Establishes a statewide toll-free office of court administration hotline for use by police officers seeking court orders to compel persons to submit to a chemical test of one or more of the following: breath, blood, urine or saliva, to determine the alcohol and/or drug content.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A3204
SPONSOR: Pretlow TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to establishing
a statewide toll-free office of court administration hotline for use by
police officers seeking court orders to compel persons to submit to a
blood test
PURPOSE::
This bill will establish a statewide toll-free office of court adminis-
tration hotline for use by police officers seeking court orders to
compel persons who refuse to take a field sobriety test to submit to a
blood test within an hour.
JUSTIFICATION::
On September 27th 2009 Vioniaue Valnord was struck and killed by an off
duty police officer who was driving while allegedly intoxicated. The
officer refused to take a field sobriety test at the scene of the acci-
dent; 7 hours later he submitted to take a blood test that would come
back at a reading of zero due to the amount of time that lapsed from
when the accident occurred. Delaying a chemical analysis has been used
long enough for those who play the system. Passage of this bill would
close any inconsistencies in the law and mandate this test be done with-
in a timely manner.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY::
A1683 2021-2022 referred to transportation
A2596 2019-2020 referred to transportation
A1761 2017/2018 referred to transportation
A3858 3013-14 referred to transportation
A9473 2010 01/06/10 referred to transportation
01/07/15 referred to children and families
01/06/16 referred to children and families
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS::
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE::
This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after it
shall have become a law, except that any rules and regulations necessary
for the timely implementation of this act on its effective date shall be
promulgated on or before such date.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3204
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 2, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. PRETLOW -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to establishing
a statewide toll-free office of court administration hotline for use
by police officers seeking court orders to compel persons to submit to
a blood test
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 "Vionique Valnord's law".
3 § 2. Paragraph (d) of subdivision 3 of section 1194 of the vehicle and
4 traffic law, as added by chapter 47 of the laws of 1988, is amended to
5 read as follows:
6 (d) Court order; procedure. (1) An application for a court order to
7 compel submission to a chemical test or any portion thereof, may be made
8 to any supreme court justice, county court judge or district court judge
9 in the judicial district in which the incident occurred, or if the inci-
10 dent occurred in the city of New York before any supreme court justice
11 or judge of the criminal court of the city of New York. Such application
12 may be communicated by telephone, radio or other means of electronic
13 communication, or in person.
14 (2) The applicant must provide identification by name and title and
15 must state the purpose of the communication. Upon being advised that an
16 application for a court order to compel submission to a chemical test is
17 being made, the court shall place under oath the applicant and any other
18 person providing information in support of the application as provided
19 in subparagraph three of this paragraph. After being sworn the applicant
20 must state that the person from whom the chemical test was requested was
21 the operator of a motor vehicle and in the course of such operation a
22 person, other than the operator, has been killed or seriously injured
23 and, based upon the totality of circumstances, there is reasonable cause
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08091-01-3
A. 3204 2
1 to believe that such person was operating a motor vehicle in violation
2 of any subdivision of section eleven hundred ninety-two of this article
3 and, after being placed under lawful arrest such person refused to
4 submit to a chemical test or any portion thereof, in accordance with the
5 provisions of this section or is unable to give consent to such a test
6 or any portion thereof. The applicant must make specific allegations of
7 fact to support such statement. Any other person properly identified,
8 may present sworn allegations of fact in support of the applicant's
9 statement.
10 (3) Upon being advised that an oral application for a court order to
11 compel a person to submit to a chemical test of one or more of the
12 following: breath, blood, urine or saliva, is being made, a judge or
13 justice shall place under oath the applicant and any other person
14 providing information in support of the application. Such oath or oaths
15 and all of the remaining communication must be recorded, either by means
16 of a voice recording device or verbatim stenographic or verbatim long-
17 hand notes. If a voice recording device is used or a stenographic record
18 made, the judge must have the record transcribed, certify to the accura-
19 cy of the transcription and file the original record and transcription
20 with the court within seventy-two hours of the issuance of the court
21 order. If the longhand notes are taken, the judge shall subscribe a copy
22 and file it with the court within twenty-four hours of the issuance of
23 the order.
