GOVERNOR'S VETO

GV Bill Id:AB 551

Author:(Brough)

As Enrolled Ver:September 13, 2019

2/3 vote

SUMMARY:

Expands the drug and alcohol testing requirements of a person who dies in a motor vehicle accident.

The Senate Amendments:

Removes reference to cannabinoids including delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) from the testing requirements for a person who dies in a motor vehicle accident.

Governor's Veto Message:

This bill would require county corners to perform testing for specified drugs on individuals killed in motor vehicle accidents, and to report on those findings.

County coroners currently have the authority to conduct the test required by the bill, as well as for other substances not covered by this legislation, such as cannabis. Instead of creating a state mandate for some drugs–and not other impairing substances–I believe it is best to allow coroners to exercise their professional judgement and determine when any such testing should occur.

COMMENTS:

According to the Author:

"As California adjusts to the legalization of recreational marijuana and grapples with the opioid epidemic, we need to provide law enforcement with every legislative tool possible to prevent more collisions from occurring. In Orange County, law enforcement has seen a shocking 600% increase in driving under the influence of fentanyl cases.

"Updating our laws to reflect the public safety concerns of today is a good idea. Law enforcement has 30 years of research reviewing the relationship between the amount of alcohol that is in a person's blood and the likelihood they will cause a traffic collision. However, they don't have the data for drugs. Collecting this data will help us to enact better policies, which will keep everyone safe on the roadways."

Arguments in Support:

According to the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility, "While not a new issue, drug-impaired driving has come into greater focus in recent years due to the increasing number of states that have legalized cannabis, including California, and the spread of the opioid and heroin epidemic. It is imperative that states collect accurate data on the causes of fatal collisions to inform evidence-based policies. Assembly Bill 551 will allow California to better quantify the magnitude of the drug and polysubstance-impaired driving problem by requiring drug testing after fatal collisions, in addition to alcohol testing. The bill will also require testing in cases of death that occur within 48 hours of the collision, as opposed to 24 hours, which will provide further data on fatalities. AB 551 will significantly improve impaired driving data collection and analyses and can serve as a model for other states. Responsibility.org strongly supports AB 551 and we urge all legislators to vote in favor of this legislation."

Arguments in Opposition:

According to the Sacramento County Deputy Sheriffs Association, "As California implements the legalization of recreational adult-use cannabis under Proposition 64, law enforcement is struggling to enforce drugged driving. While we appreciate the author's intent introducing this legislation, we were more supportive of efforts for coroners to capture all substances with chemical testing when a vehicular accident results in fatalities. Results from these testing results will only help law enforcement better understand the impact that impaired driving has on Californians."

FISCAL COMMENTS:

According to Senate Appropriations Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.

VOTES:

ASM PUBLIC SAFETY: 8-0-0

YES: Jones-Sawyer, Lackey, Bauer-Kahan, Diep, Kamlager-Dove, Quirk, Santiago, Wicks

ASM APPROPRIATIONS: 17-0-1

YES: Gonzalez, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonta, Brough, Calderon, Carrillo, Chau, Diep, Eggman, Fong, Gabriel, Friedman, Obernolte, Petrie-Norris, Quirk, Robert Rivas

ABS, ABST OR NV: Maienschein

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-0-4

YES: Aguiar-Curry, Bauer-Kahan, Berman, Bigelow, Bloom, Boerner Horvath, Bonta, Brough, Burke, Calderon, Carrillo, Cervantes, Chau, Chen, Chiu, Choi, Chu, Cooley, Cunningham, Dahle, Daly, Diep, Flora, Fong, Frazier, Friedman, Gabriel, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Gipson, Gloria, Gonzalez, Gray, Grayson, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Kalra, Kamlager-Dove, Kiley, Lackey, Levine, Limón, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, O'Donnell, Obernolte, Patterson, Petrie-Norris, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, Reyes, Luz Rivas, Robert Rivas, Rodriguez, Blanca Rubio, Salas, Santiago, Smith, Mark Stone, Ting, Voepel, Waldron, Weber, Wicks, Wood, Rendon

ABS, ABST OR NV: Arambula, Cooper, Eggman, Eduardo Garcia

SENATE FLOOR: 40-0-0

YES: Allen, Archuleta, Atkins, Bates, Beall, Borgeas, Bradford, Caballero, Chang, Dahle, Dodd, Durazo, Galgiani, Glazer, Lena Gonzalez, Grove, Hertzberg, Hill, Hueso, Hurtado, Jackson, Jones, Leyva, McGuire, Mitchell, Monning, Moorlach, Morrell, Nielsen, Pan, Portantino, Roth, Rubio, Skinner, Stern, Stone, Umberg, Wieckowski, Wiener, Wilk

