Present law provides that, because the evidentiary nature of blood tests authorized and conducted to determine alcohol or drug content of a motor vehicle operator's blood are affected by timely collection, and to facilitate and encourage the timely collection of this evidence by hospitals and qualified practitioners pursuant to a search warrant or other court order, qualified practitioners may use all reasonable force to obtain the sample of blood from the operator. This bill provides that a law enforcement officer may assist a qualified practitioner in using reasonable force to obtain the sample of blood from the operator. Present law provides that if the court finds that the driver was driving while under the influence of any intoxicant, controlled substance, controlled substance analogue, drug, substance affecting the central nervous system, or combination thereof, or committed the offense of vehicular assault, aggravated vehicular assault, vehicular homicide, or aggravated vehicular homicide, then the driver is not considered as having committed a criminal offense. In such case, the court must revoke the license of the driver for a period of one year, if the person does not have a prior conviction. This bill increases the duration of the license being revoked to one year and six months. ON APRIL 16, 2025, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 1400, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #1 rewrites this bill to make the following changes to present law concerning DUI: (1) Present law requires revocation of the driver license of a person who violates the implied consent law by refusing a breath or blood test to determined whether the person committed DUI, vehicular assault, or vehicular homicide. The period of revocation can range from one to five years depending on various factors. Effective January 1, 2026, this amendment increases the period of revocation from one year to one year and six months for a person who: (A) Does not have a conviction for DUI, vehicular assault, or vehicular homicide within the immediately preceding 10 years; (B) Is suspected of having committed a misdemeanor DUI; and (C) Violated the implied consent law by refusing to submit to a law enforcement officer's request for a blood test; (2) Under present law, except as may be required by a search warrant or other court order, if a motor vehicle operator is placed under arrest, requested by a law enforcement officer to submit to breath tests, blood tests, or both tests, advised of the consequences for refusing to do so, and refuses to submit, the operator must be charged with violating the implied consent law. This amendment instead provides that an operator who refuses the test must be charged, even if the operator's blood sample is obtained pursuant to a search warrant, court order, exigent circumstances, or other lawful means; (3) Present law specifies the circumstances under which a breath or blood test may be administered to a person suspected of DUI, vehicular assault, or vehicular homicide. This amendment adds that oral fluid tests may be administered under the following circumstances: (A) The operator's consent to submit to oral fluid tests; (B) A search warrant; (C) Incident to a lawful arrest for DUI, vehicular assault, or vehicular homicide; or (D) Without the consent of the operator if exigent circumstances to the search warrant requirement exist; (4) The result of a lawfully administered oral fluid test will be admissible in evidence at the trial of any person charged with DUI, vehicular assault, or vehicular homicide; and (5) Effective January 1, 2026, this amendment increases the length of time that a person's driver license must be revoked following a conviction for vehicular assault from three to six years for a third conviction and from five to eight years for a fourth or subsequent conviction.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 55-10-406(e)(3)(A)(iv), 55-10-406, 55-10-407(a)(1), 55-10-407
Amended with SA0366 -- 04/16/2025: 55-10-406(e)(3)(A)(iv), 55-10-406, 55-10-407(a)(1), 55-10-407, 55-10-406(d)(4), 55-10-406(b), 39-13-106(c), 39-13-106