[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4159 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4159

  To amend title 23, United States Code, to research and prevent drug 
                           impaired driving.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 2, 2004

   Mr. Portman (for himself, Mr. Levin, Mr. Porter, Mr. Souder, Mr. 
 Costello, Mr. LaTourette, Mr. Ramstad, and Mr. Hobson) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation 
and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, 
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 
                        the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title 23, United States Code, to research and prevent drug 
                           impaired driving.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Drug Impaired Driving Research and 
Prevention Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) driving under the influence of, or after having used, 
        illegal drugs has become a significant problem worldwide;
            (2) in 2002, over 35,000,000 persons in the United States 
        aged 12 or older had used illegal drugs in the past year and 
        almost 11,000,000 of these persons (5 percent of the total 
        population of the United States aged 12 or older and 31 percent 
        of past year illicit drug users) had driven under the influence 
        of, or after having used, illegal drugs in the past year;
            (3) research has established that abuse of a number of 
        drugs can impair driving performance;
            (4) according to the National Highway Traffic Safety 
        Administration, illegal drugs (often in combination with 
        alcohol) are used by approximately 10 to 22 percent of drivers 
        involved in all motor vehicles crashes;
            (5) drug impaired drivers are less frequently detected, 
        prosecuted, or referred to treatment than drunk drivers;
            (6) there is a lack of uniformity or consistency in the way 
        the 50 States approach drug impaired drivers;
            (7) too few police officers have been trained to detect 
        drug impaired drivers, and too few prosecutors have been 
        trained to prove drug impaired driving cases beyond a 
        reasonable doubt;
            (8) per se drug impaired driving laws, like those used for 
        driving under the influence of alcohol, are feasible and 
        represent a sound strategy for dealing with drug impaired 
        drivers and can assist in the prosecution of drug impaired 
        driving offenders; and
            (9) while it is illegal in all States to drive a motor 
        vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, drugs other than 
        alcohol, or a combination of alcohol and other drugs, there is 
        no consistent method across States for identifying drug 
        impairment and the presence of drugs in the body.

SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to provide a model for States to implement and enforce 
        a drug impaired driving statute;
            (2) to ensure drivers in need of drug education or 
        treatment are identified and provided with the appropriate 
        assistance;
            (3) to advance research and development of testing 
        mechanisms and knowledge about drugged driving and its impact 
        on traffic safety; and
            (4) to enhance the training of traffic safety officers and 
        prosecutors to detect, enforce, and prosecute drug impaired 
        driving laws.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act, the following definitions apply:
            (1) Controlled substance.--The term ``controlled 
        substance'' includes substances listed in schedules I through V 
        of section 112(e) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 
        812(e)).
            (2) Inhalant.--The term ``inhalant'' means a household or 
        commercial product that can be used by inhaling for 
        intoxicating effect.
            (3) Drug recognition expert.--The term ``drug recognition 
        expert'' means an individual trained in a specific evaluation 
        procedure that enables the person to determine whether an 
        individual is under the influence of drugs and then to 
        determine the type of drug causing the observable impairment.

SEC. 5. MODEL STATUTE.

