BILL NUMBER: SB 289 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 11, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Senator Correa
FEBRUARY 14, 2013
An act to amend Sections 23152 and 23153 of the Vehicle Code,
relating to vehicles.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 289, as amended, Correa. Vehicles: driving under the influence:
drugs.
Existing law prohibits a person who is under the influence of any
alcoholic beverage or drug, or under the combined influence of any
alcoholic beverage and drug, or who has 0.08% or more, by weight, of
alcohol in his or her blood, or who is addicted to the use of any
drug, to drive a vehicle. Existing law also makes it unlawful to
drive under the influence and cause bodily injury to another person.
This bill would make it unlawful for a person to drive a motor
vehicle if his or her blood contains any detectable amount
of a drug classified in Schedules I, II, III, or IV of the
California Uniform Controlled Substance
Substances Act, unless the drug was consumed in accordance with
a valid prescription issued to the person by a licensed
health care practitioner , as defined . By
expanding the scope of the crime of driving under the influence of a
drug, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 23152 of the Vehicle Code, as amended by
Section 2 of Chapter 753 of the Statutes of 2012, is amended to read:
23152. (a) It is unlawful for a person who is under the influence
of any alcoholic beverage to drive a vehicle.
(b) It is unlawful for a person who has 0.08 percent or more, by
weight, of alcohol in his or her blood to drive a vehicle.
For purposes of this article and Section 34501.16, percent, by
weight, of alcohol in a person's blood is based upon grams of alcohol
per 100 milliliters of blood or grams of alcohol per 210 liters of
breath.
In any prosecution under this subdivision, it is a rebuttable
presumption that the person had 0.08 percent or more, by weight, of
alcohol in his or her blood at the time of driving the vehicle if the
person had 0.08 percent or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her
blood at the time of the performance of a chemical test within three
hours after the driving.
(c) It is unlawful for a person who is addicted to the use of any
drug to drive a vehicle. This subdivision shall not apply to a person
who is participating in a narcotic treatment program approved
pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 11875) of Chapter 1 of
Part 3 of Division 10.5 of the Health and Safety Code.
(d) It is unlawful for a person who has 0.04 percent or more, by
weight, of alcohol in his or her blood to drive a commercial motor
vehicle, as defined in Section 15210.
In any prosecution under this subdivision, it is a rebuttable
presumption that the person had 0.04 percent or more, by weight, of
alcohol in his or her blood at the time of driving the vehicle if the
person had 0.04 percent or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her
blood at the time of the performance of a chemical test within three
hours after the driving.
(e) It is unlawful for a person who is under the influence of any
drug to drive a vehicle.
(f) It is unlawful for a person to drive a vehicle if his or her
blood contains any detectable amount of a drug
classified in Schedule I, II, III, or IV under the California Uniform
Controlled Substances Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section
11000) of the Health and Safety Code), unless the drug was consumed
in accordance with a valid prescription issued to the person
by a licensed health care practitioner . For purposes
of this subdivision, "valid prescription" means a prescription that
is issued for a legitimate medical purpose in the usual course of
professional practice by a practitioner who has examined the patient
or by a covering practitioner .
(g) It is unlawful for a person who is under the combined
influence of any alcoholic beverage and drug to drive a vehicle.
(h) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2014.
SEC. 2. Section 23153 of the Vehicle Code, as amended by Section 5
of Chapter 753 of the Statutes of 2012, is amended to read:
23153. (a) It is unlawful for a person, while under the influence
of any alcoholic beverage to drive a vehicle and concurrently do any
act forbidden by law, or neglect any duty imposed by law in driving
the vehicle, which act or neglect proximately causes bodily injury to
any person other than the driver.
(b) It is unlawful for a person, while having 0.08 percent or
more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood to drive a vehicle
and concurrently do any act forbidden by law, or neglect any duty
imposed by law in driving the vehicle, which act or neglect
proximately causes bodily injury to any person other than the driver.
In any prosecution under this subdivision, it is a rebuttable
presumption that the person had 0.08 percent or more, by weight, of
alcohol in his or her blood at the time of driving the vehicle if the
person had 0.08 percent or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her
blood at the time of the performance of a chemical test within three
hours after driving.
(c) In proving the person neglected any duty imposed by law in
driving the vehicle, it is not necessary to prove that any specific
section of this code was violated.
(d) It is unlawful for a person, while having 0.04 percent or
more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood to drive a commercial
motor vehicle, as defined in Section 15210, and concurrently to do
any act forbidden by law or neglect any duty imposed by law in
driving the vehicle, which act or neglect proximately causes bodily
injury to any person other than the driver.
In any prosecution under this subdivision, it is a rebuttable
presumption that the person had 0.04 percent or more, by weight, of
alcohol in his or her blood at the time of driving the vehicle if the
person had 0.04 percent or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her
blood at the time of performance of a chemical test within three
hours after driving.
(e) It is unlawful for a person, while under the influence of any
drug, to drive a vehicle and concurrently do any act forbidden by
law, or neglect any duty imposed by law in driving the vehicle, which
act or neglect proximately causes bodily injury to any person other
than the driver.
(f) It is unlawful for a person to drive a vehicle if his or her
blood contains any detectable amount of a drug
classified in Schedule I, II, III, or IV under the California Uniform
Controlled Substances Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section
11000) of the Health and Safety Code), unless the drug was consumed
in accordance with a valid prescription issued to the person
by a licensed health care practitioner . For purposes
of this subdivision, "valid prescription" means a prescription that
is issued for a legitimate medical purpose in the usual course of
professional practice by a practitioner who has examined the patient
or by a covering practitioner .
(g) It is unlawful for a person, while under the combined
influence of any alcoholic beverage and drug, to drive a vehicle and
concurrently do any act forbidden by law, or neglect any duty imposed
by law in driving the vehicle, which act or neglect proximately
causes bodily injury to any person other than the driver.
(h) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2014.
SEC. 3. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.