By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
When the Great Bend Police Department pulls someone over for a Driving Under the Influence (DUI) offense and the driver refuses to participate in a breathalyzer, they are required to go to the hospital and draw blood pursuant to warrants.
The University of Kansas Health System – Great Bend Campus charges the police department for the procedure, but Great Bend City Attorney Allen Glendenning said an ordinance can change that.
"Up until now, that cost has been borne by the police department," said Glendenning. "This ordinance will allow those costs to be tacked on to the sentence or diversion agreement in the DUI cases. This will let it be borne by the people who require it to be incurred."
The Great Bend City Council voted 6-0 to adopt an ordinance regulating the costs of the blood draws to be recoverable in municipal court cases. Kansas statutes already require that sentences in DUI cases include a laboratory fee to defray the costs of testing the samples at the KBI laboratory.
Great Bend Police Chief Steve Haulmark said a new agreement with the hospital will charge just under $100 for the blood draws.