HCS HB 330 -- CONTINUOUS ALCOHOL MONITORING

SPONSOR:  Bruns (Riddle)

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Committee on Public
Safety by a vote of 12 to 0.

This substitute defines "continuous alcohol monitoring" as
automatically testing breath, blood, or transdermal alcohol
concentration levels and tamper attempts at least once every hour
regardless of the person's location and regularly transmitting
the data and specifies that a court must consider requiring a
persistent offender of alcohol-related offenses to abstain from
consuming or using alcohol as a condition of parole or probation
as demonstrated by continuous alcohol monitoring or verifiable
breath alcohol testing performed at least four times daily.

The substitute allows the court to suspend execution of sentence
of up to 30 days for an aggravated offender of alcohol-related
offenses if he or she abstains from consuming or using alcohol as
demonstrated by continuous alcohol monitoring or by verifiable
breath alcohol testing performed at least six times daily for a
period of from 60 to 120 days as determined by the court.

Courts may also grant probation to a chronic offender of
alcohol-related offenses if as a condition of parole or probation
he or she abstains from consuming or using alcohol as
demonstrated by continuous alcohol monitoring or by verifiable
breath alcohol testing performed at least six times daily for a
period of from six months to two years as determined by the
court.  The court may require the offender to pay any costs
associated with continuous alcohol monitoring or verifiable
breath alcohol testing.

FISCAL NOTE:  Estimated Cost on General Revenue Fund of Unknown
in FY 2010, FY 2011, FY 2012.  No impact on Other State Funds in
FY 2010, FY 2011, and FY 2012.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that the bill gives the judge
discretion to require continuous alcohol monitoring when
assessing an offender's penalty.  Monitoring is a good tool to
help determine whether or not an offender has a harmful alcohol
addiction or has just made bad decisions with regard to drinking
and driving.  There are multiple jurisdictions in the state
already using monitoring as well as 46 other states.

Testifying for the bill were Representative Bruns; Christie
Becker-Markovich, 12th Judicial Circuit Drug Court Administrator;
Michael Smith, Eastern Missouri Alternative Sentencing Services,
Incorporated; Robert Russell, County Probation Secure Continuous
Remote Alcohol Monitor (SCRAM) of Western Missouri; and Missouri
Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

OPPONENTS:  There was no opposition voiced to the committee.

Missouri House of Representatives
95th General Assembly, 1st Regular Session
Last Updated November 17, 2009 at 9:24 am