2023 California Code
Public Utilities Code - PUC
DIVISION 9 - AVIATION
PART 1 - STATE AERONAUTICS ACT
CHAPTER 3 - Regulation of Aeronautics
Section 21407.2.

Universal Citation:
CA Pub Util Code § 21407.2 (2023)
Learn more This media-neutral citation is based on the American Association of Law Libraries Universal Citation Guide and is not necessarily the official citation.

21407.2. (a) (1) (A) Any person who operates an aircraft in the air or on the ground or water is deemed to have given his or her consent to chemical testing of his or her blood or breath for the purpose of determining the alcoholic content of his or her blood, if lawfully arrested for any offense allegedly committed in violation of Section 21407.1 or if the officer requests chemical testing as part of any investigation of a suspected violation of state or local law. If a blood or breath test, or both, are unavailable, then paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) applies.

(B) Any person who operates an aircraft in the air or on the ground or water is deemed to have given his or her consent to chemical testing of his or her blood or urine for the purpose of determining the drug content of his or her blood, if lawfully arrested for any offense allegedly committed in violation of Section 21407.1 or if the officer requests chemical testing as part of an investigation of a suspected violation of state or local law.

(C) The testing shall be administered at the direction of a peace officer having reasonable cause to believe the person was operating an aircraft in violation of Section 21407.1 under either of the following conditions:

(i) The person is lawfully arrested.

(ii) The officer requests the person to submit to chemical testing as part of an investigation of a suspected violation of state or local law.

(D) The person shall be told that his or her failure to submit to, or the failure to complete, the required chemical testing may result in prohibition from operating an aircraft for not more than one year and, if the person is convicted of a violation of Section 21407.1, a fine, imprisonment, prohibition from operating an aircraft for not more than one year, or any combination thereof.

(2) (A) If the person is lawfully arrested for operating an aircraft under the influence of an alcoholic beverage, the person has the choice of whether the test shall be of his or her blood or breath, and the officer shall advise the person that he or she has that choice. If the person arrested either is incapable, or states that he or she is incapable, of completing the chosen test, the person shall submit to the remaining test. If a blood or breath test, or both, are unavailable, then paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) applies.

(B) If the person is lawfully arrested for operating an aircraft under the influence of any drug or the combined influence of an alcoholic beverage and any drug, the person has the choice of whether the test shall be of his or her blood, breath, or urine, and the officer shall advise the person that he or she has that choice.

(C) A person who chooses to submit to a breath test may also be requested to submit to a blood or urine test if the officer has reasonable cause to believe that the person was operating an aircraft under the influence of any drug or the combined influence of an alcoholic beverage and any drug and if the officer has a clear indication that a blood or urine test will reveal evidence of the person being under the influence. The officer shall state in his or her report the facts upon which that belief and that clear indication are based. If the person who is arrested is either incapable or states that he or she is incapable of completing a blood test, that person shall submit to and complete a urine test. If the person arrested either is incapable, or states that he or she is incapable, of completing either chosen test, the person shall submit to and complete the other remaining test.

(3) If the person is lawfully arrested for an offense allegedly committed in violation of Section 21407.1 and, because of the need for medical treatment, the person is first transported to a medical facility where it is not feasible to administer a particular test of, or to obtain a particular sample of, the person’s blood, breath, or urine, the person has the choice of those tests which are available at the facility to which that person has been transported. In that event, the officer shall advise the person of those tests which are available at the medical facility and that the person’s choice is limited to those tests which are available.

(4) The officer shall also advise the person that he or she does not have the right to have an attorney present before stating whether he or she will submit to a test or tests, before deciding which test or tests to take, or during administration of the test or tests chosen, and that, in the event of refusal to submit to a test or tests, the refusal may be used against him or her in a court of law.

(5) Any person who is unconscious or otherwise in a condition rendering him or her incapable of refusal is deemed not to have withdrawn his or her consent and a test or tests may be administered whether or not the person is told that his or her failure to submit to, or the noncompletion of, the test or tests may result in a fine, imprisonment, and prohibition from operating an aircraft for not more than one year. Any person who is dead is deemed not to have withdrawn his or her consent and a test or tests may be administered at the direction of a peace officer.

(b) Any person who is afflicted with hemophilia is exempt from the blood test required by this section.

(c) Any person who is afflicted with a heart condition and is using an anticoagulant under the direction of a licensed physician and surgeon is exempt from the blood test required by this section.

(d) (1) A person lawfully arrested for any offense allegedly committed while the person was operating an aircraft in violation of Section 21407.1 may request the arresting officer to have a chemical test made of the arrested person’s blood or breath for the purpose of determining the alcoholic content of that person’s blood, and, if so requested, the arresting officer shall have the test performed.

(2) If a blood or breath test is not available under subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), or under subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), or under paragraph (1) of this subdivision, the person shall submit to the remaining test in order to determine the percent, by weight, of alcohol in the person’s blood. If both the blood and breath tests are unavailable, the person shall be deemed to have given his or her consent to chemical testing of his or her urine and shall submit to a urine test.

(Amended by Stats. 1998, Ch. 740, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 1999.)

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