(a) Except as provided in subdivision (c), any person who knowingly provides false evidence of financial responsibility (1) when requested by a peace officer pursuant to Section 16028 or (2) to the clerk of the court as permitted by subdivision (e) of Section 16028, including an expired or canceled insurance policy, bond, certificate of self-insurance, or assignment of deposit letter, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not exceeding seven hundred fifty dollars ($750) or imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding 30 days, or by both that fine and imprisonment. Upon receipt of the court’s abstract of conviction, the department shall suspend the driving privilege, effective upon the date of conviction, for a period of one year. The court shall impose an interim suspension of the person’s driving privileges pursuant to Section 13550, and shall notify the driver of the suspension pursuant to Section 13106, and all driver’s licenses in the possession of the driver shall be surrendered to the court pursuant to Section 13550. Any driver’s license surrendered to the court pursuant to this section shall be transmitted by the court, together with the required report of the conviction, to the department within 10 days of the conviction. The suspension may not be terminated until one year has elapsed from the date of the suspension and until the person files proof of financial responsibility, as provided in Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 16430) except that the suspension shall be reinstated if the person fails to maintain proof of financial responsibility for three years.

(b) However, in lieu of suspending a person’s driving privileges pursuant to subdivision (a), the court shall restrict the person’s driving privileges to driving that is required in the person’s course of employment, if driving of a motor vehicle is necessary in order to perform the duties of the person’s primary employment. The restriction shall remain in effect for the period of suspension otherwise required by subdivision (a). The court shall provide for endorsement of the restriction on the person’s driver’s license, and violation of the restriction constitutes a violation of Section 14603 and grounds for suspension or revocation of the license under Section 13360.

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(c) This section does not apply to a driver who is driving a motor vehicle owned or leased by the employer of the driver and driven in the course of the driver’s employment with the permission of the employer.

(Amended by Stats. 1999, Ch. 880, Sec. 13. Effective January 1, 2000.)