Section 40-5-70. Suspension of drivers' licenses for failure to show proof of required minimum insurance; hearings; mandatory suspension.

   (a) In addition to any other punishment, the driver's license of a person convicted under subsection (a), (b), or (c) of Code Section 40-6-10 shall be suspended for a period of 60 days. The person shall submit the driver's license to the court upon conviction, and the court shall forward the driver's license to the department. After the 60 day suspension period and when the person provides proof of having prepaid a six-month minimum insurance policy and pays a restoration fee of $210.00 or $200.00 when processed by mail to the department, the suspension shall terminate and the department shall return the person's driver's license to such person. For a second or subsequent offense within a five-year period, the suspension period shall be increased to 90 days, and, in addition to the driver's license, such person's license tag and tag registration shall also be suspended for a period of 90 days. The restoration fee for a second or subsequent offense within a five-year period shall be $310.00 or $300.00 if paid by mail. The procedures for submission of drivers' licenses to the court and the forwarding of such licenses to the department shall also apply to license tags and tag registrations.

(b) A hearing of contempt of court shall be scheduled for any person refusing to deliver his motor vehicle driver's license and, where applicable, motor vehicle license tag and tag registration to the court after a conviction under subsection (a), (b), or (c) of Code Section 40-6-10 and a warrant shall issue for the arrest of such person.

(c) For the purposes of mandatory suspension of a driver's license for a first violation of subsection (a), (b), or (c) of Code Section 40-6-10, a forfeiture of bail or collateral used to seek a defendant's appearance in court, the payment of a fine, a plea of guilty, or a finding of guilty shall be considered a conviction regardless of whether the sentence is suspended, probated, rebated, or revoked. A plea of nolo contendere shall not be considered a conviction under this subsection, but a record of the disposition of the case shall be forwarded by the court to the department for the purposes of counting the plea of nolo contendere as a conviction under subsection (d) of this Code section.

(d) For the purposes of mandatory suspension of a driver's license, license tag, and tag registration for a second or subsequent violation within a five-year period, as measured from the dates of previous arrests for which convictions were obtained to the date of the current arrest for which a conviction was obtained, of subsection (a), (b), or (c) of Code Section 40-6-10, a forfeiture of bail or collateral used to seek a defendant's appearance in court, the payment of a fine, a plea of guilty, a plea of nolo contendere, a plea of nolo contendere to a previous violation of subsection (a), (b), or (c) of Code Section 40-6-10, or a finding of guilty shall be considered a conviction regardless of whether the sentence is suspended, probated, rebated, or revoked.

Code 1981, § 40-5-70, enacted by Ga. L. 1990, p. 2048, § 4; Ga. L. 1992, p. 6, § 40; Ga. L. 1992, p. 779, § 23; Ga. L. 2009, p. 679, § 6/HB 160.