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OLR Bill Analysis
sSB 424
AN ACT REDUCING THE BLOOD ALCOHOL LIMITS FOR IMPAIRED
DRIVING AND BOATING AND STUDYING METHODS TO DETECT
CANNABIS-IMPAIRED DRIVING.
SUMMARY
This bill lowers the general blood alcohol content (BAC) per se limit
for impaired driving and boating from 0.08% to 0.05%. This limit applies
to both (1) criminal driving under the influence (DUI) and impaired
boating statutes and (2) administrative license suspension for DUI
(referred to as “administrative per se”) and impaired boating.
By law, people who drive a motor vehicle or operate a boat while
their BAC equals or exceeds the per se limit are considered to be driving
or boating with an “elevated BAC,” which is illegal in and of itself,
regardless of a person’s impairment. The general per se limit applies in
most cases, but a lower limit applies to people who are (1) driving a
commercial vehicle (0.04%) or (2) driving or operating a boat under age
21 (0.02%).
The bill also requires the departments of transportation and
emergency services and public protection to jointly report annually to
the Transportation and Public Safety committees on drug recognition
experts (DRE) and cannabis impairment testing, starting by January 1,
2025. At a minimum, the report must include the following information:
1. the current number of police officers accredited as DREs in the
state;
2. improvements or technological advancements related to
roadside screening for detecting cannabis-impaired drivers,
including oral fluid testing; 2024SB-00424-R000224-BA.DOCX
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3. recommendations to (a) increase police officers’ access to DRE
training and (b) implement any tests, strategies, or procedures to
reliably and validly identify instances of impaired driving from
cannabis use.
Lastly, the bill makes technical and conforming changes, including
updating BAC references in the insurance statutes.
EFFECTIVE DATE: January 2, 2025
BACKGROUND
Related Bill
sSB 423, favorably reported by the Transportation Committee, creates
a non-criminal violation for “driving while ability impaired” (i.e.,
driving with a BAC of at least 0.05% but less than 0.08%), imposes
penalties, and requires violators to take an impaired drivers’ retraining
program. It also establishes an identical reporting requirement.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Transportation Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 19 Nay 17 (03/18/2024)