Sec. 2. (a) The state may seek to have a person sentenced as a habitual vehicular substance offender for any vehicular substance offense by alleging, on a page separate from the rest of the charging instrument, that the person has accumulated two (2) or three (3) prior unrelated vehicular substance offense convictions. If the state alleges only two (2) prior unrelated vehicular substance offense convictions, the allegation must include that at least one (1) of the prior unrelated vehicular substance offense convictions occurred within the ten (10) years before the date of the current offense.

     (b) For purposes of subsection (a), a person has accumulated two (2) or three (3) prior unrelated vehicular substance offense convictions only if:

(1) the second prior unrelated vehicular substance offense conviction was committed after commission of and sentencing for the first prior unrelated vehicular substance offense conviction;

(2) the offense for which the state seeks to have the person sentenced as a habitual vehicular substance offender was committed after commission of and sentencing for the second prior unrelated vehicular substance offense conviction; and

(3) for a conviction requiring proof of three (3) prior unrelated vehicular substance offense felonies, the third prior unrelated vehicular substance offense conviction was committed after commission of and sentencing for the second prior unrelated vehicular substance offense conviction.

However, a conviction does not count for purposes of subsection (a) if it has been set aside or it is a conviction for which the person has been pardoned.

     (c) A person is a habitual vehicular substance offender if the jury (if the hearing is by jury) or the court (if the hearing is to the court alone) finds that the state has proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the person has accumulated three (3) or more prior unrelated vehicular substance offense convictions at any time, or two (2) prior unrelated vehicular substance offense convictions, with at least one (1) of the prior unrelated vehicular substance offense convictions occurring within ten (10) years of the date of the occurrence of the current offense.

     (d) The court shall sentence a person found to be a habitual vehicular substance offender to an additional fixed term of at least one (1) year but not more than eight (8) years of imprisonment, to be added to the term of imprisonment imposed under IC 35-50-2 or IC 35-50-3.

     (e) Charges filed under this section must be filed in a circuit court or superior court.

As added by P.L.217-2014, SEC.153. Amended by P.L.188-2015, SEC.121.