    (a) In General.--Not later than one year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall develop and provide to the 
States a model statute relating to drug impaired driving which 
incorporates the provisions described in this Act.
    (b) Mandatory Provisions.--Provisions of the model statute 
developed by the Secretary for recommendation to the States under this 
section shall include, at a minimum, a provision that the crime of drug 
impaired driving is committed when a person operates a motor vehicle--
            (1) while any detectable amount of a controlled substance 
        is present in the person's body, as measured in the person's 
        blood, urine, saliva, or other bodily substance; or
            (2) due to the presence of a controlled substance or a 
        controlled substance in combination with alcohol or an 
        inhalant, or both, in the person's body, the person's mental or 
        physical faculties are affected to a noticeable or perceptible 
        degree.
    (c) Discretionary Provisions.--Provisions of the model statute 
developed by the Secretary for recommendation to the States under this 
section may include the following:
            (1) Sanctions for refusing to submit to a test for the 
        presence of a controlled substance in a person's body which are 
        equivalent to sanctions for a positive test result.
            (2) Lawful use of any controlled substance listed in 
        schedule II, III, IV, or V of section 112(c) of the Controlled 
        Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812(c)) that was lawfully prescribed 
        by a physician licensed under State law is an affirmative 
        defense to a charge of drug impaired driving; except that the 
        affirmative defense shall not be available if it is shown that 
        the person's mental or physical faculties were impaired by such 
        use to a noticeable or perceptible degree.
            (3) A graduated system of penalties for repeat offenses of 
        drug impaired driving, including, at a minimum, that a third or 
        subsequent offense within a 10-year period shall be a felony 
        punishable by imprisonment for more than a year.
            (4) Authorization for States to suspend or revoke the 
        license of any driver upon receiving a record of the driver's 
        conviction of driving a motor vehicle while under the influence 
        of a controlled substance.
            (5) Provisions that require a sentence of imprisonment 
        imposed for any drug impaired driving offense be served 
        consecutively, not concurrently, from a sentence imposed for 
        any other criminal act; except that a sentence imposed for the 
        same act of impaired driving may be imposed concurrently if the 
        additional conviction was based on an alternate theory of 
        culpability for the same act.
            (6) An appropriate system of evaluation, counseling, 
        treatment (if required), and supervision for persons convicted 
        of drug impaired driving.

SEC. 6. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.

    Section 403(b) of title 23, United States Code, is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) New technology to detect drug use.
            ``(6) Research and development to improve testing 
        technology, including toxicology lab resources and field test 
        mechanisms to enable States to process toxicology evidence in a 
        more timely manner.
            ``(7) Determining per se impairment levels for controlled 
        substances and the compound effects of alcohol and controlled 
        substances on impairment to facilitate enforcement of per se 
        drug impaired driving laws. Research under this paragraph shall 
        be carried out in collaboration with the National Institute on 
        Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.''.

SEC. 7. GOALS FOR TRAINING.

    Section 403 of title 23, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(g) Training Goals.--For the purpose of enhancing the States' 
ability to detect, enforce, and prosecute drug impaired driving laws, 
the Secretary shall--
            ``(1) establish and carry out programs to enhance police 
        and prosecutor training efforts for enforcement of laws 
        relating to drug impaired driving and for development of 
        programs to improve enforcement of such laws; and
            ``(2) ensure that drug impaired driving enforcement 
        training or drug recognition expert programs, or both, exist in 
        all 50 States and the District of Columbia by December 31, 
        2006.''.

SEC. 8. DUTIES.

    The Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration shall--
            (1) advise and coordinate with other Federal agencies on 
        how to address the problem of driving under the influence of an 
        illegal drug; and
            (2) conduct research on the prevention, detection, and 
        prosecution of driving under the influence of an illegal drug.

SEC. 9. REPORTS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 18 months after the date of 
enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall 
transmit to Congress a report on the progress being made in carrying 
out this Act, including the amendments made by this Act.
    (b) Contents.--The Secretary shall include in the report an 
assessment of the status of drug impaired driving laws in the United 
States--
            (1) new research and technologies in the area of drug 
        impaired driving enforcement;
            (2) a description of the extent of the problem of driving 
        under the influence of an illegal drug in each State and any 
        available information relating thereto, including a description 
        of any laws relating to the problem of driving under the 
        influence of an illegal drug; and
            (3) recommendations for addressing the problem of driving 
        under the influence of an illegal drug.

SEC. 10. FUNDING.

    Out of amounts appropriated to carry out section 403 of title 23, 
United States Code, for fiscal years 2004 through 2009, the Secretary 
shall use, at a minimum, $1,200,000 per fiscal year to carry out drug 
impaired driving traffic safety programs, including the provisions of 
this section and the amendments made by this section.
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