Grant will help monitor DWI cases' ignition interlock

Gov. David A. Paterson on Friday announced a $3-million grant to help counties implement a new state law requiring convicted drunken drivers to have ignition interlock devices installed in their cars.

The devices - required by Leandra's Law, passed last fall after an 11-year-old girl was killed in an accident caused by an alleged drunken driver - check a driver's blood-alcohol levels before he or she can turn on the ignition.

Drivers must pay for the devices, but counties have to pay to monitor data from the devices and enforce violations.

New York's 62 counties will be eligible to receive $110 for each drunken driving case, said Janine Kava, a spokeswoman for the state Division of Criminal Justice Services. While Kava had no breakdown of the amount each county would receive, roughly 25,000 people are convicted each year of drunken driving offenses in New York State.

If that rate were to stay the same, the state's grant should last a year or slightly longer, Kava said. Nassau had 3,220 drunken driving convictions in 2009, and there were 4,224 in Suffolk.

"The counties perform the important role of monitoring these individuals and I am pleased that they will be receiving these funds to aid them in their efforts," Paterson said in a news release.

Earlier this year, Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy said he supported the law but accused the state of leaving its costs "at the doorstep of the county."

On Friday, Levy spokesman Dan Aug said the county executive had added four positions to the probation department in his 2011 budget, as well as $175,000 for a contract agency to monitor the data.

"It's nice to know that there's some money coming down to help us with this very significant new mandate, but we're going to reserve judgment on whether this is sufficient until we know how much we're going to get in Suffolk County," Aug said.

Nassau officials have estimated the cost of the program at about $43,000 this year and $155,000 in 2011, saying they expected to get state grant money to cover the costs. A spokesman for County Executive Edward Mangano did not respond to requests for comment Friday.