duly signed and sworn to pursuant to 29-A MRSA Section2431 shall be admissible
in evidence as prima facie proof of facts stated therein and that the person
taking a specimen of blood, breath or urine was authorized by 29-A MRSA
Section2431, that the equipment, chemicals and other materials used in the
taking of the blood or urine specimen or breath sample were of a quality
appropriate for the purpose of producing reliable test results, that any
equipment, chemicals or materials required by 29-A MRSA Section2431, to be
approved by the Department of Health and Human Services were in fact approved,
that the sample tested by the person certified under 29-A MRSA Section2431, was
in fact the same sample taken and that the percentage by weight of alcohol in
the blood was, at the time the blood, breath or urine sample was taken, as
stated in the certificate.
4 If it
is determined after hearing that there was not the requisite probable cause for
blood-alcohol test administration or that the person did not operate a
commercial motor vehicle while having 0.04% or more by weight of alcohol in the
blood, the suspension shall be removed immediately and the Secretary of State
shall delete any record of the suspension.
5 Any person whose license is suspended under
this section on the basis of blood-alcohol test may, within 30 days after
receipt of the decision, appeal to the Superior Court for judicial review, as
provided in Title 5, sections 11001 to 11008. The suspension imposed shall
remain in effect during the time an appeal is pending unless the court orders
otherwise. If the court rescinds the suspension, the Secretary of State shall
delete any record of the suspension.
J. Restoration of commercial driver's
license. Following the expiration of the aggregate periods of suspension
imposed pursuant to these rules, otherwise imposed by the Secretary of State,
or ordered by any court, the Secretary of State may issue a commercial driver's
license to the person, subject to the conditions, restrictions or terms the
Secretary of State deems advisable, if the Secretary of State has received
written notice that the person has satisfactorily completed the alcohol and
other drug education, evaluation and treatment program administered by the
Department of Health and Human Services.