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0-0

YES: Aguiar-Curry, Arambula, Bauer-Kahan, Berman, Bigelow, Bloom, Boerner Horvath, Bonta, Brough, Burke, Calderon, Carrillo, Cervantes, Chau, Chen, Chiu, Choi, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Cunningham, Daly, Diep, Eggman, Flora, Fong, Frazier, Friedman, Gabriel, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gipson, Gloria, Gonzalez, Gray, Grayson, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Kalra, Kamlager-Dove, Kiley, Lackey, Levine, Limón, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Patterson, Petrie-Norris, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, Reyes, Luz Rivas, Robert Rivas, Rodriguez, Blanca Rubio, Salas, Santiago, Smith, Mark Stone, Ting, Voepel, Waldron, Weber, Wicks, Wood, Rendon

UPDATED:

VERSION: September 13, 2019

CONSULTANT: Nikki Moore (Counsel) / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN: 0002489

CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS

CSA1 Bill Id:AB 551

Author:(Brough)

As Amended Ver:June 25, 2019

Majority vote

SUMMARY:

Expands the drug and alcohol testing requirements of a person who dies in a motor vehicle accident.

The Senate Amendments:

Removes reference to cannabinoids including delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) from the testing requirements for a person who dies in a motor vehicle accident.

COMMENTS:

According to the Author:

"As California adjusts to the legalization of recreational marijuana and grapples with the opioid epidemic, we need to provide law enforcement with every legislative tool possible to prevent more collisions from occurring. In Orange County, law enforcement has seen a shocking 600% increase in driving under the influence of fentanyl cases.

"Updating our laws to reflect the public safety concerns of today is a good idea. Law enforcement has 30 years of research reviewing the relationship between the amount of alcohol that is in a person's blood and the likelihood they will cause a traffic collision. However, they don't have the data for drugs. Collecting this data will help us to enact better policies, which will keep everyone safe on the roadways."

Arguments in Support:

According to the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility, "While not a new issue, drug-impaired driving has come into greater focus in recent years due to the increasing number of states that have legalized cannabis, including California, and the spread of the opioid and heroin epidemic. It is imperative that states collect accurate data on the causes of fatal collisions to inform evidence-based policies. Assembly Bill 551 will allow California to better quantify the magnitude of the drug and polysubstance-impaired driving problem by requiring drug testing after fatal collisions, in addition to alcohol testing. The bill will also require testing in cases of death that occur within 48 hours of the collision, as opposed to 24 hours, which will provide further data on fatalities. AB 551 will significantly improve impaired driving data collection and analyses and can serve as a model for other states. Responsibility.org strongly supports AB 551 and we urge all legislators to vote in favor of this legislation."

Arguments in Opposition:

According to the Sacramento County Deputy Sheriffs Association, “As California implements the legalization of recreational adult-use cannabis under Proposition 64, law enforcement is struggling to enforce drugged driving. While we appreciate the author’s intent introducing this legislation, we were more supportive of efforts for coroners to capture all substances with chemical testing when a vehicular accident results in fatalities. Results from these testing results will only help law enforcement better understand the impact that impaired driving has on Californians.”

FISCAL COMMENTS:

According to Senate Appropriations Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.

VOTES:

ASM PUBLIC SAFETY: 8-0-0

YES: Jones-Sawyer, Lackey, Bauer-Kahan, Diep, Kamlager-Dove, Quirk, Santiago, Wicks

ASM APPROPRIATIONS: 17-0-1

YES: Gonzalez, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonta, Brough, Calderon, Carrillo, Chau, Diep, Eggman, Fong, Gabriel, Friedman, Obernolte, Petrie-Norris, Quirk, Robert Rivas

ABS, ABST OR NV: Maienschein

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-0-4

YES: Aguiar-Curry, Bauer-Kahan, Berman, Bigelow, Bloom, Boerner Horvath, Bonta, Brough, Burke, Calderon, Carrillo, Cervantes, Chau, Chen, Chiu, Choi, Chu, Cooley, Cunningham, Dahle, Daly, Diep, Flora, Fong, Frazier, Friedman, Gabriel, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Gipson, Gloria, Gonzalez, Gray, Grayson, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Kalra, Kamlager-Dove, Kiley, Lackey, Levine, Limón, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, O'Donnell, Obernolte, Patterson, Petrie-Norris, Quirk, Quirk‑Silva, Ramos, Reyes, Luz Rivas, Robert Rivas, Rodriguez, Blanca Rubio, Salas, Santiago, Smith, Mark Stone, Ting, Voepel, Waldron, Weber, Wicks, Wood, Rendon

