Legislation meant to make New York roads safer by expanding the substances that can be used in a DUI arrest continues to languish in the state legislature. But central New York Assemblyman Bill Magnarelli (D-Syracuse) still holds out hope the so-called drugged driving bill can get some traction this year.
The way things work now, if a police officer stops someone suspected of driving under the influence, they can only be ticketed for certain substances defined by state law. The problem, according to Magnarelli, is that there are many drugs on the street today that don’t apply.
"So right now people on synthetic drugs, the stuff that's coming in from China, etc., that we've heard about?," Magnarelli said. "You can't even pull them over, arrest them. You get them off the street, don't get me wrong. They get them off the street. But the thing is you can't charge them with anything."
In that case, since the person isn't charged, they can continue to use these drugs and get behind the wheel.
"If they get pulled over, yeah, their car is put off," he said. "You know, they've got to go get their car the next day. But the bottom line, they get in the car again and they do it again."
New York is one of only four states that requires a drug to be listed in statute to trigger a drugged driving violation, rather than it being left to the officer for interpretation. As recently as 2023, the federal government sent a letter to the Gov. Kathy Hochul, recommending bringing it in line with other states. It was included in Hochul's budget proposal last year, but not this year.
Magnarelli said he was disappointed, but understands getting it out of the budget debate.
"It is policy and I agree with the speaker [Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie]," he said. "We don't like doing policy in the budget. Budget should be numbers, etc. So I'm not surprised and I'm not upset about it. I'm hopeful that we can get it through during the course of the year."
Magnarelli said he has support from dozens of lawmakers and law enforcement agencies across the state to make changes that ultimately could save a life.
"We're just trying to get the people who have problems off the road so that they don't imperil everybody else, and themselves," he said.
