Budget Amendment ID: FY2017-S4-1021

EPS 1021

Roadside Testing

Messrs. Moore, Lewis and deMacedo moved that the proposed new text be amended by inserting after section ____, the following new section:-

“SECTION _____. (a) There shall be a special commission to study the impacts on the criminal justice system as it relates to operating a motor vehicle under the influence of drugs. The commission shall consist of the following members, or their designees: the secretary of public safety and security, who shall serve as chair; the attorney general; the chief justice of the supreme judicial court; the president of the Massachusetts District Attorneys Association; the colonel of the state police; the chief counsel of the committee for public counsel services; a representative from the Massachusetts Bar Association; a representative from the Boston Bar Association; a representative from the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; a representative of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police; 2 members of the house of representatives, 1 of whom shall be appointed by the minority leader; 2 members of the senate, 1 of whom shall be appointed by the minority leader; and 2 persons to be appointed by the governor, 1 of whom shall have experience in substance abuse and addiction treatment and 1 of whom shall have experience in providing services or supervision for offenders convicted of operating under the influence.

(b) In its review, the commission shall investigate and study: (i) the feasibility of developing an established impairment level for tetrahydrocannabinol; (ii) the establishment and implementation of drug evaluation and classification programs and the training of drug recognition experts; (iii) the effectiveness of implementation of impairment levels and programs in other states; (iv) the effectiveness of the implied consent law as it relates to operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of drugs; and (v) other matters related to operating a motor vehicle under the influence.

(c) The commission shall file a report of its findings and recommendations, together with drafts of legislation necessary to carry those recommendations into effect, with the clerks of the senate and house of representatives, the chairs of the senate and house committees on ways and means, the senate and house chairs of the joint committee on the judiciary and the senate and house chairs of the joint committee on mental health and substance abuse not later than October 1, 2016.”