.....And No Opposition

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http://www.news10.net/storyfull2.aspx?storyid=17136

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Assembly Committee Passes Bill on Repeat DUI Alcohol Monitor

Written for the web by Mark Hedlund, Reporter

Electronic ankle bracelets are commonly used to monitor those under

house arrest. Now a California lawmaker wants to use similar devices

to monitor repeat drunk drivers to see if they've fallen off the

wagon.

The bill requiring continuous alcohol monitoring for those on

probation for multiple DUI offenses passed out of the Assembly

Public Safety Committee Wednesday without opposition, according to

the bill's author, Assemblyman Rudy Bermudez, D-Norwalk.

The monitoring system is an ankle bracelet that measures the blood

alcohol level by collecting and analyzing perspiration. The levels

can be monitored remotely. The bill in its current form would give

the courts discretion to add the alcohol monitoring system to other

probation conditions for those convicted of multiple DUI offenses.

Bermudez said his bill " targets individuals who continue to drink

and drive despite the existing penalties. I believe that a greater

use of alcohol monitoring for second and third time drunk drivers

will protect the public. "

In a news release from Bermudez' office, the system mentioned is

called Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor, or SCRAM (shown

above). The device is one of two types of alcohol monitoring systems

currently available. Several states are already using the system to

keep track of repeat DUI offenders.

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The alternative in the proposed bill was EtG testing, daily EtG

testing, and apparently there was no opposition. This continuous

monitoring is fatal, for instance if SCRAM were on for 30 days that

is 1440 tests, bound to read one of the thousands of contaminents,

even an office worker isn't safe from environmental exposure. I get

contacted a couple times a month with new victims, and the amount of

fallibility's are undetermined, yet this seems to be more reliable

than EtG!