ABS, ABST OR NV: Arambula, Cooper, Eggman, Eduardo Garcia

SENATE FLOOR: 40-0-0

YES: Allen, Archuleta, Atkins, Bates, Beall, Borgeas, Bradford, Caballero, Chang, Dahle, Dodd, Durazo, Galgiani, Glazer, Lena Gonzalez, Grove, Hertzberg, Hill, Hueso, Hurtado, Jackson, Jones, Leyva, McGuire, Mitchell, Monning, Moorlach, Morrell, Nielsen, Pan, Portantino, Roth, Rubio, Skinner, Stern, Stone, Umberg, Wieckowski, Wiener, Wilk

UPDATED:

VERSION: June 25, 2019

CONSULTANT: Nikki Moore (Counsel) / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN: 0002048

 THIRD READING  

Bill No: AB 551

Author: Brough (R), et al.

Amended: 6/25/19 in Senate

Vote: 21

SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 6/18/19

AYES: Skinner, Moorlach, Bradford, Jackson, Mitchell, Morrell, Wiener

SENATE APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-0, 4/22/19 - See last page for vote

SUBJECT: Fatal vehicular accidents: chemical test results

SOURCE: Orange County Sheriff’s Department

DIGEST:

This bill requires coroners and medical examiners to test the body of a person killed in a motor vehicle accident for drugs as well as alcohol.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Provides that the coroner, or the coroner’s appointed deputy, on being notified of a death occurring while the deceased was driving or riding in a motor vehicle, or as a result of the deceased being struck by a motor vehicle, shall take blood and urine samples from the body of the deceased before it has been prepared for burial and make appropriate related chemical tests to determine the alcoholic contents, if any, of the body. The coroner may perform other chemical tests including, but not limited to, barbituric acid and amphetamine derivative as deemed appropriate. (Government Code § 27491.25 (a))
   
2. Provides that the detailed medical findings, resulting from those examinations that are conducted, shall either be reduced to writing or permanently preserved on recording discs or other similar recording media and shall include all positive and negative findings pertinent to the presence or absence of any alcoholic or other substance content. (Government Code § 27491.25 (b))
3. Provides that the above shall not apply to the testing of deceased persons under the age of 15 years, unless the surrounding circumstances indicate the possibility of alcoholic, barbituric acid, and amphetamine derivative consumption, nor shall it apply when the death has occurred more than 24 hours after the accident. (Government Code § 27491.25 (c))
4. Provides that every coroner shall report monthly to the California Highway Patrol (CHP) the death of any person during the preceding calendar month as a result of a motor vehicle accident and the circumstances of the accident.

This bill:

1. Provides that in addition to testing for alcohol the coroner or medical examiner shall test biological samples for drug screening and confirmatory tests for opioids and cocaine.
2. Provides that the findings shall include blood alcohol content and blood drug concentrations when available.
3. Provides instead that it does not apply to a deceased person under 15 years of age unless the circumstances indicate the possibility of alcohol or drug consumption.
4. Provides instead that it does not apply to a death that occurred more than 48 hours after the accident.
5. Provides that for purposes of this section, hospital antemortem samples, if available, shall be used to in place of postmortem samples if the decedent was hospitalized prior to death.
6. Provides that the report shall include chemical test results, including blood alcohol content and blood drug concentrations when available.

Background

Existing law requires the coroner to take blood and urine samples from a person killed in a vehicle accident to test for alcohol and to perform chemical tests for barbituric acid and amphetamine as deemed appropriate. The coroner shall also make a report monthly to CHP detailing any vehicle death that happened in the preceding month.

This bill clarifies that the above duties apply to the coroner or medical examiner. It further provides that along with blood, other appropriate biological samples shall be taken and they should be tested for opioids and cocaine along with alcohol. The report to CHP shall include any findings regarding alcohol or drugs.

