House concurs in Senate amendments to impaired driving overhaul

The Vermont House of Representatives on May 22, 2025, concurred in the Senate proposal of amendment to House Bill 44, which makes a series of changes to impaired-driving statutes, including compliance with federal "anti-masking" rules for commercial driver license holders and adjustments to criminal liability standards for warrant-based blood draws.

"Anti masking refers to federal government's regulatory scheme that prohibits hiding CDL driving infractions through methods like sentencing alternatives or court diversion," said the Member from Brattleboro as the presenter summarized the Senate changes. The presenter told members the change ensures Vermont's statutes comply with federal requirements so commercial driving records remain accurate.

The bill's other Senate amendments include a revision to the wording governing compliance with a warrant for an evidentiary blood draw — replacing language that could be read as creating automatic consent — and substituting a mental-state element in the criminal-refusal provision by replacing the word "refuses" with "knowingly hinders." The presenter said the change is intended to avoid strict-liability offenses in cases where a person is incapacitated and may be unable to interfere with a blood draw.

The Judiciary Committee reported the Senate amendments favorably after hearing testimony from legislative counsel, the traffic resource prosecutor, state and local prosecutors, the Department of Motor Vehicles enforcement director, and defenders' office representatives. Committee members reported a straw poll of 9-0-2 on the amendments. The House concurred by voice vote; the presiding officer announced the ayes carried.