Kansas Attorney General Opinion 2014-005

January 29, 2014
ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINION NO. 2014- 05
The Honorable Scott Schwab
State Representative, 49th District
State Capitol, Room 151-S
Topeka, KS 66612
Re: 	Automobiles and Other Vehicles—Driving Under Influence of Alcohol or
Drugs; Related Provisions—Ignition Interlock Devices
Synopsis: 	When a person’s driver’s license has been restricted pursuant to K.S.A.
2013 Supp. 8-1014 to driving only with an ignition interlock device for a
specific period of time, K.S.A. 2013 Supp. 8-1015(d) requires that the
person install an ignition interlock device for the entire restriction period in
order to obtain full reinstatement of the license. 	If the person never
installs an ignition interlock device, K.S.A. 2013 Supp. 8-1015(d) requires
that the person’s license remain restricted indefinitely. 	Cited herein:
K.S.A. 2013 Supp. 8-1014 and 8-1015.
* 	* 	*
Dear Representative Schwab:
As State Representative for the 49th District, you ask for an Attorney General opinion on
ignition interlock device restriction periods. 	Your question relates to K.S.A. 2013 Supp.
8-1014, which provides that drivers who refuse to submit to tests to determine their
blood alcohol concentration, fail these tests, or incur certain alcohol or drug related
convictions shall be restricted to driving vehicles equipped with ignition interlock devices
for certain periods of time. For example, K.S.A. 2013 Supp. 8-1014(a)(1) states that the
first time an individual refuses to submit to a test, the Division of Motor Vehicles shall
“suspend the person’s driving privileges for one year and at the end of the suspension,
restrict the person’s driving privileges for two years to driving only a motor vehicle
equipped with an ignition interlock device.”

The Honorable Scott Schwab
Page 2
You ask whether an individual whose driver’s license has been restricted under this
statute may obtain full reinstatement of the license by simply not driving during the
ignition interlock restriction period, or whether the individual is actually required to install
an ignition interlock device on a vehicle. 	You give the example of a person who does
not own a vehicle and is therefore unable to install an ignition interlock device.
Standing alone, the provisions of K.S.A. 2013 Supp. 8-1014 suggest that individuals
may obtain reinstatement of their licenses by not driving during the restriction period.
But a rule of statutory interpretation requires that the various provisions of an act must
be construed as a whole, rather than as isolated parts, “with a view to reconciling and
bringing the provisions into workable harmony, if possible.” 1 And in this case, another
statutory provision, K.S.A. 2013 Supp. 8-1015(d), states that “[p]roof of the installation
of [an] ignition interlock device, for the entire period required by the applicable law, shall
be provided to the division before the person’s driving privileges are fully reinstated.”
Given the plain language of K.S.A. 2013 Supp. 8-1015(d), we opine that individuals
must install an ignition interlock device for the entire ignition interlock restriction period
in order to obtain full reinstatement of their driver’s licenses. 	If an individual never
installs an ignition interlock device, K.S.A. 2013 Supp. 8-1015(d) requires that the
individual’s license remain restricted indefinitely.
Sincerely,
Derek Schmidt
Attorney General
Dwight Carswell
Assistant Attorney General
DS:AA:DC:sb
1 See, e.g., State v. Coman, 294 Kan. 84, 93 (2012).