California Administrative Per Se- Facts

Fiscal Year 2003/2004

Prepared by DMV Research and Development Branch 10/20/04

Key Findings for FY 2003/04

• The number of APS actions initiated in FY 05/06 increased 6.7% over that of FY 04/05.   The net actions taken (after removing set aside, or vacated, actions) also increased in all types of APS actions except those involving commercial drivers for which there was a decrease of 17.1% in the net number of commercial drivers receiving APS actions in FY 05/06.   
• The number of suspension actions initiated for young drivers (under age 21) pursuant to the state’s “zero tolerance law” (BAC ≥ .01%) increased 9.6% to an all time high of 22,326 such actions initiated in FY 05/06.  The zero-tolerance-action set-aside rate of 6.13% in FY 05/06 reflects a decrease of 7.4% from the prior year and the rate continues to be lower than the 9.61% set-aside rate of actions initiated for drivers over age 21.
• The overall set aside rate of 9.22% for .08 and .01 actions combined reflects a decrease of 6.2% in FY 05/06 from the FY 04/05 rate of 9.83%.  Still, the FY 05/06 set-aside rate is more than double the initial 3.7% set-aside rate for FY 90/91 when the law was introduced.
• For the tenth consecutive year, the number of APS orders of suspension mailed by the department (in place of, or in addition to, those issued “on the spot” by law enforcement) increased (up 23.5%) over the previous year, and now constitutes an all time high of 27.3% of all orders issued.  APS orders of suspension are mailed by the department when corrections are made to the original order or when there is no record that an order was issued when it should have been. 
• The department discontinued issuing the 90-day APS restricted licenses that allowed only driving to and from an alcohol treatment program to restriction-qualifying first offenders as of September 20, 2005 and now issues only the longer 5-month restriction that additionally allows driving to, from, and during the course of employment.  This resulted in a 93.8% decrease in the number of 90-day restrictions issued and a 32.4% increase in the number of 5-month restrictions issued in FY 05/06.
• The percentage of APS actions resulting in scheduled hearings decreased 10.2% in FY 05/06, yet the percentage of total APS actions resulting in a hearing still remains over one quarter (25.3%) of all APS actions initiated. 
• With one exception, the percent of actions sustained following a hearing increased in FY 05/06 for all types of actions.  The single exception was a less than one percent (0.7% drop) decrease in sustained cases following .01 refusal action hearings.  Given the continuing reduction in set asides following hearings, the overall, albeit, small increase in set asides (up only 0.1%) is explained by this increase in .01 action set-asides, and increases in actions set aside following administrative review. 
• The category of “Driver Safety/Driver Investigation” reviews decreased 5.8% in FY 05/06.  Of actions reviewed in a Driver Safety/Driver Investigation, 38.2% were sustained, a decrease of 23.6% over the FY 04/05 rate. 
• The BAC-test refusal rate dropped to 5.16% (down 5.1%) in FY 05/06, which compares favorably to the 7.74% refusal rate in FY 90/91, the first year that the implied consent suspension/revocation lengths were increased to their current lengths. 
• In FY 05/06, repeat offenders constituted 27.8% of all .08 APS offenders, an increase of 7.7% from the prior year’s rate.  The total number of repeat .08 offenders increased 15.4% in FY 05/06 over the prior year’s total repeat .08 offenders.  These increases were expected given the increased time (from 7 to 10 years beginning January 1, 2005) that must pass without another APS action or DUI conviction before an offender would be considered a first offender again.

