Connecticut 2024 Regular Session Status: In Committee 2 D cosponsors

SB 424 — AN ACT REDUCING THE BLOOD ALCOHOL LIMITS FOR IMPAIRED DRIVING AND BOATING AND STUDYING METHODS TO DETECT CANNABIS-IMPAIRED DRIVING.

Last action — FILE NO. 224

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed House
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill died with 2024 Regular Session. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.

This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there are no live odds of enactment. It would have to be reintroduced in the current session to move again.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

154 added · 27 removed

154 line(s) added, 27 removed.

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General Assembly Raised Bill No.
Senate General Assembly File No.
424 February Session, 2024 LCO No.
224 February Session, 2024 Substitute Senate Bill No.
2489 Referred to Committee on TRANSPORTATION Introduced by:
424 Senate, April 3, 2024 The Committee on Transportation reported through SEN.
(TRA) AN ACT REDUCING THE BLOOD ALCOHOL LIMITS FOR IMPAIRED DRIVING AND BOATING.
COHEN of the 12th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the Senate, that the substitute bill ought to pass.
AN ACT REDUCING THE BLOOD ALCOHOL LIMITS FOR IMPAIRED DRIVING AND BOATING AND STUDYING METHODS TO DETECT CANNABIS-IMPAIRED DRIVING.
For the purposes of this section, "elevated blood alcohol content" means a ratio of alcohol in the blood of such person that is [eight-hundredths] five- hundredths of one per cent or more of alcohol, by weight, except that if such person is operating a commercial motor vehicle, "elevated blood alcohol content" means a ratio ofalcohol inthe bloodofsuchpersonthat is four-hundredths of one per cent or more of alcohol, by weight, and LCO No.
For the purposes of this section, "elevated blood alcohol content" means a ratio of alcohol in the blood of such person that is [eight-hundredths] five- hundredths of one per cent or more of alcohol, by weight, except that if such person is operating a commercial motor vehicle, "elevated blood sSB424 / File No.
2489 1 of 7 Raised Bill No.424 "motor vehicle" includes a snowmobile and all-terrain vehicle, as those terms are defined in section 14-379.
224 1 sSB424 File No.
224 alcohol content" means a ratio ofalcohol inthe bloodofsuchpersonthat is four-hundredths of one per cent or more of alcohol, by weight, and "motor vehicle" includes a snowmobile and all-terrain vehicle, as those terms are defined in section 14-379.
Sec.
sSB424 / File No.
224 2 sSB424 File No.
224 Sec.
Subsection (a) of section 14-227m of the general statutes is repealedandthefollowingissubstitutedinlieuthereof(EffectiveJanuary LCO No.
Subsection (a) of section 14-227m of the general statutes is repealedandthefollowingissubstitutedinlieuthereof(EffectiveJanuary 2, 2025):
2489 2 of 7 Raised Bill No.424 2, 2025):
(3) For the purposes of this section, "motor vehicle specially designated for carrying children" means any motor vehicle, except for a registered school bus or student transportation vehicle as defined in section 14-212, that is designated or used by a person, firm or LCO No.
(3) For the purposes of this section, "motor vehicle specially designated for carrying children" means any motor vehicle, except for a sSB424 / File No.
2489 3 of 7 Raised Bill No.
224 3 sSB424 File No.
424 corporation for the transportation of children to or from any program or activityorganized primarily forpersonsunder theageofeighteenyears, with or without charge to the individual being transported, but doesnot include a passenger motor vehicle normally used for personal, family or household purposes that is operated by a person without a public passenger endorsement;
224 registered school bus or student transportation vehicle as defined in section 14-212, that is designated or used by a person, firm or corporation for the transportation of children to or from any program or activityorganized primarily forpersonsunder theageofeighteenyears, with or without charge to the individual being transported, but doesnot include a passenger motor vehicle normally used for personal, family or household purposes that is operated by a person without a public passenger endorsement;
Subdivision (4) of subsection (g) of section 15-140q of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective January 2, 2025):
Subdivision (4) of subsection (g) of section 15-140q of the sSB424 / File No.
LCO No.
224 4 sSB424 File No.
2489 4 of 7 Raised Bill No.
224 general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective January 2, 2025):
424 (4) At a hearing held under this subsection, the results of the test, if administered, shall be sufficient to indicate the ratio of alcohol in the blood of such person at the time of operation, except that if the results of an additional test, administered pursuant to section 15-140r, indicate thattheratioofalcoholinthebloodofsuchpersonis [eight-hundredths] five-hundredths of one per cent or less of alcohol, by weight, and is higher than the results of the first test, evidence shall be presented that demonstrates that the test results and analysis thereof accurately indicate the blood alcohol content at the time of operation.
