Relating to the operation of a motor vehicle in a school crossing zone while intoxicated; increasing a criminal penalty.

Contracts

• Employment Agreements: Revise "Termination for Cause" clauses to explicitly include "arrest for a felony involving a motor vehicle" to bypass standard severance or warning procedures.
• Vendor MSAs: Update Master Service Agreements to require subcontractors to certify that none of their deployed drivers have pending felony motor vehicle charges or convictions.

Hiring/Training

• Driver Training: Update safety modules to explicitly communicate that school zone violations now carry a statutory punishment of 180 days to 2 years in state jail.
• Vetting: Enhance pre-employment background checks. A candidate with a prior misdemeanor DWI is now a significantly higher risk; a second offense in a school zone could trigger felony liability for the employer.

Reporting & Record-Keeping

• Telematics Retention: Configure GPS/telematics systems to retain granular location and timestamp data indefinitely. In the event of an arrest, this data is the primary defense to prove a driver was outside the "active" school zone window or that the zone was not active at the time of transit.
• Policy Acknowledgments: Secure signed acknowledgments from all drivers regarding the new law by Q3 2025.

Fees & Costs

• Insurance Premiums: Anticipate immediate commercial auto insurance premium spikes or policy cancellation if a driver is charged with a State Jail Felony.
• Legal Defense: Budget for increased legal defense retainers; defending a felony charge is significantly more expensive than a traffic misdemeanor.