§ 11-501.2 — Chemical and other tests

Illinois § 11-501.2

• Jurisdiction: Illinois
• Topic: TRANSPORTATION
• Ch. 625: VEHICLES
• Act 625 ILCS 5/: Illinois Vehicle Code.
• Art.: Article V - Driving While Under The Influence, Transporting Alcoholic Liquor, And Reckless Driving

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(a) Upon the trial of any civil or criminal action or proceeding arising out of an arrest for an offense as defined in Section 11-501 or a similar local ordinance or proceedings pursuant to Section 2-118.1, evidence of the concentration of alcohol, other drug or drugs, or intoxicating compound or compounds, or any combination thereof in a person's blood or breath at the time alleged, as determined by analysis of the person's blood, urine, breath, or other bodily substance, shall be admissible. Where such test is made the following provisions shall apply: 1. Chemical analyses of the person's blood, urine, breath, or other bodily substance to be considered valid under the provisions of this Section shall have been performed according to standards promulgated by the Illinois State Police by a licensed physician, registered nurse, trained phlebotomist, licensed paramedic, or other individual possessing a valid permit issued by that Department for this purpose. The Director of the Illinois State Police is authorized to approve satisfactory techniques or methods, to ascertain the qualifications and competence of individuals to conduct such analyses, to issue permits which shall be subject to termination or revocation at the discretion of that Department and to certify the accuracy of breath testing equipment. The Illinois State Police shall prescribe regulations as necessary to implement this Section. 2. When a person in this State shall submit to a blood test at the request of a law enforcement officer under the provisions of Section 11-501.1, only a physician authorized to practice medicine, a licensed physician assistant, a licensed advanced practice registered nurse, a registered nurse, trained phlebotomist, or licensed paramedic, or other qualified person approved by the Illinois State Police may withdraw blood for the purpose of determining the alcohol, drug, or alcohol and drug content therein. This limitation shall not apply to the taking of breath, other bodily substance, or urine specimens. When a blood test of a person who has been taken to an adjoining state for medical treatment is requested by an Illinois law enforcement officer, the blood may be withdrawn only by a physician authorized to practice medicine in the adjoining state, a licensed physician assistant, a licensed advanced practice registered nurse, a registered nurse, a trained phlebotomist acting under the direction of the physician, or licensed paramedic. The law enforcement officer requesting the test shall take custody of the blood sample, and the blood sample shall be analyzed by a laboratory certified by the Illinois State Police for that purpose. 3. The person tested may have a physician, or a qualified technician, chemist, registered nurse, or other qualified person of their own choosing administer a chemical test or tests in addition to any administered at the direction of a law enforcement officer. The failure or inability to obtain an additional test by a person shall not preclude the admission of evidence relating to the test or tests taken at the direction of a law enforcement officer. 4. Upon the request of the person who shall submit to a chemical test or tests at the request of a law enforcement officer, full information concerning the test or tests shall be made available to the person or such person's attorney. 5. Alcohol concentration shall mean either grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood or grams of alcohol per 210 liters of breath. 6. Tetrahydrocannabinol concentration means either 5 nanograms or more of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol per milliliter of whole blood or 10 nanograms or more of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol per milliliter of other bodily substance. (a-5) Law enforcement officials may use validated roadside chemical tests or standardized field sobriety tests approved by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration when conducting investigations of a violation of Section 11-501 or similar local ordinance by drivers suspected of driving under the influence of cannabis. The General Assembly finds that (i) validated roadside chemical tests are effective means to determine if a person is under the influence of cannabis and (ii) standardized field sobriety tests approved by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are divided attention tasks that are intended to determine if a person is under the influence of cannabis. The purpose of these tests is to determine the effect of the use of cannabis on a person's capacity to think and act with ordinary care and therefore operate a motor vehicle safely. Therefore, the results of these validated roadside chemical tests and standardized field sobriety tests, appropriately administered, shall be admissible in the trial of any civil or criminal action or proceeding arising out of an arrest for a cannabis-related offense as defined in Section 11-501 or a similar local ordinance or proceedings under Section 2-118.1 or 2-118.2. Where a test is made the following provisions shall apply: 1. The person tested may have a physician, or a qualified technician, chemist, registered nurse, or other qualified person of their own choosing administer a chemical test or tests in addition to the standardized field sobriety test or tests administered at the direction of a law enforcement officer. The failure or inability to obtain an additional test by a person does not preclude the admission of evidence relating to the test or tests taken at the direction of a law enforcement officer. 