An Act To Enhance the Ability of the State To Prosecute the Crime of Operating Under the Influence
Sec. 1. 29-A MRSA §2431, sub-§2, ¶A, as amended by PL 2013, c. 459, §3, is further amended to read:
Sec. 2. 29-A MRSA §2431, sub-§2, ¶C, as amended by PL 2013, c. 459, §3, is further amended to read:
(1) The person taking the specimen was authorized to do so;
(2) Materials used in the taking of the specimen were of a quality appropriate for the purpose of producing reliable test results as determined by the Department of Health and Human Services;
(3) Materials required to be approved by the Department of Health and Human Services were in fact approved;
(4) The sample tested was in fact the same sample taken from the defendant; and
(5) The alcohol level or the presence of a drug or drug metabolite in the blood or urine of the defendant at the time the sample was taken was as stated in the certificate.
Sec. 3. 29-A MRSA §2524, sub-§1-A is enacted to read:
Sec. 4. 29-A MRSA §2524, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2013, c. 459, §11, is further amended to read:
Sec. 5. 29-A MRSA §2524, sub-§4, as amended by PL 2013, c. 459, §11, is further amended to read:
Sec. 6. 29-A MRSA §2524, sub-§5, as amended by PL 2013, c. 459, §11, is further amended to read:
Approved breath-alcohol testing apparatus must have a stamp of approval affixed by the Department of Health and Human Services after periodic testing. That stamp is valid for no more than one year.
Sec. 7. 29-A MRSA §2524, sub-§6, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 and affected by Pt. B, §5 and amended by PL 2003, c. 689, Pt. B, §6, is further amended to read:
Sec. 8. 29-A MRSA §2528, as amended by PL 2013, c. 459, §12, is repealed.
SUMMARY
This bill amends the laws governing the testing of breath, blood and urine samples for the presence of alcohol and drugs by:
1. Allowing such testing to occur at a laboratory licensed to do so under the laws of this State or any other state and also certified by the Federal Government under federal law;
2. Allowing, for the taking of blood and urine samples, the use of specimen collection tubes of the type normally used in such a laboratory; and
3. Changing the allocation in the statutes of a provision of law governing the liability of persons who draw blood at the request of a law enforcement officer.