FONDA - Convicted drunken drivers will now have to pay to have ignition interlock devices in their vehicles for at least six months.
The provision of Leandra's Law took effect Aug. 15 despite appeals by several county governments across the state asking for delayed implementation.
An ignition interlock is a breathalyzer device connected to the steering wheel that requires the driver to blow into it at the start of the engine and periodically throughout the drive.
Leandra's Law, two-fold legislation introduced by the state Assembly in November 2009 and implemented in December 2009, set stiffer penalties on drunken drivers who drive with passengers age 15 or younger.
The legislation increased the charge to felony aggravated driving while intoxicated automatically if a child is in a drunken driver's car.
The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors passed a measure Tuesday that adopted a county plan to implement the latest unfunded mandate passed down by the state.
Initially, officials feared that counties would be forced to absorb the cost of the devices for indigent offenders. Each judge individually decides whether someone is unable to afford the device, which costs as much as $100 to install, with a $100 monthly payment, and $100 for removal.
For a minimum 6-month probation, that's an $800 cost.
But the state predicts about 10 percent of offenders will be deemed indigent and the several manufacturers available have agreed to absorb the cost for indigent offenders.
County Probation Director Lucille Sitterly said that though the county won't be responsible for the cost of the devices, it will add additional burdens to her staff of three probation officers who handle cases involving driving while intoxicated charges.
The county employs eight total probation officers.
Sitterly said the officers already use overtime frequently.
"It's another unfunded mandate," she said. "The state passes a law and it gets passed down to probation to do this [yet] we get no extra money to hire staff, and that's the cost to the county."
Sitterly said convicted drunken drivers will have their choice of a list of manufacturers in the state.
She said the devices are classified on a scale of one to three, three having the most monitoring capability.
A class 3 instrument is equipped with a camera and GPS device, all of which must be monitored by a probation officer.
The class of instrument chosen for an individual depends on the sentencing, but then the individual picks the vendor. Offenders here would then have to travel to Albany or Schenectady to have the device installed by the manufacturer.
The Fulton County Board of Supervisors has not yet voted on a plan to implement the legislation, but it will be hearing from the man who helped craft the legislation at its Public Safety Committee meeting in September.
Fulton County Administrative Officer Jon Stead said Friday that Robert Maccarone, the director of the state Office of Probation and Correctional Alternatives, will be there to answer questions.
Stead said Maccarone is considered the state's expert on the ignition interlock plan.
Stead said Fulton County officials are not thrilled by having to budget for another burdensome unfunded mandate.
"There are definitely going to be additional resources needed for hours that will be spent monitoring the offenders under this mandate," Stead said.
A list of six approved device manufacturers in the state appears on the New York State Defenders Association's website at www.nysda.org.
Nobody answered the phone at the Hamilton County Probation Department, but county officials did pass a plan to implement the legislation.
Amanda Whistle covers Montgomery County news. She can be reached at montco@leaderherald.com.