Clause 11

in subsection (1)(a), delete “or” at the end;

in subsection (1)(b), after “blood”, insert “is equal to or”;

in subsection (1)(b), replace the comma at the end with “; or”;

in subsection (1), after paragraph (b), insert —“(c)has a specified substance present in his or her blood,”;

after subsection (1), insert —“(1A) In any proceedings for an offence under subsection (1)(c), it is a defence for the defendant to prove, on a balance of probabilities, that —

the specified substance was present in the defendant’s blood at the time of the alleged offence because the specified substance was lawfully smoked, inhaled, used or consumed by, or lawfully administered to or by, the defendant as authorised or exempted under —

the Misuse of Drugs Act 1973;

the Tobacco and Vaporisers Control Act 1993; or

the Intoxicating Substances Act 1987; and

the defendant did not know or have reason to believe that the smoking, inhalation, use or consumption by, or the administration to or by, the defendant, of the specified substance would affect his or her capacity, at the time of the alleged offence, to have proper control of a motor vehicle.”;

in subsection (2), replace “period of disqualification, order that the person be disqualified from holding or obtaining a driving licence for a period that is equal to or longer than the specified period corresponding to that case, starting on the date of the person’s conviction or, where the person is sentenced to imprisonment, on the date of the person’s release from prison” with “disqualification period, order that the person be disqualified from holding or obtaining a driving licence for a disqualification period that is equal to or longer than the specified period corresponding to that case”;

in subsection (2A), replace “shorter period of disqualification” with “shorter disqualification period”; and

replace subsection (4) with —“(4) In this section —“disqualification period”, for an offender convicted of an offence (called in this subsection the relevant offence) under this section, means the period for which the offender is disqualified from holding or obtaining a driving licence because of that conviction for the relevant offence, starting on the later of the following dates:

the date of the offender’s conviction for the relevant offence;

the date the offender is released from prison and is no longer serving any sentence of imprisonment, if the offender is or was sentenced to imprisonment (whether for the relevant offence or any other offence) before or at the same hearing where the offender is sentenced for the relevant offence;“repeat offender” means a person who is convicted of an offence under this section and who has been convicted (whether before, on or after 1 November 2019) on one other earlier occasion of —

an offence under subsection (1) or section 68; or

an offence under subsection (1) as in force immediately before 1 November 2019.”.