HF 2245 (LSB 5149YH (1) 86)

HOUSE FILE 2245

BY  OLDSON

A BILL FOR

An Act establishing a statewide chemical substance abuse monitoring pilot program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  STATEWIDE CHEMICAL SUBSTANCE ABUSE MONITORING PILOT PROGRAM.
   1.  The department of public safety, in collaboration with the governor’s traffic safety bureau, may approve an application from a county for a countywide chemical substance abuse monitoring pilot program that is available twenty-four hours per day, seven days per week, in an effort to reduce the number of crimes that have a nexus with chemical substance abuse. 
   2.  A chemical substance abuse monitoring pilot program shall do all of the following:
   a.  Require a person who has been charged with, pled guilty to, or been convicted of a crime that has a nexus with chemical substance abuse to abstain from all chemical substances for a period of time. However, this paragraph does not apply to a person who has been charged with, pled guilty to, or been convicted of a first offense of operating while intoxicated in violation of section 321J.2 or 321J.2A where the person’s alcohol concentration was lower than .15 and no accident resulting in personal injury or property damage occurred.
   b.  Require the person to be subject to testing to determine whether a chemical substance is present in the person’s body in the following manner:
   (1)  At least twice per day at a central location where an immediate sanction can be applied.
   (2)  Where testing under subparagraph (1) is impractical, by continuous transdermal or electronic monitoring.
   c.  Apply sanctions when test results definitively, and without presumption, indicate the presence of chemical substances.
   d.  Require a person participating in the program to pay program costs, including costs of installation, monitoring, and deactivation of any testing devices.
   3.  A court in a county that has established a pilot program pursuant to this section may order a defendant, as a condition of pretrial release, probation, or bond, to participate in the program.
   4.  An approved pilot program shall begin on October 1, 2016, or upon the effective date of department rules, whichever is earlier, and shall be conducted for a minimum of one year.
   5.  The department of public safety shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A to implement this section including but not limited to provisions relating to applications for, approval of, costs of, and oversight of the pilot programs and reporting requirements for participating counties.
   6.  The department of public safety shall pursue federal funding opportunities for the chemical substance abuse monitoring pilot programs. Implementation of the programs shall be contingent on the availability of funding. 
   7.  The department of public safety shall submit a report on the results of the pilot programs and make recommendations to the general assembly by December 15, 2017. 
   8.  For the purposes of this section, “chemical substance” means alcohol, wine, spirits, and beer as defined in section 123.3 and controlled substances as defined in section 124.101.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with

the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill establishes a statewide chemical substance abuse monitoring pilot program. The bill allows the department of public safety, in collaboration with the governor’s traffic safety bureau, to approve applications from counties for countywide chemical substance abuse monitoring pilot programs. The programs are to be available 24 hours per day, seven days per week, in an effort to reduce the number of crimes that have a nexus with chemical substance abuse. “Chemical substance” includes alcohol, wine, spirits, beer, and controlled substances as those terms are defined in the Code.
   The programs shall require persons charged with or convicted of a crime involving chemical substance abuse to abstain from all chemical substances for a period of time. However, persons with a first offense of operating while intoxicated where the person’s alcohol concentration was lower than .15 and no accident resulting in personal injury or property damage occurred are excluded. The programs shall also require testing to determine whether a chemical substance is present at least twice per day at a central location where an immediate sanction can be applied or, where such testing is impractical, by continuous transdermal or electronic monitoring. The programs shall apply sanctions when test results definitively indicate the presence of a chemical substance. The programs shall require participants to pay program costs.
   A court in a county that has established a pilot program may order a defendant, as a condition of pretrial release, probation, or bond, to participate in the program.
   Approved pilot programs shall begin October 1, 2016, or upon the effective date of department rules, whichever is earlier, and shall be conducted for a minimum of one year. The department of public safety is to adopt rules to implement the programs, including but not limited to provisions relating to applications for, approval of, costs of, and oversight of the pilot programs and reporting requirements for participating counties. The department is also directed to pursue federal funding opportunities for the programs. Implementation of the programs shall be contingent on the availability of funding. The department is directed to submit a report on the results of the pilot programs and make recommendations to the general assembly by December 15, 2017.