Upstate New York County Officials Question Implementation of Leandra’s Law
As of August 15, 2010, any and all motorists who are convicted of a misdemeanor DWI charge — even first time offenders — will be required to install an ignition interlock device on their vehicle. The ignition interlock device would force such a person to essentially pass a breathalyzer test every 10 minutes or so or risk an automated shut-down of his or her vehicle. It appears that at that point the device would generate an electronic report to the government, which would have to be reviewed by a person to determine what the next step must be in terms of reporting the matter to the court and to the sentencing judge. As reported in the Chenango Evening Sun, Chenango County believes that this review of the paperwork associated with the device will extremely time consuming and will stretch the county’s tight budget. The article in the Sun notes that some are calling the imposition of the device requirement an “unfunded mandate.” It remains to be seen whether New York City will experience a similar budget crunch when it comes to monitoring the device on a much larger scale.