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House backs measure letting ER staff notify police when tests indicate impairment
Summary
The House passed Senate Bill 86 to allow medical personnel to notify police when ER blood/urine tests show evidence of alcohol or drugs following a crash; lawmakers debated privacy, scope and a committee amendment limiting uses to driving‑related offenses; the bill passed 49–22.
The Utah House on Feb. 25, 1999, passed Senate Bill 86, which permits medical personnel in emergency settings to notify law enforcement when blood or urine tests taken as part of treatment show evidence of alcohol or drugs. The measure passed 49–22 with four absences.
Representative Cox, the bill sponsor, told the chamber the measure is narrowly tailored to allow timely police follow‑up when initial medical tests indicate impairment in crash victims and where officers might otherwise be delayed at accident scenes. Cox and other supporters said the bill does not itself create probable cause and that police must still develop their own basis for arrest or further testing.
Floor debate raised several concerns: Representative Small and others sought a limiting amendment to ensure the results would only be used for driving‑related prosecutions and not for unrelated criminal investigations; that amendment was adopted as friendly. Representatives asked whether lab technicians/technologists would be covered and whether federal privacy statutes might be implicated. Sponsor Cox and counsel said the bill was drafted to avoid violating federal privacy laws by limiting the information conveyed (presence above the legal limit rather than detailed test results) and by preserving officers’ obligation to develop probable cause.
Proponents noted that blood alcohol tests have a statutory viability window (typically two hours) and that delays in police reaching hospitals can undermine DUI investigations; supporters argued the bill helps preserve evidence and public safety in rural cases where EMS arrive before police. Opponents expressed civil‑liberties concerns and the potential for mission creep.
Having been amended in committee and on the floor, SB 86 will go to the Senate for consideration of the House's action.
Quote representative Cox: "This just simply allows the medical personnel to notify police and get them there in a more timely manner."
