Florida’s New Proposed DWI Law

Did you know that the offense of Driving While Intoxicated was abolished by statute in Florida?

In 1990, the Florida Traffic Court Rule 6.110 was amended to delete any reference to DWI. In an amendment in 1998, Rule 6.110 was changed to bring subdivision (a) into conformity with the statutory language in section 322.282, Florida Statute, which states “substance abuse education course” rather than a “DWI Counter Attack School.”

Over the years, the Florida legislature has considered proposed legislation to change Florida DUI standards to a broader DWI standard.

In 2013, legislation was introduced to make sweeping changes to Florida’s DUI laws – 2014 Florida House Bill 299 was introduced in November of 2013.

Under this proposed legislation, Section 2 of Section 316.193, Florida Statutes, would be amended to read:

316.193 Driving while impaired, with certain alcohol concentrations, or drugged under the influence; penalties.–

Florida’s 2012 Proposed DWI Law in SB 1810

Introduced on January 1, 2012, by Senator Stephen R. Wise, Republican, Senate Bill 1810 proposed changing Florida’s DUI standard to a DWI standard.

No companion bill is was introduced in the Florida House of representatives although this bill was forwarded to three committees. If passed it would have become law on July 1, 2012.

The bill changed the term “under the influence of alcohol” to “impaired by an alcoholic beverage” each time it appeared. It also made it a crime to drive with any detectible controlled substance or one of its metabolites in the blood or urine.

Although this bill died, in it is likely that another version of it will be reintroduced in the coming years.

Florida Senate - 2012                                    SB 1810
5-00253C-12                                           20121810__
1                        A bill to be entitled                      
2         An act relating to driving a motor vehicle while
3         impaired; amending s. 316.003, F.S.; defining the
4         terms “drive” and “impair” or “impaired”; amending s.
5         316.193, F.S.; providing that a person commits the
6         offense of driving while impaired and is subject to
7         punishment for such violation if the person is driving
8         a motor vehicle and satisfies the specified criteria
9         relating to the consumption of alcohol, controlled
10         substances, or other impairing substances; providing
11         that a person commits the offense of driving while
12         impaired if the person has in the blood or urine
13         certain controlled substances in specified
14         circumstances; providing that a person is entitled to
15         an affirmative defense to the offense of driving while
16         impaired if the person charged with the offense of
17         driving while impaired introduced a controlled
18         substance into his or her body pursuant to a
19         prescription issued by a licensed health professional
20         who is authorized to prescribe the controlled
21         substance and if the person consumed the controlled
22         substance in accordance with the health professional’s
23         directions; providing that the use of a nonprescribed
24         substance does not constitute an affirmative defense
25         for a person who has a prescription for another
26         substance; providing that alcohol or a legal impairing
27         substance does not constitute a defense against a
28         charge of driving while impaired under certain
29         circumstances; amending ss. 187.201, 261.20, 310.101,
30         316.027, 316.1932, 316.1933, 316.1934, 316.1937,
31         316.1939, 318.143, 318.17, 320.055, 322.12, 322.25,
32         322.26, 322.2615, 320.2616, 322.271, 322.2715, 322.28,
33         322.291, 322.34, 322.61, 322.62, 322.63, 324.023,
34         337.195, 401.281, and 401.445, F.S.; revising
35         provisions to conform to changes made by the act;
36         providing an effective date.
37  
38  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
39  
40         Section 1.Subsections (89) and (90) are added to section
41  316.003, Florida Statutes, to read:
42         316.003 Definitions.—The following words and phrases, when
43  used in this chapter, shall have the meanings respectively
44  ascribed to them in this section, except where the context
45  otherwise requires:
46         (89) DRIVE.—To operate or be in actual physical control of
47  a vehicle.
48         (90) IMPAIR OR IMPAIRED.—To weaken or diminish a person’s
49  physical or mental abilities, including, but not limited to, the
50  person’s balance, coordination, reflexes, memory, and
51  comprehension, and the person’s ability to see, hear, walk,
52  talk, judge distances, act in an emergency, follow directions,
53  multitask, and, in general, perform the many mental and physical
54  acts of daily life.
55         Section 2. Section 316.193, Florida Statutes, is amended to
56  read:
57         316.193 Driving while impaired under the influence;
58  penalties.—
59         (1) A person commits is guilty of the offense of driving
60  while impaired under the influence and is subject to punishment
61  as provided in subsection (2) if the person is driving or in
62  actual physical control of a vehicle anywhere within this state
63  and:
64         (a) The person is impaired by an under the influence of
65  alcoholic beverage beverages, a any chemical substance
66  identified set forth in s. 877.111, a or any substance
67  controlled substance as defined in under chapter 893 or the
68  Federal Register, any other impairing substance, or a
69  combination of these items when affected to the extent that the
70  person’s normal faculties are impaired;
71         (b) The person has an alcohol concentration a blood-alcohol
72  level of 0.08 or more grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of
73  blood or per 210 liters of breath at the time of driving or
74  anytime after driving as a result of alcohol consumed before or
75  during driving; or
76         (c) The person has in the blood or urine a substance
77  identified as a controlled substance as defined in Schedule I of
78  chapter 893 or the Federal Register, or one of its metabolites
79  or analogs; or a breath-alcohol level of 0.08 or more grams of
80  alcohol per 210 liters of breath.
81         (d) The person has in the blood or urine a substance
82  identified as a controlled substance in Schedule II, Schedule
83  III, or Schedule IV of chapter 893 or the Federal Register, or
84  one of its metabolites or analogs....