(4) At a hearing held under this subsection, the results of the test, if administered, shall be sufficient to indicate the ratio of alcohol in the blood of such person at the time of operation, except that if the results of an additional test, administered pursuant to section 15-140r, indicate thattheratioofalcoholinthebloodofsuchpersonis [eight-hundredths] five-hundredths of one per cent or less of alcohol, by weight, and is higher than the results of the first test, evidence shall be presented that demonstrates that the test results and analysis thereof accurately indicate the blood alcohol content at the time of operation.
No individual health insurance policy providing coverage of the type specified in subdivisions (1), (2), (4), (11) and (12) of section 38a-469 delivered, issued for delivery, amended, renewed or continued in this state shall deny coverage for health care services rendered to treat any injury sustained by any person when such injury is alleged to have occurred or occurs under circumstances in which (1) such person has an elevated blood alcohol content, or (2) such person has sustained such injury while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug or both.
No individual health insurance policy providing coverage of the type specified in subdivisions (1), (2), (4), (11) and (12) of section 38a-469 delivered, issued for delivery, amended, renewed or continued in this state shall deny coverage for health care services rendered to treat any injury sustained by any person when such injury is alleged to have occurred or occurs under circumstances in which (1) such person has an elevated blood alcohol content, or (2) such person has sustained such injury while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug or sSB424 / File No.
For the purposes of this section, "elevated blood alcohol content" means a ratio of alcohol in the blood of such person that is [eight- LCO No.
224 5 sSB424 File No.
2489 5 of 7 Raised Bill No.
224 both.
424 hundredths] five-hundredths of one per cent or more of alcohol, by weight.
For the purposes of this section, "elevated blood alcohol content" means a ratio of alcohol in the blood of such person that is [eight- hundredths] five-hundredths of one per cent or more of alcohol, by weight.
Sec.10.(NEW)(Effectivefrompassage)(a)Asusedinthissection,"drug recognition expert" has the same meaning as provided in section 7- 294kk of the general statutes and "cannabis" has the same meaning as provided in section 21a-420 of the general statutes.
(b) Not later than January 1, 2025, and annually thereafter, the Commissioners of Emergency Services and Public Protection and Transportation shall jointly submit a report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public safety and security and transportation.
Such report shall, at a minimum:
(1) note the current number of police officers accredited as drug recognition experts in the state, (2) make recommendations for increasing access to drug recognition expert training for police officers, (3) identify any improvements or technological advancements with regard to roadside screening tests sSB424 / File No.
224 6 sSB424 File No.
224 used to detect instances of impaired driving from the use of cannabis, including the use of oral fluid drug testing, and (4) make recommendations for implementing any such tests or other strategies and procedures to reliably and validly detect instances of impaired driving from the use of cannabis.
3 January 2, 2025 14-227m(a) January 2, 2025 Sec.
3 January 2, 2025 14-227m(a) Sec.
4 14-227n(a) Sec.
4 January 2, 2025 14-227n(a) Sec.
9 January 2, 2025 38a-525c Statement of Purpose:
9 January 2, 2025 38a-525c Sec.
To lower the blood alcohol content for driving and boating under the influence from eight-hundredths to five-hundredths of one per cent of alcohol, by weight.
10 from passage New section TRA Joint Favorable Subst.
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.] LCO No.
sSB424 / File No.
2489 6 of 7 Raised Bill No.
224 7 sSB424 File No.
424 LCO No.
224 The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose.
2489 7 of 7
In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional knowledge.
Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.
OFA Fiscal Note State Impact:
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Latest
Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 25 $ FY 26 $ Judicial Dept.
(Probation);
GF - Potential Minimal Minimal Correction, Dept.
Cost Resources of the General Fund GF - Potential Minimal Minimal Revenue Gain Mental Health & Addiction Other Fund - See Below See Below Serv., Dept.
Potential Note:
GF=General Fund Municipal Impact:
Municipalities Effect FY 25 $ FY 26 $ Various Municipalities Potential See Below See Below Revenue Gain Explanation The bill, which reduces the blood alcohol limits for impaired driving and boating, results in a potential cost to the Department of Correction and the Judicial Department for incarceration or probation and a potential revenue gain from fines.
On average, the marginal cost to the state for incarcerating an offender for the year is $3,300 while the 1 average marginal cost for supervision in the community is less than 1Inmate marginal cost is based on increased consumables (e.g., food, clothing, water, sewage, living supplies, etc.).
This does not include a change in staffing costs or utility expenses because these would only be realized if a unit or facility opened.
