House committee advances bills to allow roadside oral‑fluid drug screening

The House Government Operations Committee on Wednesday advanced a set of bills that would authorize Michigan law enforcement to use preliminary oral‑fluid (saliva) screening at traffic stops and to collect oral‑fluid samples for laboratory confirmatory testing instead of transporting suspected impaired drivers for blood draws.

The measures — introduced as House bills to permit roadside oral‑fluid screening and laboratory testing — were supported by sponsors and a range of witnesses, including Tom Chapman of the National Transportation Safety Board, Kristen Burke of the Society of Forensic Toxicologists, Chief Troy Meter (a certified Drug Recognition Expert and instructor), and Brian Swift, who urged the committee to act after losing family members in a crash involving an impaired driver.

Supporters said oral‑fluid screening provides a rapid, noninvasive way to detect recent use of a range of substances at or near the time of driving and can reduce demands on emergency departments. “Oral fluid collection allows for rapid and less invasive biological specimen collection,” Tom Chapman, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board, told the committee, citing the agency’s 2022 recommendation that…