520         (15)(a) If a person who is charged with violating
521  subsection (1)(d) introduced into his or her body a controlled
522  substance prescribed by a licensed health professional
523  authorized to prescribe the controlled substance and if the
524  person consumed the controlled substance in accordance with the
525  health professional’s directions, the person is entitled to an
526  affirmative defense against any allegation that the person
527  violated subsection (1)(d). The introduction of a nonprescribed
528  substance into the person’s body does not constitute an
529  affirmative defense with respect to any nonprescribed substance.
530         (b) Except for paragraph (a), the fact that a person
531  charged with violating subsection (1) is or was legally entitled
532  to introduce into the human body alcohol, a chemical substance,
533  a controlled substance, a medication, a drug, or any other
534  impairing substance does not constitute a defense against any
535  charge of violating subsection (1).

1044 Section 9. Subsections (1) and (2) of section 316.1934, 1045 Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 1046 316.1934 Presumption of impairment; testing methods.— 1047 (1) It is unlawful and punishable as provided in chapter 1048 322 and in s. 316.193 for a any person who is impaired by or 1049 under the influence of an alcoholic beverage beverages or a 1050 controlled substance substances, when affected to the extent 1051 that the person is person’s normal faculties are impaired or to 1052 the extent that the person is deprived of his or her abilities 1053 full possession of normal faculties, to drive or be in actual 1054 physical control of a any motor vehicle within this state. Such 1055 abilities normal faculties include, but are not limited to, the 1056 ability to see, hear, walk, talk, judge distances, drive an 1057 automobile, make judgments, act in emergencies, and, in general, 1058 normally perform the many mental and physical acts of daily 1059 life. 1060 (2) At the trial of any civil or criminal action or 1061 proceeding arising out of an act acts alleged to have been 1062 committed by a any person while driving, or being in actual 1063 physical control of, a vehicle while impaired by or under the 1064 influence of an alcoholic beverage beverages or a controlled 1065 substance substances, when affected to the extent that the 1066 person’s abilities normal faculties were impaired or to the 1067 extent that he or she was deprived of full possession of his or 1068 her abilities normal faculties, the results of any test 1069 administered in accordance with s. 316.1932 or s. 316.1933 and 1070 this section are admissible into evidence when otherwise 1071 admissible, and the amount of alcohol in the person’s blood or 1072 breath at the time alleged, as shown by chemical analysis of the 1073 person’s blood, or by chemical or physical test of the person’s 1074 breath, gives rise to the following presumptions: 1075 (a) If the there was at that time a blood-alcohol level or 1076 breath-alcohol level was of 0.05 or less, it is presumed that 1077 the person was not impaired by under the influence of an 1078 alcoholic beverage beverages to the extent that his or her 1079 abilities normal faculties were impaired. 1080 (b) If the there was at that time a blood-alcohol level or 1081 breath-alcohol level was in excess of 0.05 but less than 0.08, 1082 that fact does not give rise to any presumption that the person 1083 was or was not impaired by under the influence of an alcoholic 1084 beverage beverages to the extent that his or her abilities 1085 normal faculties were impaired but may be considered with other 1086 competent evidence in determining whether the person was 1087 impaired by an under the influence of alcoholic beverage 1088 beverages to the extent that his or her abilities normal 1089 faculties were impaired. 1090 (c) If the there was at that time a blood-alcohol level or 1091 breath-alcohol level was of 0.08 or higher, that fact is prima 1092 facie evidence that the person was impaired by an under the 1093 influence of alcoholic beverage beverages to the extent that his 1094 or her abilities normal faculties were impaired. Moreover, a 1095 such person who has a blood-alcohol level or breath-alcohol 1096 level of 0.08 or higher commits the offense is guilty of 1097 driving, or being in actual physical control of, a motor 1098 vehicle, with an unlawful blood-alcohol level or breath-alcohol 1099 level. 1100 1101 The presumptions provided in this subsection do not limit the 1102 introduction of any other competent evidence bearing upon the 1103 question of whether the person was impaired by an under the 1104 influence of alcoholic beverage beverages to the extent that his 1105 or her abilities normal faculties were impaired.

1933 Section 32. This act shall take effect July 1, 2012.

This article was last updated on Friday, January 3, 2020.