sSB424 / File No.
224 8 sSB424 File No.
224 $800 each year for adults and $1,000 each year for juveniles.
In FY 23, $756,731 was collected in fines for various impaired driving violations.
The bill also necessitates state and local law enforcement agencies to update their policies and training curriculums, but this is not anticipated to result in a fiscal impact.
To the extent the bill increases pretrial impaired driver intervention program referrals and participation, the non-appropriated Pre-Trial account under the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) could experience both increased program fee revenue as well as increased costs for participants for whom program fees are waived.
For context, the evaluation fee is $150 per person and the alcohol education component program fee is $400.
Section 10 of the bill requires the Commissioners of Emergency Services and Public Protection and Transportation to report annually on issues related to drug recognition experts and roadside cannabis testing efforts, which does not result in a fiscal impact because this is within the expertise of both departments.
The Out Years The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would continue into the future subject to the number of violations.
2Probation marginal cost is based on services provided by private providers and only includes costs that increase with each additional participant.
This does not include a cost for additional supervision by a probation officer unless a new offense is anticipated to result in enough additional offenders to require additional probation officers.
sSB424 / File No.
224 9 sSB424 File No.
224 OLR Bill Analysis sSB 424 AN ACT REDUCING THE BLOOD ALCOHOL LIMITS FOR IMPAIRED DRIVING AND BOATING AND STUDYING METHODS TO DETECT CANNABIS-IMPAIRED DRIVING.
SUMMARY This bill lowers the general blood alcohol content (BAC) per se limit for impaireddriving andboating from0.08% to 0.05%.
Thislimit applies to both (1) criminal driving under the influence (DUI) and impaired boating statutes and (2) administrative license suspension for DUI (referred to as “administrative per se”) and impaired boating.
By law, people who drive a motor vehicle or operate a boat while their BAC equals or exceeds the per se limit are considered to be driving or boating with an “elevated BAC,” which is illegal in and of itself, regardless of a person’s impairment.
The general per se limit applies in most cases, but a lower limit applies to people who are (1) driving a commercial vehicle (0.04%) or (2) driving or operating a boat under age (0.02%).
The bill also requires the departments of transportation and emergency services and public protection to jointly report annually to the Transportation and Public Safety committees on drug recognition experts (DRE) and cannabis impairment testing, starting by January 1, 2025.
At a minimum, the report must include the following information:
1.
the current number of police officers accredited as DREs in the state;
2.
improvements or technological advancements related to roadside screening for detecting cannabis-impaired drivers, including oral fluid testing;
3.
recommendations to (a) increase police officers’ access to DRE sSB424 / File No.
224 10 sSB424 File No.
224 training and (b) implement any tests, strategies, or procedures to reliably and validly identify instances of impaired driving from cannabis use.
Lastly, the bill makes technical and conforming changes, including updating BAC references in the insurance statutes.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
January 2, 2025 BACKGROUND Related Bill sSB423, favorably reportedbytheTransportationCommittee, creates a non-criminal violation for “driving while ability impaired” (i.e., driving with a BAC of at least 0.05% but less than 0.08%), imposes penalties, and requires violators to take an impaired drivers’ retraining program.
It also establishes an identical reporting requirement.
COMMITTEE ACTION Transportation Committee Joint Favorable Substitute Yea 19 Nay 17 (03/18/2024) sSB424 / File No.
224 11
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Action History

  1. FILE NO. 224

  2. SENATE CALENDAR NUMBER 170

  3. FAV. RPT., TAB. FOR CAL., SEN.

  4. RPTD. OUT OF LCO

  5. REFERRED TO Office of Legislative Research AND Office of Fiscal Analysis 04/02/24

  6. FILED WITH LCO

  7. Joint Favorable Substitute

  8. PUBLIC HEARING 0313

  9. REF. TO JOINT COMM. ON Transportation

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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3 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 184 not signed on

Sponsors (3)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (184)

184 members have not signed on to this bill.

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"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

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Frequently asked questions

Who sponsors SB 424?
SB 424 is sponsored by Rick Lopes (Democratic), Eleni Kavros DeGraw (Democratic), and William Heffernan.
What is the current status of SB 424?
This bill died with 2024 Regular Session. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.
Where can I track SB 424?
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