This bill also clarifies that it shall not apply to a person under the age of 15 unless there is reason to suspect alcohol or drug use. It also extends the provision that says it does not apply when the death occurs 24 hours after an accident to 48 hours after the accident.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes

SUPPORT: (Verified 8/9/19)

Orange County Sheriff’s Department (source)

AAA Northern California, Nevada, and Utah

Alcohol Justice

Auto Club of Southern California

California Association of Crime Laboratory Directors

California Narcotic Officers’ Association

Diageo

Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility

Riverside Sheriffs’ Association

OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/9/19)

None received

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-0, 4/22/19

AYES: Aguiar-Curry, Bauer-Kahan, Berman, Bigelow, Bloom, Boerner Horvath, Bonta, Brough, Burke, Calderon, Carrillo, Cervantes, Chau, Chen, Chiu, Choi, Chu, Cooley, Cunningham, Dahle, Daly, Diep, Flora, Fong, Frazier, Friedman, Gabriel, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Gipson, Gloria, Gonzalez, Gray, Grayson, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Kalra, Kamlager-Dove, Kiley, Lackey, Levine, Limón, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Patterson, Petrie-Norris, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, Reyes, Luz Rivas, Robert Rivas, Rodriguez, Blanca Rubio, Salas, Santiago, Smith, Mark Stone, Ting, Voepel, Waldron, Weber, Wicks, Wood, Rendon

NO VOTE RECORDED: Arambula, Cooper, Eggman, Eduardo Garcia

Prepared by: Mary Kennedy / PUB. S. /

8/14/19 15:27:25

**** END ****

SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY

Senator Nancy Skinner, Chair

2019 - 2020 Regular

Bill No: AB 551 Hearing Date: June 18, 2019

Subject: Fatal Vehicular Accidents: Chemical Test Results

HISTORY

Source: Orange County Sheriff’s Department

Prior Legislation: None

Support: AAA Northern California, Nevada, and Utah; Alcohol Justice; Auto Club of Southern California; California Association of Crime Laboratory Directors; California Narcotic Officers’ Association; Diageo; Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility; Orange County Sheriff’s Department; Riverside Sheriffs’ Association

Opposition: None known

Assembly Floor Vote: 76 - 0

PURPOSE

The purpose of this bill is to require coroners and medical examiners to test the body of a person killed in a motor vehicle accident for drugs as well as alcohol.

Existing law provides that thee coroner, or the coroner’s appointed deputy, on being notified of a death occurring while the deceased was driving or riding in a motor vehicle, or as a result of the deceased being struck by a motor vehicle, shall take blood and urine samples from the body of the deceased before it has been prepared for burial and make appropriate related chemical tests to determine the alcoholic contents, if any, of the body. The coroner may perform other chemical tests including, but not limited to, barbituric acid and amphetamine derivative as deemed appropriate. (Government Code § 27491.25 (a))

This bill provides that in addition to testing for alcohol the coroner or medical examiner shall test biological samples for drug screening and confirmatory tests for cannabinoids, opioids and cocaine.

Existing law provides that the detailed medical findings, resulting from those examinations that are conducted, shall either be reduced to writing or permanently preserved on recording discs or other similar recording media and shall include all positive and negative findings pertinent to the presence or absence of any alcoholic or other substance content. (Government Code § 27491.25 (b))

This bill provides that the findings shall include blood alcohol content and blood drug concentrations when available.

Existing law provides that the above shall not apply to the testing of deceased persons under the age of 15 years, unless the surrounding circumstances indicate the possibility of alcoholic, barbituric acid, and amphetamine derivative consumption, nor shall it apply when the death has occurred more than 24 hours after the accident. (Government Code § 27491.25 (c))

This bill provides instead that it does not apply to a deceased person under 15 years of age unless the circumstances indicate the possibility of alcohol or drug consumption.

This bill provides instead that it does not apply to a death that occurred more than 48 hours after the accident.

This bill provides that for purposes of this section, hospital antemortem samples, if available, shall be used to in place of postmortem samples if the decedent was hospitalized prior to death.

Existing law provides that every coroner shall report monthly to CHP the death of any person during the preceding calendar month as a result of a motor vehicle accident and the circumstances of the accident.

This bill provides that the report shall include chemical test results, including blood alcohol content and blood drug concentrations when available.

COMMENTS

1. Need for This Bill

According to the author:

On average, California experiences nearly 3,000 deaths annually due to car accidents. Unfortunately, many of the drivers involved in these accidents are driving impaired due to alcohol and/or drug consumption. In 2017, 56% of fatally injured drivers in Orange County had at least one substance, drugs and/or alcohol, in their system.

Currently, local coroners and medical examiners are required to test deceased drivers and passengers for alcohol content only. They are not required to test for drug content. With the legalization of recreational marijuana and the rise of opioid abuse, many of the new driving under the influence cases is due to drug use and not just alcohol. For instance, Orange County experienced a 600% increase in driving under the influence of fentanyl cases from 2016 to 2017.

Some local governments like Orange and San Francisco counties have voluntarily begun testing for drug content after a fatal collision. However, many of these cases are going undetected statewide because there is no requirement to test for a driver’s drug content after a fatal collision.

