Summary — HB 4391 (2025): Preliminary Oral Fluid Analysis; expand vehicle-code testing to other bodily fluids
Status
- Introduced: March 11, 2025 (Rep. Julie M. Rogers)
- Passed House (substitute H-2): July 1, 2025 (given immediate effect by the House)
- Referred to Senate Committee on Civil Rights, Judiciary, and Public Safety: July 17, 2025
- Tie‑bar: HB 4390 ('25). Companion: SB 1340.
Purpose
- To authorize and incorporate roadside oral fluid (saliva) screening tests — called “preliminary oral fluid analysis” — into the Michigan Vehicle Code’s existing framework for preliminary chemical breath tests and post-arrest chemical testing. The bill also inserts the term “other bodily fluid” into provisions that currently reference blood, breath, or urine.
Key provisions
- Definitions
- “Other bodily fluid”: any human fluid capable of revealing the presence of controlled substances or metabolites, explicitly including oral fluid.
- “Preliminary oral fluid analysis”: the on‑site taking of an oral fluid sample by a peace officer to detect the presence of a controlled substance (as defined in the Public Health Code).
- Peace officer authority
- If an officer has reasonable cause to suspect impairment (alcohol, controlled substance, or other intoxicant), the officer may require a person to submit to a preliminary chemical breath analysis or a preliminary oral fluid analysis.
- The bill extends existing commercial-motor-vehicle (CMV) testing rules to “other bodily fluid.”
- Admissibility and evidentiary uses
- Preliminary oral fluid results may be used to justify arrest.
- Results are admissible in prosecutions for offenses enumerated in the statute and in administrative hearings for limited purposes, including:
- Assisting a court/hearing officer in evaluating the validity of an arrest.
- Rebuttal uses where preliminary oral fluid results conflict with later chemical tests (blood/urine/other bodily fluid) — available to either side for specific cross‑examination rebuttal scenarios.
- Persons submitting to preliminary tests remain subject to statute provisions governing chemical tests and administrative hearings.
- Refusal and penalties
- Generally: refusal to submit to a preliminary breath or oral fluid analysis is a civil infraction (except as below).
- For commercial motor vehicle operators: refusal to submit to a preliminary breath or oral fluid analysis is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 93 days in jail, a fine up to $100, or both, and will result in a 24‑hour out‑of‑service order.
- Effective date / enactment linkage
- Earlier analyses noted each bill would take effect 90 days after enactment and that neither would take effect unless both HB 4390 and HB 4391 were enacted. The House granted immediate effect to the version it passed; final effective date depends on enactment (and any tie‑bar) in the Legislature and signature into law.
Who is affected
- Motor vehicle operators (general drivers and commercial drivers) — increased likelihood of being screened by roadside oral fluid tests and subject to related penalties for refusal.
- Law enforcement agencies (state and local) — permitted, but not required, to use oral fluid screens; may need to procure equipment and adopt policies/training.
- Courts and administrative hearing bodies — will handle additional admissibility issues and potential challenges relating to oral fluid screening.
- State and local governments — potential changes to caseloads, incarceration, probation, and revenue streams (fines/penalties).
Fiscal impact (House Fiscal Agency summary)
- Indeterminate. Law enforcement agencies could incur equipment and training costs if they choose to use oral fluid screens. The bills could increase the number of violations and convictions (civil infractions, misdemeanors, or felonies depending on circumstances), affecting jail, probation, and court workloads and costs.
- FY2024 reference figures: average state prison cost ≈ $46,200 per prisoner; parole/felony probation ≈ $5,500 per supervised offender.
- Fine revenue primarily increases funding for public and county law libraries; a portion goes to the state Justice System Fund.
Notes and context
- The bill adopts concepts tested in prior Michigan oral fluid pilot programs (Phase I/II) but broadens who may perform preliminary oral fluid testing (the statutory text permits peace officers to perform on‑site oral fluid collection; prior pilot restrictions required certified drug recognition experts).
- HB 4391 was passed by the House and is under Senate committee consideration; further amendments or Senate actions will determine final law.
