Compilation of Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia
Department 92 - GEORGIA BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
Chapter 92-3 - IMPLIED CONSENT
Rule 92-3-.06 - Techniques and Methods
Current through Rules and Regulations filed through March 20, 2024
(1) Reserved
(2) All chemical tests on blood and/or urine not performed by Georgia Bureau of Investigation personnel must be performed on instruments approved by the Director of the Division of Forensic Sciences. Requests for approval of instruments to perform chemical testing of blood and urine along with proposed maintenance guidelines will be submitted to the Director of the Division of Forensic Sciences or his or her designee. Approval of such request is at his or her discretion pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 40-6-392. Upon approval of any testing instrument for the analysis of blood and/or urine a certificate of approval shall be issued detailing the agency, the date approved, the instrument serial number, and the date of the approval expiration. Such certificate shall be self authenticating and evidence that the instrument was approved by the Division of Forensic Sciences as required by O.C.G.A. § 40-6-392. Such approval shall not apply when any substantial modification to the instrument's original design has been made such that it no longer has all its parts attached and in working order as prescribed by the manufacturer or when the instrument is not in substantial compliance with the maintenance guidelines submitted. Failure to maintain testing instruments as stated in the guidelines for instrument maintenance may be considered grounds for revocation of the certificate of approval. Factors evaluated in the approval of maintenance guidelines for testing instruments shall include but are not limited to:
(3) Types of instruments considered for confirmatory testing of blood or urine for drug content include gas chromatography mass spectrometry, gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry, liquid chromatography mass spectrometry, liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry, or other comparable structural elucidation technique as determined by the Director of the Division of Forensic Sciences or his or her designee.
(4) Types of instruments considered for testing of blood for alcohol content include head space gas chromatograph, fluorescence polarization immunoassay, cloned enzyme donor immunoassay, enzyme immunoassay, or other comparable technique as determined by the Director of the Division of Forensic Sciences or his or her designee.
(5) Breath tests other than the original alcohol-screening test shall be conducted on a breath alcohol analyzer approved by the Director of the Division of Forensic Sciences or his or her designee. Any other type of breath alcohol analyzer not specifically listed in this paragraph must be approved by the Director of the Division of Forensic Sciences or designee prior to its use in the State.
(6) All breath tests other than the original alcohol-screening test will be performed in accordance with Rule 92-3-.02(2) of these regulations. The operator's permit will be conspicuously displayed in the room and in the immediate vicinity of the place where the test is conducted, or the operator will have on his or her person or immediate possession for display upon request a valid permit in accordance with Rule 92-3-.02(2).
(7) All blood and urine drug tests will be performed by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Division of Forensic Sciences or by entities specifically approved by the Director of the Division of Sciences for this purpose. All entities approved by the Division of Forensic Sciences to perform chemical analyses of blood and urine for drugs shall be accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting body. A list of all entities approved for the purpose of conducting chemical tests for drugs will be kept on file at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to be made available upon request. Approval of entities to perform chemical tests of blood or urine for drugs shall be at the discretion of the Director of the Division of Forensic Sciences or his or her designee. Such approval shall not apply when any substantial change to the method submitted has been made or when any person executing such method fails to substantially comply with the method as written when submitted for approval. Entities requesting approval to perform chemical tests of blood and/or urine for drugs must submit all methods used for chemical testing under O.C.G.A. § 40-6-392as well as accompanying calibration procedures and validation documents. All blood and urine drug testing methods submitted to the Division of Forensic Sciences for approval shall be evaluated for the following:
(8) The Director, Division of Forensic Sciences:
(9) All blood and/or urine alcohol tests will be performed in accordance with a quantitative Gas Chromatographic technique or any equivalent procedure comparable in accuracy to Gas Chromatography. Any method used by an entity other than the Division of Forensic Sciences will be evaluated for approval by the Director of the Division of Forensic Sciences or his or her designee and such approval shall be at his or her discretion. Upon approval of any testing method a certificate of approval shall be issued detailing the agency, the date approved, and the date of the approval expiration. Such certificate shall be self authenticating and evidence that the method submitted was approved by the Division of Forensic Sciences as required by law. Such approval shall not apply when any substantial change to the method submitted has been made or when any person executing such method fails to substantially comply with the method as written when submitted for approval. Entities requesting approval to perform blood and/or urine alcohol tests must submit all methods used for testing under O.C.G.A. § 40-6-392as well as accompanying calibration procedures and validation documents. Factors evaluated in the approval of testing methods by outside agencies shall include:
(10) The Director of the Division of Forensic Sciences, at his discretion, may require any person authorized to perform chemical tests and/or report results of such testing of blood or urine to divide a specimen and after analysis submit it to the Director, with his report of the specimen. Alternatively, the Director may submit a sample of known alcohol or drug content to any person holding a permit to analyze blood or urine or require them to participate in an external proficiency testing program of his or her choice at his or her discretion. The failure to submit a sample or to satisfactorily analyze a specimen on request will be one of several criteria for revocation of a permit.
(11) Except as forbidden by law, a report of every evidential breath test, excluding initial alcohol-screening tests, shall be made by the individual authorized to issue such reports.
(12)
O.C.G.A. Secs. 6-2-5.1, 27-3-7, 35-3-154, 40-6-392, 52-7-12.