I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3922

To amend title 23, United States Code, relating to improving safety and 

enforcement with respect to individuals operating motor vehicles while 

under the influence of, or having used, drugs. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 9, 2004

Mr. PORTMAN (for himself, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. LATOURETTE, Mr. SOUDER, and 

Mr. RAMSTAD) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the 

Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined 

by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 

within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL

To amend title 23, United States Code, relating to improving 

safety and enforcement with respect to individuals operating motor vehicles while under the influence of, or 

having used, drugs.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Drug Impaired Driving 

5 Enforcement Act of 2004’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds that—

3 (1) driving under the influence of, or after hav4 ing used, illegal drugs has become a significant 

5 problem worldwide; 

6 (2) in 2002, over 35,000,000 persons in the 

7 United States aged 12 or older had used illegal 

8 drugs in the past year and almost 11,000,000 of 

9 these persons (5 percent of the total population of 

10 the United States aged 12 or older and 31 percent 

11 of past year illicit drug users) had driven under the 

12 influence of, or after having used, illegal drugs in 

13 the past year; 

14 (3) research has established that abuse of a 

15 number of drugs can impair driving performance; 

16 (4) according to the National Highway Traffic 

17 Safety Administration, illegal drugs (often in com18 bination with alcohol) are used by approximately 10 

19 to 22 percent of drivers involved in all motor vehicles 

20 crashes; 

21 (5) drug impaired drivers are less frequently 

22 detected, prosecuted, or referred to treatment than 

23 drunk drivers; 

24 (6) there is a lack of uniformity or consistency 

25 in the way the 50 States approach drug impaired 

26 drivers; 
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1 (7) too few police officers have been trained to 

2 detect drug impaired drivers, and too few prosecu3 tors have been trained to prove drug impaired driv4 ing cases beyond a reasonable doubt; 

5 (8) per se drug impaired driving laws, like those 

6 used for driving under the influence of alcohol, are 

7 feasible and represent a sound strategy for dealing 

8 with drug impaired drivers and can assist in the 

9 prosecution of drug impaired driving offenders; and 

10 (9) while it is illegal in all States to drive a 

11 motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, 

12 drugs other than alcohol, or a combination of alcohol 

13 and other drugs, there is no consistent method 

14 across States for identifying drug impairment and 

15 the presence of drugs in the body. 

16 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

17 The purposes of this Act are— 

18 (1) to provide a model for States to implement 

19 and enforce a drug impaired driving statute; 

20 (2) to ensure drivers in need of drug education 

21 or treatment are identified and provided with the ap22 propriate assistance; 

23 (3) to advance research and development of 

24 testing mechanisms and knowledge about drugged 

25 driving and its impact on traffic safety; and 
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1 (4) to enhance the training of traffic safety offi2 cers and prosecutors to detect, enforce, and pros3 ecute drug impaired driving laws. 

4 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act, the following definitions apply: 

6 (1) CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE.—The term 

7 ‘‘controlled substance’’ includes substances listed in 

8 schedules I through V of section 112(e) of the Con9 trolled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812(e)). 

10 (2) LICENSE.—The term ‘‘license’’ means any 

11 driver’s license or any other license or permit to op12 erate a motor vehicle issued under the laws of, or 

13 granted by, a State, including—

14 (A) any temporary license or instruction 

15 permit; 

16 (B) the privilege of any person to drive a 

17 motor vehicle whether or not the person holds 

18 a valid license; and 

19 (C) any nonresident’s operating privilege. 

20 (3) REVOCATION.—The term ‘‘revocation’’ 

21 means the termination by formal action of the State 

22 of a person’s license or privilege to operate a motor 

23 vehicle on the highways. 

24 (4) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means a State, 

25 the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of 
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1 Puerto Rico, and the territories and possessions of 

2 the United States. 

3 (5) SUSPENSION.—The term ‘‘suspension’’ 

4 means the temporary withdrawal by formal action of 

5 the State of a person’s license or privilege to operate 

6 a motor vehicle on the highways. 

7 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

8 the Secretary of Transportation. 

