Most would assume that any money collected from Tennessee criminal defendants required to pay a blood alcohol or drug concentration fee would then be used for purposes related to Tennessee DUI enforcement, DUI investigation or the blood, breath, or urine testing itself. In fact, all fees collected prior to July 1, 2010 were mandated to be used, in part, “to purchase, maintain and upgrade the equipment and supplies necessary to examine and analyze, in a timely manner, the increased number of requests for determinations of alcohol concentration, the presence of narcotic or other drugs, or for both alcohol or drugs, in submitted blood samples resulting from permitting the testing for both alcohol and drugs of drivers of motor vehicles suspected to be operating in violation of § 55-10-401.” See Tennessee Code Annotated § 55-10-419(c)(2).
On June 9, 2010, Governor Bredesen signed a new law which not only increases the fee collected from defendants who submit to blood, breath, or urine tests from $100.00 to $250.00, but also re-designates how these funds are to be distributed. This new law is is no longer specific to DUI investigations, but allows a much broader use of the funds “to purchase equipment and supplies, pay for the education, training and scientific development of employees, and for any other purpose so as to allow the bureau to operate in a more efficient and expeditious manner.”