Without accurate data on the causes of fatal collisions across the state, the Legislature cannot make sound, evidence-based policies to address the primary causes of these collisions.

AB 551 gives law enforcement the tools needed to quantify the causes of impairment in fatal collisions.

This bill will update current law to require drug testing after fatal collisions, in addition to alcohol testing, reflecting more accurately the modern use of prescription and recreational drugs. Additionally, AB 551 will require testing in cases of death that occur within 48 hours of the collision, instead of just 24 hours, capturing significantly more data on fatal collisions. As California adjusts to the legalization of recreational marijuana and grapples with the opioid epidemic, the Legislature must give law enforcement every tool possible to understand and prevent future fatal collisions.

2. Coroner to Check for Drugs after Death in Auto Accident

Existing law requires the coroner to take blood and urine samples from a person killed in a vehicle accident to test for alcohol and to perform chemical tests for barbituric acid and amphetamine as deemed appropriate. The coroner shall also make a report monthly to CHP detailing any vehicle death that happened in the preceding month.

This bill clarifies that the above duties apply to the coroner or medical examiner. It further provides that along with blood, other appropriate biological samples shall be taken and they should be tested for cannabinoids, opioids and cocaine along with alcohol. The report to CHP shall include any findings regarding alcohol or drugs.

The bill also clarifies that it shall not apply to a person under the age of 15 unless there is reason to suspect alcohol or drug use. It also extends the provision that says it does not apply when the death occurs 24 hours after an accident to 48 hours after the accident.

3. SB 293 (Bates)

This bill is identical to SB 283 (Bates) which this Committee passed on March 26, 2019 with a 7-0 vote. Senator Bates is a principal coauthor on this bill.

-- END –

ASSEMBLY THIRD READING

ATR Bill Id:AB 551

Author:(Brough)

As Introduced Ver:February 13, 2019

Majority vote

SUMMARY:

Expands the testing requirements of a person who dies in a motor vehicle accident.

Major Provisions

1. Requires a coroner or medical examiner to perform screening and confirmatory tests of an expanded list of specified drugs, and requires a resulting report to include blood alcohol content and blood drug concentrations in the detailed medical findings, when available.
2. Expands the testing requirement to apply to a person involved in a motor vehicle accident whose death occurs within 48 hours of the accident, rather than 24 hours.
3. Applies to a county medical examiner the same requirements imposed on a county coroner related to the mandated chemical testing of a person involved in a motor vehicle accident resulting in death.

COMMENTS:

According to the Author:

"As California adjusts to the legalization of recreational marijuana and grapples with the opioid epidemic, we need to provide law enforcement with every legislative tool possible to prevent more collisions from occurring. In Orange County, law enforcement has seen a shocking 600% increase in driving under the influence of fentanyl cases.

"Updating our laws to reflect the public safety concerns of today is a good idea. Law enforcement has 30 years of research reviewing the relationship between the amount of alcohol that is in a person's blood and the likelihood they will cause a traffic collision. However, they don't have the data for drugs. Collecting this data will help us to enact better policies, which will keep everyone safe on the roadways."

Arguments in Support:

According to the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility, "While not a new issue, drug-impaired driving has come into greater focus in recent years due to the increasing number of states that have legalized cannabis, including California, and the spread of the opioid and heroin epidemic. It is imperative that states collect accurate data on the causes of fatal collisions to inform evidence-based policies. Assembly Bill 551 will allow California to better quantify the magnitude of the drug and polysubstance-impaired driving problem by requiring drug testing after fatal collisions, in addition to alcohol testing. The bill will also require testing in cases of death that occur within 48 hours of the collision, as opposed to 24 hours, which will provide further data on fatalities. AB 551 will significantly improve impaired driving data collection and analyses and can serve as a model for other states. Responsibility.org strongly supports AB 551 and we urge all legislators to vote in favor of this legislation."

FISCAL COMMENTS:

According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, possibly reimbursable mandated costs (General Fund), in the thousands of dollars, for county coroners or medical examiners to perform expanded biological testing on deceased persons when a vehicle-related death occurs less than 48 hours after the accident.

Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion of this bill.

