                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

PARTICIPATION IN REHABILITATION PROGRAM (§ 29.1-738.5)

A. Any person convicted of a violation of subsection B of &#xA7; 29.1-738, or
any ordinance of a county, city or town similar to the provisions thereof, or
any second offense thereunder, shall, with leave of court or upon court order,
enter into an alcohol safety action program certified by the Commission on the
Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program (VASAP) in the judicial district in which
the charge is brought or in any other judicial district upon such terms and
conditions as the court may set forth. In the determination of the eligibility
of such person to enter a program, the court shall consider his prior record of
participation in any other rehabilitation program. Suspension of the penalties
imposed pursuant to &#xA7; 29.1-738.4 shall be conditioned upon successful
completion of such a program.

B. The court shall require the person entering such program under the provisions
of subsection A to pay a fee of no less than $250 but no more than $300. A
reasonable portion of such fee, as may be determined by the Commission on VASAP,
but not to exceed ten percent, shall be forwarded quarterly to be deposited with
the State Treasurer for expenditure by the Commission on VASAP, and the balance
shall be held in a separate fund for local administration of alcohol
rehabilitation programs. Upon a finding that the defendant is indigent, the
court may reduce or waive the fee. In addition to the costs of the proceeding,
fees as may reasonably be required of defendants referred for extended treatment
under such program may be charged.

C. Upon such conviction, the court shall impose the sentence authorized. Upon a
finding that a person so convicted is eligible for participation in an alcohol
rehabilitation program, the court shall enter the conviction on the warrant, and
shall note that the person so convicted has been referred to a program. If the
court finds that a person is not eligible for a program or subsequently that the
person has violated, without good cause, any of the conditions set forth by the
court in entering the program, the court shall dispose of the case as if no
program had been entered. Appeals from any such disposition shall be allowed as
provided by law.
			The court shall have jurisdiction over any person entering a program under
the provisions of this section until such time as the case has been disposed of
by either successful completion of the program, or final imposition of sentence
upon ineligibility or violation of a condition imposed by the court, whichever
occurs first.

D. The Commission on VASAP shall establish standards and criteria for the
implementation and operation of water safety alcohol rehabilitation programs.
The Commission on VASAP shall also establish criteria for the modalities of
administration of such programs, as well as public information, accounting
procedures and allocation of funds.

HISTORY: 1989, c. 726.