Amendment #53, as changed to H3944

Protection for Incapacitated Persons

Mr. Fernandes of Milford moves to amend the bill by inserting the following sections after section 17:-

SECTION 17A.  Section 3 of chapter 111B of the general laws, as appearing in the 2014 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting the following words after the words “or alcoholics”, in line 17:- , or any acute-care hospital or satellite emergency facility, as defined in section 511/2 of chapter 111.

SECTION 17B.  Said section 3 of said chapter 111B, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 24 and 25, the words “the condition of an intoxicated person who, by reason of the consumption of intoxicating liquor is” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- the condition of a person who, by reason of the consumption of an intoxicating liquor, controlled substance, toxic vapor or other substance that causes the individual to become.

SECTION 17C.  Said section 3 of said chapter 111B, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 35 and 36, the words “intoxicated persons and alcoholics” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- individuals with an alcohol use disorder or substance use disorder, or any acute-care hospital or satellite emergency facility, as defined in section 511/2 of chapter 111.

SECTION 17D.  Said section 3 of said chapter 111B, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting the following after the words “of alcoholics”, in line 40:- , or any acute-care hospital or satellite emergency facility, as defined in section 511/2 of chapter 111.

SECTION 17E.  Section 8 of said chapter 111B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 13 through 23, the words “Any person who is administered a breathalyzer test, under this section, shall be presumed not to be intoxicated if evidence from said test indicated that the percentage of alcohol in his blood is five one hundredths or less and shall be released from custody forthwith. If any person who is administered a breathalyzer test, under this section, and evidence from said test indicates that the percentage of alcohol in his blood is more than five one hundredths and is less than ten one hundredths there shall be no presumption made based solely on the breathalyzer test.  In such instance a reasonable test of coordination or speech coherency must be administered to determine if said person is intoxicated” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- If evidence from said breathalyzer test indicates that the percentage of alcohol in the person’s blood is less than ten one hundredths, a reasonable test of coordination or speech coherency must be administered to determine if said person is incapacitated.

SECTION 17F.  Section 8 of said chapter 111B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in all instances, the word “intoxicated” and inserting in place thereof the following word:- incapacitated.