Alabama 2025 Regular Session

Alabama House Bill HB391 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	HB391INTRODUCED
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3	3	HB391
4	4	EJJN529-1
5	5	By Representative Rigsby
6	6	RFD: Health
7	7	First Read: 05-Mar-25
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12	12	5 EJJN529-1 03/05/2025 THR (L)ma 2025-1153
13	13	Page 1
14	14	First Read: 05-Mar-25
15	15	SYNOPSIS:
16	16	Under existing law, a law enforcement officer
17	17	may request that a physician, registered nurse,
18	18	paramedic, phlebotomist, or other qualified person draw
19	19	blood at the direction of a law enforcement officer in
20	20	relation to an allegation that an individual was
21	21	driving while under the influence.
22	22	This bill would authorize qualified individuals
23	23	to refuse to draw blood at the direction of a law
24	24	enforcement officer in certain circumstances.
25	25	A BILL
26	26	TO BE ENTITLED
27	27	AN ACT
28	28	Relating to traffic offenses; to amend Section
29	29	32-5A-194, Code of Alabama 1975, to further provide for the
30	30	drawing of blood in relation to certain traffic offenses.
31	31	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
32	32	Section 1. Section 32-5A-194, Code of Alabama 1975, is
33	33	amended to read as follows:
34	34	"§32-5A-194
35	35	(a) Upon the trial of any civil, criminal, or
36	36	quasi-criminal action or proceeding arising out of acts
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64	64	28 HB391 INTRODUCED
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66	66	quasi-criminal action or proceeding arising out of acts
67	67	alleged to have been committed by any person individual while
68	68	driving or in actual physical control of a vehicle while under
69	69	the influence, evidence of the amount of alcohol, controlled
70	70	substance, or other impairing substance in a person's an
71	71	individual's blood at the alleged time, as determined by a
72	72	chemical analysis of the person's individual's blood, breath,
73	73	oral fluid, or other bodily substance, or any combination
74	74	thereof, shall be admissible. Where a chemical test or tests
75	75	are made, the following provisions shall apply:
76	76	(1) Chemical analyses of the person's individual's
77	77	blood, breath, oral fluid, or other bodily substance to be
78	78	considered valid shall have been performed according to
79	79	methods approved by the Department of Forensic Sciences and by
80	80	an individual possessing a valid permit issued by the
81	81	Department of Forensic Sciences. The court trying the case may
82	82	take judicial notice of the methods approved by the Department
83	83	of Forensic Sciences. The Department of Forensic Sciences may
84	84	approve satisfactory techniques or methods to ascertain the
85	85	qualifications and competence of individuals to conduct the
86	86	analyses and to issue permits which shall be subject to
87	87	termination or revocation at the discretion of the Department
88	88	of Forensic Sciences. The Department of Forensic Sciences
89	89	shall approve permits required in this section only for
90	90	employees of state, county, municipal, and federal law
91	91	enforcement agencies, and for laboratory personnel employed by
92	92	the Department of Forensic Sciences.
93	93	(2) When a person an individual shall submit to a blood
94	94	test at the direction of a law enforcement officer pursuant to
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124	124	test at the direction of a law enforcement officer pursuant to
125	125	Section 32-5-192, only a physician, a registered nurse, a
126	126	paramedic, a phlebotomist, or other qualified person
127	127	individual may withdraw blood for the purpose of determining
128	128	the alcoholic content or the presence of other impairing
129	129	substances. This limitation shall not apply to the taking of
130	130	breath or oral fluid. Except as provided by court order, any
131	131	qualified individual may refuse to draw blood pursuant to a
132	132	request from a law enforcement officer made pursuant to
133	133	Section 32-5-192.
134	134	(3) The person individual tested may at his or her own
135	135	expense have a physician, qualified technician, registered
136	136	nurse, or other qualified person individual of his or her own
137	137	choosing administer a chemical test or tests in addition to
138	138	any administered at the discretion of a law enforcement
139	139	officer. The failure or inability to obtain an additional test
140	140	by a personan individual shall not preclude the admission of
141	141	evidence relating to the test or tests taken at the direction
142	142	of a law enforcement officer.
143	143	(4) Upon the written request of the person individual
144	144	who shall submit to a chemical test or tests at the request of
145	145	a law enforcement officer, full information concerning the
146	146	test or tests shall be made available to him or her or his or
147	147	her attorney.
148	148	(5) Percent by weight of alcohol in the blood shall be
149	149	based upon grams of alcohol per 100 cubic centimeters of blood
150	150	or grams of alcohol per 210 liters of breath.
151	151	(b) Upon the trial of any civil, criminal, or
152	152	quasi-criminal action or proceeding arising out of acts
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182	182	quasi-criminal action or proceeding arising out of acts
183	183	alleged to have been committed by any person individual while
184	184	driving or in actual physical control of a vehicle while under
185	185	the influence of alcohol, the amount of alcohol in the
186	186	person's individual's blood at the time alleged as shown by
187	187	chemical analysis of the person's individual's blood or breath
188	188	shall give rise to all of the following presumptions:
189	189	(1) If there were at that time 0.05 percent or less by
190	190	weight of alcohol in the person's individual's blood, it shall
191	191	be presumed that the person individual was not under the
192	192	influence of alcohol unless the person individual was
193	193	operating a motor vehicle in performance of his or her duties
194	194	as a school bus driver or day care driver at that time or was
195	195	under the age of 21 years of age at that time.
196	196	(2) If there were at the time in excess of 0.05 percent
197	197	but less than 0.08 percent by weight of alcohol in the
198	198	person's individual's blood, this fact shall not give rise to
199	199	any presumption that the person individual was or was not
200	200	under the influence of alcohol, but this fact may be
201	201	considered with other competent evidence in determining
202	202	whether the person individual was under the influence of
203	203	alcohol unless the person individual was operating a motor
204	204	vehicle in performance of his or her duties as a school bus
205	205	driver or day care driver at that time or was under the age of
206	206	21 years of age at that time.
207	207	(3) If there were at that time 0.08 percent or more by
208	208	weight of alcohol in the person's individual's blood, or
209	209	greater than .02 0.02 percent if the person individual was
210	210	operating a motor vehicle in performance of his or her duties
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240	240	operating a motor vehicle in performance of his or her duties
241	241	as a school bus driver or day care driver at that time or was
242	242	under the age of 21 years of age at that time, it shall be
243	243	presumed that the person individual was under the influence of
244	244	alcohol.
245	245	(4) Nothing in this section shall be construed as
246	246	limiting the introduction of any other competent evidence
247	247	relating to the question of whether the person individual was
248	248	under the influence of alcohol.
249	249	(c) If a person an individual under arrest refuses to
250	250	submit to a chemical test or tests pursuant to Section
251	251	32-5-192, evidence of refusal shall be admissible in any
252	252	civil, criminal, or quasi-criminal action or proceeding
253	253	arising out of acts alleged to have been committed while the
254	254	person individual was driving or in actual physical control of
255	255	a motor vehicle while under the influence.
256	256	(d) No physician, registered nurse, phlebotomist,
257	257	paramedic, duly licensed chemical laboratory technologist or
258	258	clinical laboratory technician, fire department, rescue squad,
259	259	private ambulance company, or medical facility shall incur any
260	260	civil or criminal liability as a result of the proper
261	261	administering of a blood test when requested in writing by a
262	262	law enforcement officer to administer such a test."
263	263	Section 2. This act shall become effective on October
264	264	1, 2025.
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