9 (7) INHALANT.—The term ‘‘inhalant’’ means a 

10 household or commercial product that can be used 

11 by inhaling for intoxicating effect. 

12 (8) DRUG RECOGNITION EXPERT.—The term 

13 ‘‘drug recognition expert’’ means an individual 

14 trained in a specific evaluation procedure that en15 ables the person to determine whether an individual 

16 is under the influence of drugs and then to deter17 mine the type of drug causing the observable impair18 ment. 

19 SEC. 5. MODEL STATUTE. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 

21 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall develop 

22 and provide to the States a model statute relating to drug 

23 impaired driving which incorporates the provisions de24 scribed in this section. 
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1 (b) MANDATORY PROVISIONS.—Provisions of the 

2 model statute under this section shall include, at a min3 imum, a provision that the crime of drug impaired driving 

4 is committed when a person operates a motor vehicle—

5 (1) while any detectable amount of a controlled 

6 substance is present in the person’s body, as meas7 ured in the person’s blood, urine, saliva, or other 

8 bodily substance; or 

9 (2) due to the presence of a controlled sub10 stance or a controlled substance in combination with 

11 alcohol or an inhalant, or both, in the person’s body, 

12 the person’s mental or physical faculties are affected 

13 to a noticeable or perceptible degree. 

14 (c) DISCRETIONARY PROVISIONS.—Provisions of the 

15 model statute under this section may include the following: 

16 (1) Sanctions for refusing to submit to a test 

17 for the presence of a controlled substance in a per18 son’s body which are equivalent to sanctions for a 

19 positive test result. 

20 (2) Lawful use of any controlled substance list21 ed in schedule II, III, IV, or V of section 112(c) of 

22 the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812(c)) 

23 that was lawfully prescribed by a physician licensed 

24 under State law is an affirmative defense to a 

25 charge of drug impaired driving; except that the af-
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1 firmative defense shall not be available if it is shown 

2 that the person’s mental or physical faculties were 

3 impaired by such use to a noticeable or perceptible 

4 degree. 

5 (3) An appropriate system of evaluation, coun6 seling, treatment (if required), and supervision for 

7 persons convicted of drug impaired driving. 

8 (4) A graduated system of penalties for repeat 

9 offenses of drug impaired driving, including, at a 

10 minimum, that a third or subsequent offense within 

11 a 10-year period shall be a felony punishable by im12 prisonment for more than a year. 

13 (5) Authorization for States to suspend or re14 voke the license of any driver upon receiving a 

15 record of the driver’s conviction of driving a motor 

16 vehicle while under the influence of a controlled sub17 stance. 

18 (6) Provisions that require a sentence of impris19 onment imposed for any drug impaired driving of20 fense be served consecutively, not concurrently, from 

21 a sentence imposed for any other criminal act; ex22 cept that a sentence imposed for the same act of im23 paired driving may be imposed concurrently if the 

24 additional conviction was based on an alternate the25 ory of culpability for the same act. 
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1 SEC. 6. USE OF GRANTS TO ENFORCE DRUG IMPAIRED 

2 DRIVING LAWS. 

3 (a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—Section 410(a)(1) of 

4 title 23, United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘and 

5 individuals driving while under the influence of a con6 trolled substance (as defined in section 4 of the Drug Im7 paired Driving Enforcement Act of 2004)’’ before the pe8 riod at the end of the first sentence. 

9 (b) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—Section 410(a)(2) 

10 of such title is amended by inserting ‘‘and drug impaired 

11 driving traffic safety programs’’ before ‘‘at or above’’. 

