SF 180 (LSB 1161SV (1) 86)

SENATE FILE 180

BY  COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

(SUCCESSOR TO SSB 1090)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the refusal to submit to a chemical test of blood in operating-while-intoxicated cases.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 321J.6, subsection 2, Code 2015, is amended to read as follows:
   2.  The peace officer shall determine which of the three substances, breath, blood, or urine, shall be tested. Refusal to submit to a chemical test of urine or breath under this section is deemed a refusal to submit, and section 321J.9 applies. A refusal to submit to a chemical test of blood is not deemed a refusal to submit, but in that case, the peace officer shall then determine which one of the other two substances shall be tested and shall offer the test. If the peace officer fails to offer a test within two hours after the preliminary screening test is administered or refused or the arrest is made, whichever occurs first, a test is not required, and there shall be no revocation under section 321J.9.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with

the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill relates to the refusal to submit to a chemical test of blood in operating-while-intoxicated (OWI) cases.
   Current law provides that a person’s refusal to submit to a chemical test of breath or urine in an OWI case constitutes grounds for the department of transportation (DOT) to administratively revoke the person’s driver’s license under Code section 321J.9. The bill expands the grounds sufficient for the DOT to revoke the person’s driver’s license under Code section 321J.9 to include a person’s refusal to submit to a chemical test of blood.