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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2021 - 2022
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | December 8, 2020 02:32 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Scott E. Hutchinson |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Drug Recognition Officer Training |
| In the near future, I plan on re-introducing legislation that would help to provide additional funding to the State Police for the training of both state and local Drug Recognition Experts. With every passing year, it seems more and more individuals and families are impacted by the opioid crisis. Driving under the influence of controlled substances has become a major problem in Pennsylvania, with controlled substances accounting for most of the DUI’s in the state. To combat this, local and state police officers have begun to become trained as Drug Recognition Experts. These experts can be called out in the event of a traffic stop or accident to evaluate drivers for the presence of drugs in their system, helping to accurately identify such drivers and take them off the road. This legislation would allow for a $5 surcharge to be added to DUI fines. This money would go to a restricted account that would serve to fund DRE training programs in Pennsylvania. At a cost of only $5 per violation, close to fifty officers can be trained every year, moving the state closer to the State Police’s goal of 400 active DRE’s statewide. Please join me in supporting this important legislation. If you have any questions regarding this legislation, please contact Nathan Akers in my office at 787-9684 or nakers@pasen.gov. |
Introduced as SB137