2. Upon the request of the person who shall submit to validated roadside chemical tests or a standardized field sobriety test or tests at the request of a law enforcement officer, full information concerning the test or tests shall be made available to the person or the person's attorney. 3. At the trial of any civil or criminal action or proceeding arising out of an arrest for an offense as defined in Section 11-501 or a similar local ordinance or proceedings under Section 2-118.1 or 2-118.2 in which the results of these validated roadside chemical tests or standardized field sobriety tests are admitted, the person may present and the trier of fact may consider evidence that the person lacked the physical capacity to perform the validated roadside chemical tests or standardized field sobriety tests. (b) Upon the trial of any civil or criminal action or proceeding arising out of acts alleged to have been committed by any person while driving or in actual physical control of a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, the concentration of alcohol in the person's blood or breath at the time alleged as shown by analysis of the person's blood, urine, breath, or other bodily substance shall give rise to the following presumptions: 1. If there was at that time an alcohol concentration of 0.05 or less, it shall be presumed that the person was not under the influence of alcohol. 2. If there was at that time an alcohol concentration in excess of 0.05 but less than 0.08, such facts shall not give rise to any presumption that the person was or was not under the influence of alcohol, but such fact may be considered with other competent evidence in determining whether the person was under the influence of alcohol. 3. If there was at that time an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more, it shall be presumed that the person was under the influence of alcohol. 4. The foregoing provisions of this Section shall not be construed as limiting the introduction of any other relevant evidence bearing upon the question whether the person was under the influence of alcohol. (b-5) Upon the trial of any civil or criminal action or proceeding arising out of acts alleged to have been committed by any person while driving or in actual physical control of a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, other drug or drugs, intoxicating compound or compounds or any combination thereof, the concentration of cannabis in the person's whole blood or other bodily substance at the time alleged as shown by analysis of the person's blood or other bodily substance shall give rise to the following presumptions: 1. If there was a tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of 5 nanograms or more in whole blood or 10 nanograms or more in an other bodily substance as defined in this Section, it shall be presumed that the person was under the influence of cannabis. 2. If there was at that time a tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of less than 5 nanograms in whole blood or less than 10 nanograms in an other bodily substance, such facts shall not give rise to any presumption that the person was or was not under the influence of cannabis, but such fact may be considered with other competent evidence in determining whether the person was under the influence of cannabis. (c) 1. If a person under arrest refuses to submit to a chemical test under the provisions of Section 11-501.1, evidence of refusal shall be admissible in any civil or criminal action or proceeding arising out of acts alleged to have been committed while the person under the influence of alcohol, other drug or drugs, or intoxicating compound or compounds, or any combination thereof was driving or in actual physical control of a motor vehicle. 2. Notwithstanding any ability to refuse under this Code to submit to these tests or any ability to revoke the implied consent to these tests, if a law enforcement officer has probable cause to believe that a motor vehicle driven by or in actual physical control of a person under the influence of alcohol, other drug or drugs, or intoxicating compound or compounds, or any combination thereof has caused the death or personal injury to another, the law enforcement officer shall request, and that person shall submit, upon the request of a law enforcement officer, to a chemical test or tests of his or her blood, breath, other bodily substance, or urine for the purpose of determining the alcohol content thereof or the presence of any other drug or combination of both. This provision does not affect the applicability of or imposition of driver's license sanctions under Section 11-501.1 of this Code. 3. For purposes of this Section, a personal injury includes any Type A injury as indicated on the traffic crash report completed by a law enforcement officer that requires immediate professional attention in either a doctor's office or a medical facility. A Type A injury includes severe bleeding wounds, distorted extremities, and injuries that require the injured party to be carried from the scene. (d) If a person refuses validated roadside chemical tests or standardized field sobriety tests under Section 11-501.9 of this Code, evidence of refusal shall be admissible in any civil or criminal action or proceeding arising out of acts committed while the person was driving or in actual physical control of a vehicle and alleged to have been impaired by the use of cannabis. (e) Illinois State Police compliance with the changes in this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly concerning testing of other bodily substances and tetrahydrocannabinol concentration by Illinois State Police laboratories is subject to appropriation and until the Illinois State Police adopt standards and completion validation. Any laboratories that test for the presence of cannabis or other drugs under this Article, the Snowmobile Registration and Safety Act, or the Boat Registration and Safety Act must comply with ISO/IEC 17025:2005.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 101-27, eff. 6-25-19; 102-538, eff. 8-20-21; 102-982, eff. 7-1-23 .)