24 (4) If the court is satisfied that the requirements for the issuance
25 of a court order pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (b) of this
26 subdivision have been met, it may grant the application and issue an
27 order requiring the accused to submit to a chemical test of one or more
28 of the following: breath, blood, urine or saliva, to determine the alco-
29 holic and/or drug content of his blood and ordering the withdrawal of a
30 blood sample in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (a) of
31 subdivision four of this section. When a judge or justice determines to
32 issue an order to compel submission to a chemical test based on an oral
33 application, the applicant therefor shall prepare the order in accord-
34 ance with the instructions of the judge or justice. In all cases the
35 order shall include the name of the issuing judge or justice, the name
36 of the applicant, and the date and time it was issued. It must be
37 signed by the judge or justice if issued in person, or by the applicant
38 if issued orally.
39 (5) Upon refusal by a person, who a police officer has reasonable
40 cause to believe is in violation of any subdivision of section eleven
41 hundred ninety-two of this article, to submit to a chemical test of one
42 or more of the following: breath, blood, urine or saliva, requested by
43 such police officer at the time of such traffic stop, such police offi-
44 cer, if a signed court order to compel such person to submit to such
45 test cannot be produced, shall call the statewide toll-free office of
46 court administration hotline within fifteen minutes of such refusal, as
47 described in section eleven hundred ninety-four-b of this article, to
48 request or obtain, by oral application as described in subparagraphs
49 three and four of this paragraph, a court order to compel such person to
50 submit to a chemical test of one or more of the following: breath,
51 blood, urine or saliva.
52 (6) Any false statement by an applicant or any other person in support
53 of an application for a court order shall subject such person to the
54 offenses for perjury set forth in article two hundred ten of the penal
55 law.
A. 3204 3
1 [(6)] (7) The chief administrator of the courts shall establish a
2 schedule to provide that a sufficient number of judges or justices will
3 be available in each judicial district to hear oral applications for
4 court orders as permitted by this section.
5 § 3. The vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a new section
6 1194-b to read as follows:
7 § 1194-b. Statewide toll-free office of court administration hotline;
8 court order to compel chemical test. 1. The department, in conjunction
9 with the office of court administration and the division of state
10 police, shall establish, maintain and operate a statewide toll-free
11 office of court administration hotline for the use of police officers
12 seeking court orders to compel persons to submit to a chemical test of
13 one or more of the following: breath, blood, urine or saliva, as
14 described in paragraph (d) of subdivision three of section eleven
15 hundred ninety-four of this article.
16 2. Upon refusal by a person, who a law enforcement officer has reason-
17 able cause to believe is in violation of any subdivision of section
18 eleven hundred ninety-two of this article, to submit to a chemical test
19 of one or more of the following: breath, blood, urine or saliva,
20 requested by such police officer at the time of the traffic stop, such
21 police officer, if a signed court order to compel such person to submit
22 to a chemical test cannot be produced, shall call the statewide toll-
23 free office of court administration hotline within fifteen minutes of
24 such refusal, to request or obtain, by oral application as described in
25 subparagraphs three and four of paragraph (d) of subdivision three of
26 section eleven hundred ninety-four of this article, a court order to
27 compel such person to submit to such test.
28 3. Telephone calls made to such hotline shall be immediately routed to
29 a supreme court justice, county court judge or district court judge in
30 the judicial district in which the incident occurred, or if the incident
31 occurred in the city of New York, to any supreme court justice or judge
32 of the criminal court of the city of New York.
33 4. If the judge or justice is satisfied that the requirements for the
34 issuance of a court order pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (b) of
35 subdivision three of section eleven hundred ninety-four of this article
36 have been met, he or she shall grant the application and shall issue an
37 order requiring the accused to submit to a chemical test immediately,
38 pursuant to subdivision three of section eleven hundred ninety-four of
39 this article.
40 5. A determination granting or denying such application shall be
41 issued within one hour of such phone call.
42 6. A police officer shall be guilty of a class E felony if he or she
43 fails to comply with the provisions set forth in subdivision two of this
44 section.
45 § 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
46 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
47 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
48 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and
49 completed on or before such effective date.
