Reinstatement of license

302.540. Reinstatement of license — completion of substance abuse traffic offender program a condition — individual assessment, judicial review — fees and cost, distribution of — treatment demonstration project may be created. — 1. No person who has had a license to operate a motor vehicle suspended or revoked under the provisions of sections 302.500 to 302.540 shall have that license reinstated until such person has participated in and successfully completed a substance abuse traffic offender program defined in section 302.010, or a program determined to be comparable by the department of mental health. Assignment recommendations, based upon the needs assessment as described in subdivision (24) of section 302.010, shall be delivered in writing to the person with written notice that the person is entitled to have such assignment recommendations reviewed by the court if the person objects to the recommendations. The person may file a motion in the associate division of the circuit court of the county in which such assignment was given, on a printed form provided by the state courts administrator, to have the court hear and determine such motion pursuant to the provisions of chapter 517. The motion shall name the person or entity making the needs assessment as the respondent and a copy of the motion shall be served upon the respondent in any manner allowed by law. Upon hearing the motion, the court may modify or waive any assignment recommendation that the court determines to be unwarranted based upon a review of the needs assessment, the person's driving record, the circumstances surrounding the offense, and the likelihood of the person committing a like offense in the future, except that the court may modify but may not waive the assignment to an education or rehabilitation program of a person determined to be a prior or persistent offender as defined in section 577.001 or of a person determined to have operated a motor vehicle with fifteen-hundredths of one percent or more by weight in such person's blood. Compliance with the court determination of the motion shall satisfy the provisions of this section for the purpose of reinstating such person's license to operate a motor vehicle. The respondent's personal appearance at any hearing conducted pursuant to this subsection shall not be necessary unless directed by the court.

2. The fees for the program authorized in subsection 1 of this section, or a portion thereof to be determined by the division of alcohol and drug abuse of the department of mental health, shall be paid by the person enrolled in the program. Any person who is enrolled in the program shall pay, in addition to any fee charged for the program, a supplemental fee to be determined by the department of mental health for the purposes of funding the substance abuse traffic offender program defined in section 302.010 or a program determined to be comparable by the department of mental health. The administrator of the program shall remit to the division of alcohol and drug abuse of the department of mental health on or before the fifteenth day of each month the supplemental fee for all persons enrolled in the program, less two percent for administrative costs. Interest shall be charged on any unpaid balance of the supplemental fees due the division of alcohol and drug abuse pursuant to this section and shall accrue at a rate not to exceed the annual rate established pursuant to the provision of section 32.065 plus three percentage points. The supplemental fees and any interest received by the department of mental health pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the mental health earnings fund which is created in section 630.053.

3. Any administrator who fails to remit to the division of alcohol and drug abuse of the department of mental health the supplemental fees and interest for all persons enrolled in the program pursuant to this section shall be subject to a penalty equal to the amount of interest accrued on the supplemental fees due the division pursuant to this section. If the supplemental fees, interest, and penalties are not remitted to the division of alcohol and drug abuse of the department of mental health within six months of the due date, the attorney general of the state of Missouri shall initiate appropriate action of the collection of said fees and interest accrued. The court shall assess attorney fees and court costs against any delinquent program.

4. Court-ordered participation in a substance abuse traffic offender program, pursuant to section 302.580, shall satisfy the requirements of this section if the court action arose out of the same occurrence that resulted in a person's license being administratively suspended or revoked.

5. The division of alcohol and drug abuse of the department of mental health may create a treatment demonstration project within existing appropriations and shall develop and certify a program to provide education or rehabilitation services for individuals determined by the division to be serious or repeat offenders. The program shall qualify as a substance abuse traffic offender program. As used in this subsection, a "serious or repeat offender" is one who was determined to have a blood alcohol content of fifteen-hundredths of one percent or more by weight while operating a motor vehicle or a prior or persistent offender as defined in section 577.001.