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Senate committee tables amendments to implied consent legislation

Sen. Soliai Tuipine Fuimaono
It seeks to include drivers suspected of drug-impaired driving
fili@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The Lemanu administration is seeking to amend current locals laws for implied consent testing of breath for Driving Under the Influence (DUI) cases, by including implied consent testing of blood to confirm drivers suspected of drug-impaired driving and drivers involved in a deadly or serious injury accident.

“This bill is an important measure to combat drug abuse in our Territory,” according to the Governor’s Office. 

However, while supportive of the Administration’s efforts to rid the territory of the illegal drug problem, the Senate Public Safety/ Homeland Security committee wants further clarification and testimony from ASG officials, including a specific penalty included in the legislation.

The proposed amendment says, “Current testing procedures only account for the detection of alcohol on the breath of a suspected drunk driver.

“This creates a challenge in prosecuting drivers who are driving while impaired by drugs,” it states.

Police Commissioner Lefiti Atiulagi Pese was one of the two ASG witnesses summoned for the hearing held last week, and he appeared before the committee, while a representative of the LBJ Medical Center lab was a no-show. No information was available at the time for why this individual did not attend the hearing. 

During the committee hearing, Sen. Malaepule Saite Moliga suggested that the committee also call in a government attorney or one from the Attorney General’s Office to provide a thorough explanation of current law and the proposed amendments.

Sen. Soliai Tuipine Fuimaono, along with other committee members agreed with the suggestion — as this is a very important issue for American Samoa. Soliai also said the legislation lacks any specific language of a specific penalty for conviction under the proposed amendments.

Soliai and other senators believe a high penalty should be included in the language of the bill to counter the illegal drug problem in the territory.

At least twice during his remarks, Soliai described the illegal drug problem as a “disease” — spreading fast — just like the COVID-19 pandemic.

The bill’s preamble noted that drug and alcohol impaired driving presents a serious threat to motorists and pedestrian on the public highway. And a local statute makes it unlawful to drive a vehicle on public highway, “while under the influence of intoxicating liquor, any narcotic drug, to a degree which renders” the driver incapable of safely driving.

However, the current Implied Consent law does not provide for Implied Consent testing when a person is under arrest for drug impaired driving or for testing resulting form deadly or serious accidents. And proposed amendments in the bill add new provisions to the law addressing this issue.

At the conclusion of the hearing, the committee opted to table the measure for further discussions, while seeking from the Administration additional information on the bill such as a penalty for conviction, as well as testimony from an ASG attorney and a representative of the LBJ lab.