CANTON -- St. Lawrence County legislators have signed off on an agreement to once again participate in the STOP-DWI program, taking steps to approve the county's 2024 plan.

Legislators approved a resolution during the services committee meeting Jan. 22 to approve the county plan to be sent to the New York State Governor's Traffic Safety Committee.

The STOP-DWI Plan was requested by the Governor's Traffic Safety Committee for a time period of Jan. 1, 2024 through Dec. 31, 2024.

Legislators previously approved the program budget during the Dec. 4 full board meeting.

STOP-DWI stands for “Special Traffic Options Program for Driving While Intoxicated.” The STOP-DWI program was created by empowering counties to coordinate local efforts to reduce alcohol and other drug-related traffic crashes within the context of a comprehensive and financially self-sustaining statewide alcohol and highway safety program, according to state officials.

The STOP-DWI legislation permits each of the State’s 62 counties to establish a county STOP-DWI program which, in turn, will qualify the county for the return of all DWI fines collected for alcohol and other drug-related traffic offenses occurring within its jurisdiction. The “local option” concept set forth by the Legislature merely requires that the programs address alcohol and highway safety issues and be non-duplicative of related ongoing efforts. All 62 counties have opted to participate (with the five boroughs of New York City combining efforts into one program) under the auspices of 58 programs. Each county appoints a STOP-DWI coordinator whose duties include the development of a program, the coordination of efforts by agencies involved in alcohol and highway safety, and the submission of fiscal and program data to the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles.

Although the development and implementation of STOP-DWI programs rests with the counties, the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles is charged with the task of approving the county plans prior to the expenditure of STOP-DWI monies.

Funds from the program can be used to fund specially trained police units dedicated to DWI enforcement, hire special prosecutors and probation officers to handle the caseload, monitoring ignition interlock, support rehabilitation services, and develop public information and education campaigns tailored to the communities within the region.