HCS HB 1695, 1742 & 1674 -- DRIVING WHILE INTOXICATED (Stevenson)

COMMITTEE OF ORIGIN:  Committee on Crime Prevention

This substitute changes the laws regarding driving while
intoxicated.  In its main provisions, the substitute:

(1)  Specifies that any nonviolent offender who has been
convicted, pled guilty, or been found guilty under Sections
577.010 or 577.012, RSMo, or any similar provision of federal or
state law and is incarcerated for the offense may be required to
participate in the Missouri Postconviction Drug and Alcohol
Treatment Program and upon release required to complete a
department-approved community supervised program or, if no
program is available, to submit to continuous alcohol monitoring
for at least 90 days (Section 217.785);

(2)  Specifies that a person convicted of driving while revoked
will be guilty of an infraction instead of a class A misdemeanor
or class D felony (Section 302.321);

(3)  Allows any circuit court to establish a DWI docket to
provide an alternative for the disposition of driving while
intoxicated or driving with excessive blood alcohol content cases
when the person operating a motor vehicle has a blood alcohol
content (BAC) of at least .15 or the person has pled guilty to or
has been found guilty of one or more intoxication-related traffic
offenses (Sections 478.001 and 478.007);

(4)  Requires the course of instruction that all municipal judges
must complete to include a review of state laws regarding
intoxication-related offenses, jurisdictional issues related to
those offenses, reporting requirements for courts, and the
required assessment for offenders under the Substance Abuse
Traffic Offender Program (SATOP).  Circuit and municipal court
clerks must retain all records of the judgment, charging
document, any amendments to the charging document, and waiver of
counsel, if applicable, pertaining to intoxication-related
traffic offense convictions for at least 50 years (Section
479.020);

(5)  Specifies that the provisions regarding certain
intoxication-related cases that are not cognizable in a municipal
court will be known as Cary's Law (Section 479.170.1);

(6)  Specifies that any offense involving the operation of a
motor vehicle while intoxicated where the defendant has been
convicted, found guilty, or pled guilty to two or more previous
intoxication-related traffic offenses; has had two or more
alcohol-related enforcement contacts; or has been convicted,
found guilty, or pled guilty to a previous intoxication-related
traffic offense and the pending offense resulted in physical
injury requiring medical attention to another person will not be
cognizable in a municipal court (Section 479.170.3);

(7)  Requires a municipal prosecutor to certify to a municipal
judge that a review of an offender's driving record was conducted
prior to exercising jurisdiction for an intoxication-related
traffic offense.  The review must include a search of the
Missouri Uniform Law Enforcement System (MULES), the Driving
While Intoxicated Tracking System (DWITS), and the driving record
maintained by the Department of Revenue (Section 479.170.4);

(8)  Requires each municipal judge to adopt a written policy
requiring court personnel to timely report all dispositions of
all charges for intoxication-related traffic offenses to the
central repository and to provide a copy of the policy to the
Office of State Courts Administrator and the State Highway Patrol
(Sections 479.170.5 and 479.170.6);

(9)  Requires each municipal division of every circuit court to
prepare a report every six months that includes the total number
and disposition of every intoxication-related offense
adjudicated, dismissed, or pending in its division and submit the
report to the circuit court en banc for review and
recommendations (Section 479.170.7);

(10)  Adds a warrant to collect a sample of a person's blood,
breath, saliva, or urine to those warrants which may be executed
in any part of the state where the person is found (Section
542.286);

(11)  Requires certain offenders to receive additional credit for
time served for the successful completion of an institutional
program within the Department of Corrections for the monitoring,
control, and treatment of substance or alcohol abuse.  The credit
for time served applies only to the sentence for which the
offender is currently serving.  Participation in these programs
will be at the discretion of the department (Section 558.400);

(12)  Requires each law enforcement agency, county prosecuting
attorney, and municipal prosecutor to adopt a policy to report
the arrest information for all intoxication-related traffic
offenses to the central repository and to certify the adoption of
the policy when applying for any grants administered by the
Department of Public Safety.  Beginning January 1, 2011, the
State Highway Patrol must maintain regular accountability reports
of alcohol-related arrests, charges, and dispositions based on
the data submitted (Section 577.005);

(13)  Increases the penalty for any person convicted of driving
while intoxicated or driving with excessive blood alcohol content
if the offense occurred while a passenger younger than 16 years
of age was in the vehicle (Sections 577.010, 577.012, and
577.023);

(14)  Allows a blood sample to be extracted without consent and
without a warrant from any person suspected of operating a motor
vehicle in an intoxicated condition if the person has refused to
submit to a chemical test.  Any law enforcement officer taking a
blood sample must file a probable cause affidavit with the
associate circuit court within 72 hours of the arrest stating the
basis for the blood draw.  The associate circuit judge must
review the affidavit and determine whether probable cause existed
for the blood draw.  The blood draw must be tested, and the
results of the test are admissible in evidence pursuant to the
exigent circumstances exception to the warrant requirement only
after a judge of competent jurisdiction has determined that
probable cause existed for the blood draw.  No law enforcement
officer who requests that a blood sample be drawn will be civilly
liable for damages unless for gross negligence or by a willful or
wanton act or omission (Section 577.020);

(15)  Adds a phlebotomist to the list of medical personnel who
can draw blood for the purpose of determining a person's BAC
(Section 577.029);

(16)  Adds the amount of a controlled substance as admissible
evidence, demonstrated by a chemical analysis of a person's
blood, breath, saliva, or urine, in a trial for any person
alleged to have been driving while intoxicated or under the
influence of controlled substances (Section 577.037);

(17)  Increases the driver's license revocation period from one
year to two years for a person who refuses upon the request of a
law enforcement officer to submit to any test allowed under
Section 577.020 (Section 577.041.3);

(18)  Increases the period of time that a person who fails to
file proof of financial responsibility in accordance with Chapter
303 during a period of revocation under Section 577.041 will have
his or her driver's license revoked and removes the requirement
that he or she will also be guilty of a class A misdemeanor
(Section 577.041.11); and

(19)  Specifies that after 10 years a court will enter an order
of expungement if it determines that a person with a first
alcohol-related driving offense has not been convicted of any
subsequent alcohol-related driving offense, has no other
subsequent alcohol-related enforcement contact, and has no other
alcohol-related driving charge or enforcement action pending at
the time of the hearing on the application (Section 577.054).

FISCAL NOTE:  Estimated Cost on General Revenue Fund of Up to
$536,899 or More in FY 2011, Up to $581,564 or More in FY 2012,
and Up to $582,809 or More in FY 2013.  Estimated Cost on Other
State Funds of $159,040 in FY 2011, $0 in FY 2012, and $0 in
FY 2013.

Missouri House of Representatives
95th General Assembly, 2nd Regular Session
Last Updated September 14, 2010 at 3:11 pm