VOTES:

ASM PUBLIC SAFETY: 8-0-0

YES: Jones-Sawyer, Lackey, Bauer-Kahan, Diep, Kamlager-Dove, Quirk, Santiago, Wicks

ASM APPROPRIATIONS: 17-0-1

YES: Gonzalez, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonta, Brough, Calderon, Carrillo, Chau, Diep, Eggman, Fong, Gabriel, Friedman, Obernolte, Petrie-Norris, Quirk, Robert Rivas

ABS, ABST OR NV: Maienschein

UPDATED:

VERSION: February 13, 2019

CONSULTANT: Nikki Moore (Counsel)/ PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN: 0000096

Date of Hearing: April 3, 2019

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Lorena Gonzalez, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 551

Author:(Brough) – As Introduced Ver:February 13, 2019

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: Yes Reimbursable: Yes

SUMMARY:

This bill expands the testing requirements of a person who dies in a motor vehicle accident. Specifically, this bill:

1. Requires a coroner or medical examiner to perform screening and confirmatory tests of an expanded list of specified drugs and requires a resulting report to include blood alcohol content and blood drug concentrations in the detailed medical findings, when available.
2. Requires a coroner or medical examiner to use antemortem samples, if available, if the decedent was hospitalized prior to death.
3. Expands the testing requirement to apply to a person involved in a motor vehicle accident whose death occurs within 48 hours of the accident, rather than 24 hours.
4. Requires a coroner or medical examiner to provide to the Department of the California Highway Patrol (CHP), in writing, chemical test results including blood alcohol content and blood drug concentrations, when available, related to the death of any person as the result of an accident involving a motor vehicle.
5. Applies to a county medical examiner the same requirements imposed on a county coroner related to the mandated chemical testing of a person involved in a motor vehicle accident resulting in death.

FISCAL EFFECT:

Possibly reimbursable mandated costs (GF), in the thousands of dollars, for county coroners or medical examiners to perform expanded biological testing on deceased persons when a vehicle-related death occurs less than 48 hours after the accident.

COMMENTS:

1. Purpose. According to the author:

As California adjusts to the legalization of recreational marijuana and grapples with the opioid epidemic, we need to provide law enforcement with every legislative tool possible to prevent more collisions from occurring. In Orange County, law enforcement has seen a shocking 600 percent increase in driving under the influence of fentanyl cases. Updating our laws to reflect the public safety concerns of today is a good idea. Law enforcement has 30 years of research reviewing the relationship between the amount of alcohol that is in a person's blood and the likelihood they will cause a traffic collision. However, they don't have the data for drugs. Collecting this data will help us to enact better policies, which will keep everyone safe on the roadways.

1. Background. Existing law requires a coroner to take blood and urine samples from a deceased person when the cause of death was accident while driving or where the deceased was struck by a motor vehicle within 24 hours of the accident in order to determine if drugs, alcohol or both played a role in the death. Existing law requires coroners to transmit that information to the CHP, when the information is available.
   

This bill mandates coroners and medical examiners test a deceased person, as specified, for cannabinoids including delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), opioids including fentanyl, benzodiazepines, methamphetamine and related amphetamines, and cocaine. This bill also expands the period of time for which coroners and medical examiners must test a deceased person, from 24 hours after the accident to 48 hours after the accident. If the CSM determines the bill’s requirements to be a reimbursable state mandate, this bill will result in costs to the GF.

1. Support. According to the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility:

While not a new issue, drug-impaired driving has come into greater focus in recent years due to the increasing number of states that have legalized cannabis, including California, and the spread of the opioid and heroin epidemic. It is imperative that states collect accurate data on the causes of fatal collisions to inform evidence-based policies. Assembly Bill 551 will allow California to better quantify the magnitude of the drug and polysubstance-impaired driving problem by requiring drug testing after fatal collisions, in addition to alcohol testing. The bill will also require testing in cases of death that occur within 48 hours of the collision, as opposed to 24 hours, which will provide further data on fatalities. AB 551 will significantly improve impaired driving data collection and analyses and can serve as a model for other states. Responsibility.org strongly supports AB 551 and we urge all legislators to vote in favor of this legislation.

1. Related Legislation. SB 283 (Bates) would expand the testing requirements of a person who dies in a motor vehicle accident. SB 283 is currently before the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Analysis Prepared by: Kimberly Horiuchi / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: March 26, 2019

Counsel: Nikki Moore

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY

Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer, Sr., Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 551

Author:(Brough) – As Introduced Ver:February 13, 2019

SUMMARY:

Expands the testing requirements of a person who dies in a motor vehicle accident. Specifically, this bill:

1. Requires a coroner or medical examiner to perform screening and confirmatory tests of an expanded list of specified drugs, and requires a resulting report to include blood alcohol content and blood drug concentrations in the detailed medical findings, when available.
   
2. Requires a coroner or medical examiner to use antemortem samples, if available, if the decedent was hospitalized prior to death.
   
