Strengthening the Commonwealth's Impaired Driving Laws
Dealing with the repeat drunk driver is one of the most intractable problems in public safety. Repeat offenders generally refuse to take breath tests, are undeterred by license suspensions, resume drinking when freed from incarceration, and often walk unscathed from crashes that kill or grievously injure innocent victims.
In October 2005, the Massachusetts Legislature enacted Melanie’s Bill, named for Melanie Powell, a 13-year-old girl from Marshfield, who died after being struck by a car driven by a repeat drunk driver. Melanie's Bill strengthened the Commonwealth's impaired driving laws by providing for immediate license suspension for an OUI arrest, requiring ignition interlock devices on vehicles of repeat offenders, dramatically increasing the penalties for refusing the breath test, and clarifying the process for the Commonwealth to prove the defendant's history of prior offenses. In the year since Melanie was passed, prosecutors have noted a 10% increase in the number of OUI prosecutions, and a 20% increase in the number of arrestees who agree to take the breath test.
But improvements are needed. The District Attorneys appreciate the leadership of Representative Eugene O'Flaherty, House Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and Representative Garrett Bradley, a former prosecutor in Plymouth County, for filing the following bills that will significantly improve the prosecution of impaired driving cases and the safety of the driving public.
An Act to Protect the Citizens of the Commonwealth from Drunk Drivers 
(Redraft of Impaired Driving Laws)
House Bill 1590
Filed by Representative Eugene O'Flaherty
Massachusetts' laws governing impaired driving were originally crafted almost 100 years ago and have been amended over 60 times; they are a mish-mash of confusing, duplicative and sometimes contradictory provisions. Crafted as a joint project of the MDAA and the Registry of Motor Vehicles, this bill rewrites the impaired driving laws to provide a clean, concise and condensed restatement of the current law in a user-friendly format for the hundreds of judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys who must refer to it every day.
An Act Relative to Breathalyzer Test Certificates
House Bill 1290
Filed by Representative Garrett Bradley
This bill would improve operating under the influence prosecutions, as it would permit the "test ticket” issued by the breath test instrument - - just as an ATM produces a slip with basic facts such as date, location of bank and amount of the transaction - - to come into evidence as prima facie proof of the facts on the ticket. This is a reasonable measure, as the Commonwealth already strictly controls the make and model of breath instruments the police may use, and the maintenance of the instrument and the contents of the "ticket” are also controlled by statute and regulation.
An Act Relative to the Admissibility of Office of Alcohol Testing Records House Bill 1289
Filed by Representative Garrett Bradley
This bill would eliminate the need to have the Office of Alcohol Testing signatures attested to on official documents of the Commonwealth.