S05856 Summary:
| BILL NO | S05856 |
| SAME AS | No Same As |
| SPONSOR | GOUNARDES |
| COSPNSR | |
| MLTSPNSR | |
| Amd §1194, V & T L | |
| Allows application to a court to compel compliance with a chemical test where a motorist is suspected to be under the influence and where the driver has refused a chemical test. | |
S05856 Text:
Go to topSTATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5856 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE March 3, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. GOUNARDES -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to compulsory chemical tests The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 3 of section 1194 of the 2 vehicle and traffic law, as added by chapter 47 of the laws of 1988, is 3 amended to read as follows: 4 (b) When authorized. Upon refusal by any person to submit to a chemi- 5 cal test or any portion thereof as described above, the test shall not 6 be given unless a police officer or a district attorney, as defined in 7 subdivision thirty-two of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law, 8 requests and obtains a court order to compel a person to submit to a 9 chemical test to determine the alcoholic or drug content of the person's 10 blood upon a finding of reasonable cause to believe that: 11 (1) [such person was the operator of a motor vehicle and in the course12of such operation a person other than the operator was killed or13suffered serious physical injury as defined in section 10.00 of the14penal law; and15(2)] a. either such person operated the vehicle in violation of any 16 subdivision of section eleven hundred ninety-two of this article, or 17 b. a breath test administered by a police officer in accordance with 18 paragraph (b) of subdivision one of this section indicates that alcohol 19 has been consumed by such person; and 20 [(3)] (2) such person has been placed under lawful arrest; and 21 [(4)] (3) such person has refused to submit to a chemical test or any 22 portion thereof, requested in accordance with the provisions of para- 23 graph (a) of subdivision two of this section or is unable to give 24 consent to such a test. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD07777-01-5S. 5856 2 1 § 2. Subparagraphs 1 and 2 of paragraph (b) of subdivision 2 of 2 section 1194 of the vehicle and traffic law, subparagraph 1 as amended 3 by chapter 489 of the laws of 2017, clause (A) of subparagraph 1 and 4 subparagraph 2 as amended by chapter 27 of the laws of 2018, are amended 5 to read as follows: 6 (1) If: (A) such person having been placed under arrest; or (B) after 7 a breath test indicates the presence of alcohol in the person's system; 8 or (C) with regard to a person under the age of twenty-one, there are 9 reasonable grounds to believe that such person has been operating a 10 motor vehicle after having consumed alcohol in violation of section 11 eleven hundred ninety-two-a of this article; and having thereafter been 12 requested to submit to such chemical test and having been informed that 13 the person's license or permit to drive and any non-resident operating 14 privilege shall be immediately suspended and subsequently revoked, or, 15 for operators under the age of twenty-one for whom there are reasonable 16 grounds to believe that such operator has been operating a motor vehicle 17 after having consumed alcohol in violation of section eleven hundred 18 ninety-two-a of this article, shall be revoked for refusal to submit to 19 such chemical test or any portion thereof, whether or not the person is 20 found guilty of the charge for which such person is arrested or 21 detained, refuses to submit to such chemical test or any portion there- 22 of, [unless a court order has been granted pursuant to subdivision three23of this section, the test shall not be given and] a written report of 24 such refusal shall be immediately made by the police officer before whom 25 such refusal was made. Such report may be verified by having the report 26 sworn to, or by affixing to such report a form notice that false state- 27 ments made therein are punishable as a class A misdemeanor pursuant to 28 section 210.45 of the penal law and such form notice together with the 29 subscription of the deponent shall constitute a verification of the 30 report. 31 (2) The report of the police officer shall set forth reasonable 32 grounds to believe such arrested person or such detained person under 33 the age of twenty-one had been driving in violation of any subdivision 34 of section eleven hundred ninety-two or eleven hundred ninety-two-a of 35 this article[,] and that said person had refused to submit to such chem- 36 ical test[, and that no chemical test was administered pursuant to the37requirements of subdivision three of this section]. The report shall be 38 presented to the court upon arraignment of an arrested person, provided, 39 however, in the case of a person under the age of twenty-one, for whom a 40 test was authorized pursuant to the provisions of subparagraph two or 41 three of paragraph (a) of this subdivision, and who has not been placed 42 under arrest for a violation of any of the provisions of section eleven 43 hundred ninety-two of this article, such report shall be forwarded to 44 the commissioner within forty-eight hours in a manner to be prescribed 45 by the commissioner, and all subsequent proceedings with regard to 46 refusal to submit to such chemical test by such person shall be as set 47 forth in subdivision three of section eleven hundred ninety-four-a of 48 this article. 49 § 3. Subparagraph 2 of paragraph (d) of subdivision 3 of section 1194 50 of the vehicle and traffic law, as added by chapter 47 of the laws of 51 1988, is amended to read as follows: 52 (2) The applicant must provide identification by name and title and 53 must state the purpose of the communication. Upon being advised that an 54 application for a court order to compel submission to a chemical test is 55 being made, the court shall place under oath the applicant and any other 56 person providing information in support of the application as providedS. 5856 3 1 in subparagraph three of this paragraph. After being sworn the applicant 2 must state that the person from whom the chemical test was requested was 3 the operator of a motor vehicle and [in the course of such operation a4person, other than the operator, has been killed or seriously injured5and], based upon the totality of circumstances, there is reasonable 6 cause to believe that such person was operating a motor vehicle in 7 violation of any subdivision of section eleven hundred ninety-two of 8 this article and, after being placed under lawful arrest such person 9 refused to submit to a chemical test or any portion thereof, in accord- 10 ance with the provisions of this section or is unable to give consent to 11 such a test or any portion thereof. The applicant must make specific 12 allegations of fact to support such statement. Any other person properly 13 identified, may present sworn allegations of fact in support of the 14 applicant's statement. 15 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.