3. Expands the testing requirement to apply to a person involved in a motor vehicle accident whose death occurs within 48 hours of the accident, rather than 24 hours.
   
4. Requires a coroner or medical examiner to provide to the Department of the California Highway Patrol (CHP), in writing, chemical test results including blood alcohol content and blood drug concentrations, when available, related to the death of any person as the result of an accident involving a motor vehicle.
   
5. Applies to a county medical examiner the same requirements imposed on a county coroner related to the mandated chemical testing of a person involved in a motor vehicle accident resulting in death.

EXISTING LAW:

1. 
   
2. Requires coroners to determine the manner, circumstances and cause of death in the following circumstances:
   
   1. Violent, sudden or unusual deaths;
      
   2. Unattended deaths;
      
   3. When the deceased was not attended by a physician, or registered nurse who is part of a hospice care interdisciplinary team, in the 20 days before death;
      
   4. When the death is related to known or suspected self-induced or criminal abortion;
      
   5. Known or suspected homicide, suicide or accidental poisoning;
      
   6. Deaths suspected as a result of an accident or injury either old or recent;
      
   7. Drowning, fire, hanging, gunshot, stabbing, cutting, exposure, starvation, acute alcoholism, drug addiction, strangulation, aspiration, or sudden infant death syndrome;
      
   8. Deaths in whole or in part occasioned by criminal means;
      
   9. Deaths associated with a known or alleged rape or crime against nature;
      
   10. Deaths in prison or while under sentence;
       
   11. Deaths known or suspected as due to contagious disease and constituting a public hazard;
       
   12. Deaths from occupational diseases or occupational hazards;
       
   13. Deaths of patients in state mental hospitals operated by the State Department of State Hospitals;
       
   14. Deaths of patients in state hospitals serving the developmentally disabled operated by the State Department of Development Services;
       
   15. Deaths where a reasonable ground exists to suspect the death was caused by the criminal act of another; and
       
   16. Deaths reported for inquiry by physicians and other persons having knowledge of the death. (Gov. Code, § 27491.)
       
3. Requires the coroner or medical examiner to sign the certificate of death when they perform a mandatory inquiry. (Gov. Code, § 27491, subd. (a).)
   
4. Allows the coroner or medical examiner discretion when determining the extent of the inquiry required to determine the manner, circumstances and cause of death. (Gov. Code, § 27491, subd. (b).)
   
5. Requires the coroner, or the coroner’s appointed deputy, on being notified of a death occurring while the deceased was driving or riding in a motor vehicle, or as a result of the deceased being struck by a motor vehicle, to take blood and urine samples from the body of the deceased before it has been prepared for burial and make appropriate related chemical tests to determine the alcoholic contents, if any, of the body. Allows the coroner to perform other chemical tests including, but not limited to, barbituric acid and amphetamine derivative as deemed appropriate. (Gov. Code, § 27491.25.)
   
6. Requires that the detailed medical findings resulting from required examinations to include all positive and negative findings pertinent to the presence or absence of any alcoholic or other substance content. (Gov. Code, § 27491.25.)
   
7. Exempts from testing requirements a deceased person under the age of 15 years unless the surrounding circumstances indicate the possibility of alcoholic, barbituric acid, and amphetamine derivative consumption, and exempts from testing any death that occurs more than 24 hours after the accident. (Gov. Code, § 27491.25.)
   
8. Requires every coroner, on or before the tenth day of each month, to report in writing to the CHP the death of any person during the preceding calendar month as the result of an accident involving a motor vehicle and the circumstances of the accident. (Veh. Code, § 20011.)

FISCAL EFFECT:

Unknown

COMMENTS:

1. Author's Statement: According to the author, “As California adjusts to the legalization of recreational marijuana and grapples with the opioid epidemic, we need to provide law enforcement with every legislative tool possible to prevent more collisions from occurring. In Orange County, law enforcement has seen a shocking 600 percent increase in driving under the influence of fentanyl cases.

“Updating our laws to reflect the public safety concerns of today is a good idea. Law enforcement has 30 years of research reviewing the relationship between the amount of alcohol that is in a person's blood and the likelihood they will cause a traffic collision. However, they don't have the data for drugs. Collecting this data will help us to enact better policies, which will keep everyone safe on the roadways.”

1. Testing for Additional Chemicals: Current law mandates testing of a decedent in a motor vehicle accident for alcohol, but makes testing for other chemicals discretionary. This bill would specify that testing shall be conducted to determine the presence of a wide range of chemicals including, but not limited to, cannabinoids including delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC),^[1] opioids including fentanyl, benzodiazepines, methamphetamine and related amphetamines, and cocaine.
   
