Amendment for TCA 55-10-406-(a)(1)

Bill Summary for SB2633 / HB 2597

Under present law, any person who drives a motor vehicle in Tennessee is deemed to have given consent to a test to determine the alcohol or drug content of that person's blood. The test must be conducted at the direction of a law enforcement officer having reasonable grounds to believe such person was driving while under the influence of alcohol, a drug, or any other prohibited intoxicant, or had committed vehicular assault, vehicular homicide due to the driver's intoxication, or aggravated vehicular homicide. Present law provides that the result of the test is admissible as evidence only if the test was administered to the person within two hours following such person's arrest or initial detention. This bill revises this provision so that the two-hour time limit for the test would only apply when offered as presumptive evidence of a person's blood alcohol level for a DUI violation. This bill specifies that the two-hour limit would not apply to a test of drug content or in cases involving serious bodily injury or death to another person. Under this bill, the test would have to be administered within two hours following the person's arrest or "placement into custody" (instead of "detention). If a breath test is conducted, the two-hour limit would be measured from the time of arrest or physical custody until the beginning of the observation period for a breath test. This bill would take effect January 1, 2009. ON FEBRUARY 25, 2008, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND RESET SENATE BILL 2623, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #1 rewrites this bill. This amendment deletes the present law requirement that a blood alcohol test or drug test must be administered within two hours of a person's arrest or initial detention in order for the results of the test to be admissible in court. ON FEBRUARY 28, 2008, THE SENATE FURTHER CONSIDERED SENATE BILL 2623, AS AMENDED BY AMENDMENT #1, AND PASSED SENATE BILL 2623, AS AMENDED.