Administrative Per Se Process Measures

	Year
	FY 04/05	FY 05/06	% change
.  Total APS actions initiated (including actions later set aside)	184,324	196,691	6.7
> Total .081 APS actions initiated	163,957	174,365	6.3
> Total .012 suspensions initiated	20,367	22,326	9.6
.  Total APS actions set aside	16,761	16,763	0.1
> Total .08 APS actions set aside	15,538	16,540	6.4
> Total .01 suspensions set aside	1,319	1,392	5.5
.  Total APS set aside rate	9.06%	9.35%	3.2
> Total .08 set aside rate	9.91%	9.73%	-1.8
> Total .01 set aside rate	6.72%	6.38%	-5.0
.  Net total APS actions taken (excluding actions later set aside)	159,532	173,910	9.0
> Net total .08 APS actions	141,217	153,490	8.7
> Net total .01 actions	18,315	20,420	11.5
.  Total APS actions taken, suspension/revocation order served by:
> Law enforcement	146,385	154,531	5.6
> DMV	30,003	37,311	24.4
> Deceased	1	0	-100.0
Net APS Actions by Offender Status/License Classification:3
.  Net total APS actions, noncommercial drivers	155,684	170,166	9.3
.  Net total commercial driver license (CDL) APS actions taken	3,848	3,744	-2.7
.  Net total actions of commercial drivers in commercial vehicles	19	15	-21.1
.  Net APS .08 actions for drivers with no prior DUI convictions or APS actions4	106,305	116,948	10.0
> 4-month license suspensions	76,277	85,392	11.9
> 30-day suspensions plus 3-month program restrictions	1,442	1,465	1.6
> 30-day suspensions plus 5-month COE5 restrictions	20,046	20,961	4.6
> First-offender chemical test refusals	5,380	6,039	12.2
> CDL first offender suspensions/restrictions	3,160	3,091	-2.2
.  Net APS .08 actions taken for drivers with prior DUI convictions	34,912	36,542	4.7
> Suspensions	31,996	33,502	4.7
> Revocations	2,916	3,040	4.3
.  Net APS .01 actions for drivers submitting to a BAC (evidential or PAS6) test	18,030	20,088	11.4
.  Net APS .01 actions for drivers refusing to submit to a BAC (evidential or PAS) test	285	332	16.5
APS Chemical Test Refusal Process Measures:
.  Total .08 and .01 APS refusal actions initiated (including actions later set aside)	9,234	10,100	9.4
.  Total .08 refusal actions set aside	627	661	5.4
.  Total .01 refusal actions set aside	26	28	7.7
.  Net total .08 and .01 APS refusal actions (excluding actions later set aside)	8,581	9,411	9.7
> Net total .08 refusal actions	8,296	9,079	9.4
> Net total .01 refusal actions	285	332	16.5
.  Chemical test refusal rate (including actions later set aside)	5.24%	5.26%	0.6
.  Net .08 APS refusal (suspension) actions for subjects with no prior DUIs	5,380	6,039	12.2
.  Net .08 APS refusal (revocation) actions for subjects with prior DUIs	2,916	3,040	4.3
Total APS Hearings:7
.  Total .08 and .01 inperson or telephone APS hearings scheduled	43,539	45,627	4.8
.  Percentage of total APS actions resulting in scheduled hearings8	24.7%	23.8%	-3.6
. Total .08 and .01 inperson or telephone APS hearings held and/or completed	42,797	45,150	5.5
.08 Hearing Activity:
> .08 hearings held and/or completed	39,073	41,062	5.1
> .08 actions sustained/upheld following hearings	33,386	35,476	6.3
.  Percentage of .08 APS actions sustained/upheld following hearings	85.4%	86.4%	1.1
.01 Hearing Activity:
> .01 hearings held and/or completed	3,724	4,088	9.8
> .01 actions sustained/upheld following hearings	3,014	3,411	13.2
.  Percentage of .01 APS actions sustained/upheld following hearings	80.9%	83.4%	3.1
APS Chemical Test Refusal Hearings:
.  Total .08 and .01 APS refusal hearings scheduled	3,084	3,113	0.9
.  Percentage of total refusal actions resulting in a scheduled hearing	33.4%	30.8%	-7.7
.08 Refusal Hearing Activity:
> .08 refusal hearings held and/or completed	2,944	3,009	2.2
> .08 refusal actions sustained/upheld following hearings	2,384	2,517	5.6
.  Percentage of .08 APS actions sustained/upheld following hearings	81.0%	83.6%	3.3
.01 Refusal Hearing Activity:
> .01 refusal hearings held and/or completed	81	78	-3.7
> .01 refusal actions sustained/upheld following hearings	64	62	-3.1
.  Percentage of .01 refusal actions sustained/upheld following hearings	79.0%	79.5%	0.6
Other APS Activity:
.  Total .08 and .01 APS dismissal hearings scheduled after meeting
renewed right to a hearing requirements	89	107	20.2
> APS dismissal hearings held and/or completed	85	103	21.2
> APS actions sustained/upheld following dismissal hearings	48	65	35.4
.  Percentage of APS actions sustained/upheld following dismissal hearings	56.5%	63.1%	11.8
.  Total .08 and .01 Driver Safety/Driver Investigations scheduled9	223	265	18.8
> APS Driver Safety/Driver Investigations held and/or completed	192	251	30.7
> Actions sustained/upheld following APS Driver Safety/Driver Investigations	49	103	110.2
.  Percent APS actions sustained/upheld following Driver Safety/Driver Investigations	25.5%	41.0%	60.8
.  Total .08 and .01 APS departmental reviews scheduled	3,272	1,465	-55.2
> APS departmental reviews held and/or completed	3,259	1,458	-55.3
> APS actions sustained/upheld following departmental review	3,186	1,390	-56.4
.  Percentage of APS actions sustained/upheld following departmental reviews	97.8%	95.3%	-2.5

¹ .08 refers to APS actions taken subsequent to obtaining evidence of a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) equal to or in excess of the .08% per se level or on the basis of a chemical test refusal. Such an action is taken in conjunction with a DUI arrest.
² .01 refers to APS suspensions taken against drivers under the age of 21 with BACs of .01% or greater or on the basis of a chemical test refusal, and are not necessarily taken in conjunction with a DUI arrest.³ All entries in this category exclude actions later set aside but, where possible, include actions taken on the basis of either a chemical test refusal or a BAC test result.
⁴ Prior DUI convictions or APS actions consist of any such conviction or action where the violation occurred within seven years prior to the current violation.
⁵ This restriction allows driving to, from, and during the course-of-employment (enacted 1/1/95).
⁶ PAS is a Preliminary Alcohol Screening test which is considered legally sufficient evidence to impose an action under the provisions of the zero tolerance laws.
⁷ These figures include refusal hearings but exclude Driver Safety/Driver Investigation hearings, subsequent APS dismissal hearings and departmental reviews.
⁸ Both numerator and denominator include those actions later set aside as a result of the hearing.
⁹ These cases may or may not have involved a hearing request.

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