WSR 17-24-095
PERMANENT RULES
WASHINGTON STATE PATROL
[Filed December 5, 2017, 2:34 p.m., effective January 5, 2018]
Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.
Purpose: The adopted changes to WAC 448-16-040 reflect the update to RCW 46.61.506 by removing the requirement that piercings be removed prior [to] conducting a breath test. (RCW 46.61.506 specifically excludes piercings as a foreign object for the purposes of an evidential breath test effective July 23, 2017.)
Citation of Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 448-16-040.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 46.61.506.
Adopted under notice filed as WSR 17-17-081 on August 16, 2017.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at the Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's own Initiative: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Date Adopted: December 4, 2017.
John R. Batiste
Chief
AMENDATORY SECTION (Amending WSR 16-21-025, filed 10/10/16, effective 11/10/16)
WAC 448-16-040 Foreign substances, interference, and invalid samples.
(1) A determination as to whether a subject has a foreign substance in his or her mouth will be made by either an examination of the mouth or a denial by the person that he or she has any foreign substances in their mouth. A test mouthpiece is not considered a foreign substance for purposes of RCW 46.61.506.
(2) ((If a subject is wearing jewelry or ornamentation pierced through their tongue, lips, cheek, or other soft tissues in the oral cavity, they will be required to remove this prior to conducting the breath test. If the subject declines to remove the jewelry or ornamentation, they will be deemed to have a physical limitation rendering them incapable of providing a valid breath sample.
(3))) If during a breath test, interference is detected, this will invalidate the test. The subject will be required to repeat the test. A subject whose breath registers the presence of interference on two or more successive breaths shall be deemed to have a physical limitation rendering them incapable of providing a valid breath sample.
(((4))) (3) In the event that the instrument records an "invalid sample" result at any point during the subject's test, that subject's test should be readministered, after again determining that the subject has no foreign substance in their mouth as outlined in WAC 448-16-040(1), and repeating the fifteen minute observation period.