Senate Bill S4277

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Defines the terms "impaired" and "intoxication" for the purposes of the vehicle and traffic law

download bill text pdf

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Transportation Committee


  • Introduced
    • In Committee Assembly
    • In Committee Senate
    • On Floor Calendar Assembly
    • On Floor Calendar Senate
    • Passed Assembly
    • Passed Senate
  • Delivered to Governor
  • Signed By Governor

Do you support this bill?

Please enter your contact information

Home address is used to determine the senate district in which you reside. Your support or opposition to this bill is then shared immediately with the senator who represents you.

Optional services from the NY State Senate:

Create an account. An account allows you to officially support or oppose key legislation, sign petitions with a single click, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Include a custom message for your Senator? (Optional)

Enter a message to your senator. Many New Yorkers use this to share the reasoning behind their support or opposition to the bill. Others might share a personal anecdote about how the bill would affect them or people they care about.
Actions

2023-S4277 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:
Senate Transportation
Law Section:
Vehicle and Traffic Law
Laws Affected:
Ren §119-b to be §119-c, add §§119-b & 120-a, amd §1192, V & T L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:
2009-2010: S4777
2011-2012: S600
2013-2014: S754, S7170
2015-2016: S3730
2017-2018: S4365
2019-2020: S377
2021-2022: S5565

2023-S4277 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Defines the terms "impaired" and "intoxication" for the purposes of the vehicle and traffic law.

2023-S4277 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2023-S4277 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4277
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 7, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  LANZA  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation
 
 AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation  to  the  defi-
   nitions of the terms "impaired" and "intoxication" for the purposes of
   such law

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 119-b of the vehicle and traffic law is  renumbered
 section 119-c and a new section 119-b is added to read as follows:
   § 119-B. IMPAIRED. IMPAIRMENT IS REACHED WHEN A DRIVER HAS VOLUNTARILY
 CONSUMED  OR  INGESTED  A  SUBSTANCE OR COMBINATION OF SUBSTANCES TO THE
 EXTENT THAT THE DRIVER HAS IMPAIRED, TO ANY  EXTENT,  THE  PHYSICAL  AND
 MENTAL ABILITIES WHICH A DRIVER IS EXPECTED TO POSSESS IN ORDER TO OPER-
 ATE A VEHICLE AS A REASONABLE AND PRUDENT DRIVER.
   §  2.  The  vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a new section
 120-a to read as follows:
   § 120-A. INTOXICATION. INTOXICATION IS A GREATER DEGREE OF  IMPAIRMENT
 WHICH  IS  REACHED  WHEN A DRIVER HAS VOLUNTARILY CONSUMED OR INGESTED A
 SUBSTANCE OR COMBINATION OF SUBSTANCES TO THE EXTENT THAT THE DRIVER  IS
 INCAPABLE  OF EMPLOYING THE PHYSICAL AND MENTAL ABILITIES WHICH A DRIVER
 IS EXPECTED TO POSSESS IN ORDER TO OPERATE A VEHICLE AS A REASONABLE AND
 PRUDENT DRIVER.
   § 3. Section 1192 of the vehicle and traffic law is amended by  adding
 a new subdivision 13 to read as follows:
   13.  IT SHALL BE AN AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE TO A CHARGE UNDER ANY SUBDIVI-
 SION OF THIS SECTION THAT THE OPERATOR SUFFERED AN ALLERGIC REACTION  OR
 MEDICAL  EMERGENCY RATHER THAN BEING IMPAIRED BY THE SUBSTANCE OR COMBI-
 NATION OF SUBSTANCES.   PROVIDED, HOWEVER,  THAT  NO  DEFENSE  SHALL  BE
 AVAILABLE  IF  ANY  SUCH  CONSUMED OR INGESTED SUBSTANCE IS CONTAINED IN
 SECTION THIRTY-THREE HUNDRED SIX OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH LAW.
   § 4. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed-
 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

Comments

Open Legislation is a forum for New York State legislation. All comments are subject to review and community moderation is encouraged.

Comments deemed off-topic, commercial, campaign-related, self-promotional; or that contain profanity, hate or toxic speech; or that link to sites outside of the nysenate.gov domain are not permitted, and will not be published. Attempts to intimidate and silence contributors or deliberately deceive the public, including excessive or extraneous posting/posts, or coordinated activity, are prohibited and may result in the temporary or permanent banning of the user. Comment moderation is generally performed Monday through Friday. By contributing or voting you agree to the Terms of Participation and verify you are over 13.

Create an account. An account allows you to sign petitions with a single click, officially support or oppose key legislation, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.