12 (c) BASIC GRANT.—Section 410(b)(1) of such title 

13 is amended by inserting after subparagraph (G) the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(H) CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE PRO16 GRAMS.—The State provides for at least one of 

17 the following programs: 

18 ‘‘(i) DETECTION OF CONTROLLED

19 SUBSTANCES.—A program to detect the 

20 unlawful presence of a controlled substance 

21 (as defined in section 4 of the Drug Im22 paired Driving Enforcement Act of 2004) 

23 in the body of the operator of a motor ve24 hicle or on the person of any occupant of 

25 the vehicle, including the operator. 
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1 ‘‘(ii) MODEL STATUTE.—A program 

2 that adopts and enforces on a statewide 

3 basis, at a minimum, the mandatory provi4 sions of the model drug impaired driving 

5 statute developed by the Secretary under 

6 section 5 of the Drug Impaired Driving 

7 Enforcement Act of 2004. 

8 ‘‘(iii) COUNSELING AND TREAT9 MENT.—A program to ensure that individ10 uals who are convicted of drug impaired 

11 driving are provided counseling and treat12 ment as necessary. 

13 ‘‘(iv) TRAINING.—A program to train 

14 law enforcement officers and prosecutors 

15 in the detection, investigation, and pros16 ecution of drug impaired driving, including 

17 training provided by the National Highway 

18 Traffic Safety Administration, the Inter19 national Association of the Chiefs of Po20 lice, or the American Prosecutors Research 

21 Institute in drug recognition expert tech22 niques. 

23 ‘‘(v) EDUCATION AND RESEARCH.—A 

24 program to advance research in the area of 

25 drug impaired driving and enhance com-
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1 munication of advancements in research, 

2 technology, and policy to key policymakers, 

3 prosecutors, law enforcement and judges.’’. 

4 SEC. 7. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. 

5 Section 403(b) of title 23, United States Code, is 

6 amended by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(5) New technology to detect drug use. 

8 ‘‘(6) Research and development to improve test9 ing technology, including toxicology lab resources 

10 and field test mechanisms to enable States to proc11 ess toxicology evidence in a more timely manner. 

12 ‘‘(7) Determining per se impairment levels for 

13 controlled substances (as defined in section 4 of the 

14 Drug Impaired Driving Enforcement Act of 2004) 

15 and the compound effects of alcohol and controlled 

16 substances on impairment to facilitate enforcement 

17 of per se drug impaired driving laws. Research 

18 under this paragraph shall be carried out in collabo19 ration with the National Institute on Drug Abuse of 

20 the National Institutes of Health.’’. 

21 SEC. 8. GOALS FOR TRAINING. 

22 Section 403 of title 23, United States Code, is 

23 amended by adding at the end the following: 
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1 ‘‘(g) TRAINING GOALS.—For the purpose of enhanc2 ing the States’ ability to detect, enforce, and prosecute 

3 drug impaired driving laws, the Secretary shall—

4 ‘‘(8) establish and carry out programs to en5 hance police and prosecutor training efforts for en6 forcement of laws relating to drug impaired driving 

7 and for development of programs to improve en8 forcement of such laws; 

9 ‘‘(9) ensure that drug impaired driving enforce10 ment training or drug recognition expert programs, 

11 or both, exist in all 50 States and the District of Co12 lumbia by December 31, 2006; 

13 ‘‘(10) ensure that at least 10 percent of State 

14 and local police officers whose duties, entirely or 

15 partly, include traffic monitoring or enforcement are 

16 trained to enforce drug impaired driving laws and 

17 utilize new technologies or any recognition training 

18 by December 31, 2010; and 

19 ‘‘(11) ensure that at least 10 percent of State 

20 prosecutors are trained to prosecute drug impaired 

21 driving laws by December 31, 2010.’’. 

22 SEC. 9. REPORTING. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months after 

24 the date of enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, 

25 the Secretary shall transmit to Congress a report on the 
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1 progress being made in carrying out this Act, including 

2 the amendments made by this Act. 

3 (b) CONTENTS.—The Secretary shall include in the 

4 report an assessment of the status of uniform drugged 

5 driving laws in the United States, new research and tech6 nologies in the area of drug impaired driving enforcement. 

7 SEC. 10. FUNDING. 

8 Out of amounts appropriated to carry out section 403 

9 of title 23, United States Code, for fiscal years 2004 

10 through 2009, the Secretary shall use, at a minimum, 

11 $2,000,000 per fiscal year to carry out drug impaired driv12 ing traffic safety programs, including the provisions of this 

13 Act and the amendments made by this Act.

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