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It doesn't look to me as if this proposed bill changes anything other than making certain PC §46 references the definition of "intoxicated" as presented in PC §49...which is where I believe everyone--judges, attorneys, and non-attorneys alike--already look for clarification. The definition in PC §46.06 is superfluous and incomplete. PC §49.01 defines what "alcohol concentration" means, and presents the clear definition of "intoxicated"...including the very important (and often misunderstood) conjunction "or" that joins PC §49.01(2)(A) and §49.01(2)(B).

I'd support this bill. I'm all for steps that normalize the statutes, making them less ambiguous by consolidating definitions into single sources.

A follow-on to note what's been said many times in the past: there simply is no reasonable way to remove the seemingly subjective statement: "...not having the normal use of mental or physical faculties by reason of the introduction of...any...substance into the body." There simply is no way to test for everything that someone could conceivably put into his body, or predict what new things might be devised in the future to ingest or inject. And what would otherwise be innocuous amounts of several different substances can, if taken together, cause impairment equal to or greater than one of those substances taken in quantity.

What the definition in PC §49.01does do is make it clear that intoxication requires the introduction of a substance into the body. Naturally occurring conditions that might look symptomatic of intoxication don't count: think of someone going into diabetic shock or suffering a seizure. For example, I had a friend who passed away several years ago from ALS. His earliest symptom was slurred speech. Took weeks to diagnose, and for the first several months, the slurred speech was the only issue: his mind, other motor operations, reflexes, etc. were just fine. He continued to go to work every day and go to the gym after work. But if he'd been pulled over for a traffic stop, he'd have had some 'splainin' to do. He kept a letter from his doctor in the car, just in case.