The seizure law, which had been approved in 1999, allowed the county to seize vehicles of those individuals arrested for drunk driving.

The original law was thrown out by the state appellate court when it was deemed unconstitutional because it was too vague and did not give those arrested sufficient notice of what offending conduct would result in the loss of their car.

The new amendments to the law will provide each driver, whose vehicle is to be retained by the county, with a prompt hearing before a neutral hearing officer. In cases where there has been no prior offense, the vehicle will not be retained pending the outcome of a forfeiture proceeding. If a driver has a prior conviction for an alcohol-related offense, the vehicle can be retained.

If an owner has been convicted and the car has been seized, that owner also has the right to petition the court for a “hardship” exemption. The law also contains an “innocent owner” provision that provides a defense to owners who were not the operators of the vehicle.

“If you are driving drunk tonight in Nassau County, New York your car will be suspect to forfeiture,” said Jacobs. “The principal goal of the legislation was always to deter drivers from driving drunk or impaired and with these new amendments we can continue towards that goal.”