S 53: Lowers the blood alcohol concentration required for driving while intoxicated from .08 of one per centum to .05, and for aggravated driving while intoxicated from .18 per centum to .12.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 53 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. LIU, COMRIE, GOUNARDES, HARCKHAM, HOYLMAN-SIGAL, JACKSON, MAYER, RAMOS, RIVERA, SALAZAR, SEPULVEDA, STAVISKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to lowering the blood alcohol concentration required for driving while intoxicated from .08 of one per centum to .05, and for aggravated driving while intoxicated from .18 of one per centum to .12 The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 2, paragraph (a) of subdivision 2-a, subdivi- 2 sion 5 and subdivision 6 of section 1192 of the vehicle and traffic law, 3 subdivision 2 as amended by chapter 3 of the laws of 2002, paragraph (a) 4 of subdivision 2-a as amended by chapter 496 of the laws of 2009 and 5 subdivisions 5 and 6 as amended by chapter 236 of the laws of 2003, are 6 amended to read as follows: 7 2. Driving while intoxicated; per se. No person shall operate a motor 8 vehicle while such person has [.08] .05 of one per centum or more by 9 weight of alcohol in the person's blood as shown by chemical analysis of 10 such person's blood, breath, urine or saliva, made pursuant to the 11 provisions of section eleven hundred ninety-four of this article. 12 (a) Per se. No person shall operate a motor vehicle while such person 13 has [.18] .12 of one per centum or more by weight of alcohol in such 14 person's blood as shown by chemical analysis of such person's blood, 15 breath, urine or saliva made pursuant to the provisions of section elev- 16 en hundred ninety-four of this article. 17 5. Commercial motor vehicles: per se - level I. Notwithstanding the 18 provisions of section eleven hundred ninety-five of this article, no 19 person shall operate a commercial motor vehicle while such person has 20 .04 of one per centum or more but not more than [.06] .05 of one per EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD00478-01-5 
 S. 53 2 1 centum by weight of alcohol in the person's blood as shown by chemical 2 analysis of such person's blood, breath, urine or saliva, made pursuant 3 to the provisions of section eleven hundred ninety-four of this article; 4 provided, however, nothing contained in this subdivision shall prohibit 5 the imposition of a charge of a violation of subdivision one of this 6 section, or of section eleven hundred ninety-two-a of this article where 7 a person under the age of twenty-one operates a commercial motor vehicle 8 where a chemical analysis of such person's blood, breath, urine, or 9 saliva, made pursuant to the provisions of section eleven hundred nine- 10 ty-four of this article, indicates that such operator has .02 of one per 11 centum or more but less than .04 of one per centum by weight of alcohol 12 in such operator's blood. 13 6. Commercial motor vehicles; per se - level II. Notwithstanding the 14 provisions of section eleven hundred ninety-five of this article, no 15 person shall operate a commercial motor vehicle while such person has 16 more than [.06] .05 of one per centum [but less than .08 of one per 17 centum] by weight of alcohol in the person's blood as shown by chemical 18 analysis of such person's blood, breath, urine or saliva, made pursuant 19 to the provisions of section eleven hundred ninety-four of this article; 20 provided, however, nothing contained in this subdivision shall prohibit 21 the imposition of a charge of a violation of subdivision one of this 22 section. 23 § 2. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall 24 have become a law.