I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4159 

To amend title 23, United States Code, to research and prevent drug impaired 

driving. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 2, 2004 

Mr. PORTMAN (for himself, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. PORTER, Mr. SOUDER, Mr. 

COSTELLO, Mr. LATOURETTE, Mr. RAMSTAD, and Mr. HOBSON) 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, to research and 

prevent drug impaired driving. 

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 Research and Prevention Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 
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1 (1) driving under the influence of, or after hav2 ing used, illegal drugs has become a significant 

3 problem worldwide; 

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

5 United States aged 12 or older had used illegal 

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

7 these persons (5 percent of the total population of 

8 the United States aged 12 or older and 31 percent 

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

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

11 the past year; 

12 (3) research has established that abuse of a 

13 number of drugs can impair driving performance; 

14 (4) according to the National Highway Traffic 

15 Safety Administration, illegal drugs (often in com16 bination with alcohol) are used by approximately 10 

17 to 22 percent of drivers involved in all motor vehicles 

18 crashes; 

19 (5) drug impaired drivers are less frequently 

20 detected, prosecuted, or referred to treatment than 

21 drunk drivers; 

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

23 in the way the 50 States approach drug impaired 

24 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) INHALANT.—The term ‘‘inhalant’’ means a 

11 household or commercial product that can be used 

12 by inhaling for intoxicating effect. 

13 (3) DRUG RECOGNITION EXPERT.—The term 

14 ‘‘drug recognition expert’’ means an individual 

15 trained in a specific evaluation procedure that en16 ables the person to determine whether an individual 

17 is under the influence of drugs and then to deter18 mine the type of drug causing the observable impair19 ment. 

20 SEC. 5. MODEL STATUTE. 

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

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

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

24 impaired driving which incorporates the provisions de25 scribed in this Act. 
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1 (b) MANDATORY PROVISIONS.—Provisions of the 

2 model statute developed by the Secretary for recommenda3 tion to the States under this section shall include, at a 

4 minimum, a provision that the crime of drug impaired 

5 driving is committed when a person operates a motor vehi6 cle— 

7 (1) while any detectable amount of a controlled 

8 substance is present in the person’s body, as meas9 ured in the person’s blood, urine, saliva, or other 

10 bodily substance; or 

11 (2) due to the presence of a controlled sub12 stance or a controlled substance in combination with 

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

14 the person’s mental or physical faculties are affected 

15 to a noticeable or perceptible degree. 

16 (c) DISCRETIONARY PROVISIONS.—Provisions of the 

17 model statute developed by the Secretary for recommenda18 tion to the States under this section may include the fol19 lowing: 

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

21 for the presence of a controlled substance in a per22 son’s body which are equivalent to sanctions for a 

23 positive test result. 

24 (2) Lawful use of any controlled substance list25 ed in schedule II, III, IV, or V of section 112(c) of 
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1 the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812(c)) 

2 that was lawfully prescribed by a physician licensed 

3 under State law is an affirmative defense to a 

4 charge of drug impaired driving; except that the af5 firmative defense shall not be available if it is shown 

6 that the person’s mental or physical faculties were 

7 impaired by such use to a noticeable or perceptible 

8 degree. 

9 (3) A graduated system of penalties for repeat 

10 offenses of drug impaired driving, including, at a 

11 minimum, that a third or subsequent offense within 

12 a 10-year period shall be a felony punishable by im13 prisonment for more than a year. 

14 (4) Authorization for States to suspend or re15 voke the license of any driver upon receiving a 

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

17 vehicle while under the influence of a controlled sub18 stance. 

19 (5) Provisions that require a sentence of impris20 onment imposed for any drug impaired driving of21 fense be served consecutively, not concurrently, from 

22 a sentence imposed for any other criminal act; ex23 cept that a sentence imposed for the same act of im24 paired driving may be imposed concurrently if the 
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1 additional conviction was based on an alternate the2 ory of culpability for the same act. 

3 (6) An appropriate system of evaluation, coun4 seling, treatment (if required), and supervision for 

5 persons convicted of drug impaired driving. 

6 SEC. 6. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. 

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

8 amended by adding at the end the following: 

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

10 ‘‘(6) Research and development to improve test11 ing technology, including toxicology lab resources 

12 and field test mechanisms to enable States to proc13 ess toxicology evidence in a more timely manner. 

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

15 controlled substances and the compound effects of 

16 alcohol and controlled substances on impairment to 

17 facilitate enforcement of per se drug impaired driv18 ing laws. Research under this paragraph shall be 

19 carried out in collaboration with the National Insti20 tute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of 

21 Health.’’. 

22 SEC. 7. GOALS FOR TRAINING. 

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

24 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 ‘‘(1) 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; and 

9 ‘‘(2) 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 SEC. 8. DUTIES. 

14 The Administrator of the National Highway Traffic 

15 Safety Administration shall— 

16 (1) advise and coordinate with other Federal 

17 agencies on how to address the problem of driving 

18 under the influence of an illegal drug; and 

19 (2) conduct research on the prevention, detec20 tion, and prosecution of driving under the influence 

21 of an illegal drug. 

22 SEC. 9. REPORTS. 

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 drug impaired driv5 ing laws in the United States— 

6 (1) new research and technologies in the area 

7 of drug impaired driving enforcement; 

8 (2) a description of the extent of the problem 

9 of driving under the influence of an illegal drug in 

10 each State and any available information relating 

11 thereto, including a description of any laws relating 

12 to the problem of driving under the influence of an 

13 illegal drug; and 

14 (3) recommendations for addressing the prob15 lem of driving under the influence of an illegal drug. 

16 SEC. 10. FUNDING. 

17 Out of amounts appropriated to carry out section 403 

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

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

20 $1,200,000 per fiscal year to carry out drug impaired driv21 ing traffic safety programs, including the provisions of this 

22 section and the amendments made by this section. 

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