2. 24 to 48 hours: This bill would expand mandatory testing to a person who dies within 48-hours of an accident, from 24 hours. This ultimately increases the number of deaths that trigger mandatory drug and alcohol testing and that will ultimately be tested and tracked, as specified. Both existing law and this bill are silent as to whether the report a coroner or medical examiner performs shall be made to the CHP when a person does not die at the scene of an accident, but at a later time.
   
3. Argument in Support: According to the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility, “While not a new issue, drug-impaired driving has come into greater focus in recent years due to the increasing number of states that have legalized cannabis, including California, and the spread of the opioid and heroin epidemic. It is imperative that states collect accurate data on the causes of fatal collisions to inform evidence-based policies. Assembly Bill 551 will allow California to better quantify the magnitude of the drug and polysubstance-impaired driving problem by requiring drug testing after fatal collisions, in addition to alcohol testing. The bill will also require testing in cases of death that occur within 48 hours of the collision, as opposed to 24 hours, which will provide further data on fatalities. AB 551 will significantly improve impaired driving data collection and analyses and can serve as a model for other states. Responsibility.org strongly supports AB 551 and we urge all legislators to vote in favor of this legislation.

“The true magnitude and characteristics of the drug-impaired driving problem are not known due to significant data limitations due to a lack of consistent testing. However, the statistics that are available reveal that this issue is in need of urgent attention. In 2016, the most recent year for which data are available, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) found that drugs were present in 43.6% of fatally-injured drivers with a known drug test result.

“Further complicating the drug-impaired driving issue is the realization that it is not uncommon for drivers to take several impairing substances at the same time which typically is not captured, especially if alcohol is present. Research has continually shown that drugs used in combination or with alcohol produce greater impairment than substances used on their own. The combination of alcohol and marijuana is particularly risky as it can dramatically impair driving performance. The increased level of impairment and crash risk associated with polysubstance-impaired driving is concerning as is the rate at which this behavior appears to be occurring. According to FARS data, in 2016, 50.5% of fatally-injured drug-positive drivers were positive for two or more drugs and 40.7% were found to have alcohol in their system. New data released by the Washington Traffic Safety Commission identifies polysubstance impairment as the most common type of impairment found among drivers involved in fatal crashes. In fact, among drivers in fatal crashes between 2008 and 2016 that tested positive for alcohol or drugs, 44% tested positive for two or more substances with alcohol and THC being the most common combination.

“Unfortunately, the prevalence of polysubstance-impaired driving is inevitably underreported. While the majority of law enforcement officers are trained to identify drivers who are impaired by alcohol, many officers are not trained to identify the signs and symptoms of drug-impairment. Moreover, it is easier for law enforcement to make an arrest and obtain a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level from either a breath or blood sample than it is to complete an investigation for drug-impaired driving. The latter often requires an evaluation by a Drug Recognition Expert (DRE), a law enforcement officer with specialized training, who may not be readily available. Blood tests are also needed to confirm the presence of drugs in a suspect’s system and due to delays in obtaining this sample, test results do not accurately reflect the concentration levels at the time of driving. The passage of AB 551 would ensure that in collisions where there is a fatality, the driver is tested for the presence of BOTH alcohol and drugs. This practice, which is already done in Orange and San Francisco Counties, will guarantee the collection of robust impaired driving data.

“The identification of polysubstance use among impaired drivers is also important from a supervision and treatment perspective. We support screening and assessment for every DUI offender. Research shows that repeat DUI offenders often suffer from multiple disorders. In one study, 41% of the participants had a drug-related disorder and 44% had a major mental health disorder that was not alcohol or drug-related. Without identifying and treating substance use and mental health disorders, long-term behavior change is unlikely. To address this problem, Responsibility.org and the Division on Addiction at Cambridge Health Alliance, a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School, launched the Computerized Assessment and Referral System (CARS). This revolutionary screening and assessment instrument generates immediate diagnostic reports that contain information about an offender’s mental health and substance issues, creates a summary of risk factors, and provides referrals to nearby treatment services. CARS is available for FREE download at http://www.carstrainingcenter.org. This initiative will help states better identify, sentence, supervise, and treat impaired drivers. “

1. Argument in Opposition: None
   
2. Related Legislation: SB 283 (Bates), would expand the testing requirements of a person who dies in a motor vehicle accident. SB 283 is currently before the Senate Public Safety Committee.
   
3. Prior Legislation: AB 540 (Pan), of the 2013-2014 Legislative Session, would have permitted the Department of Public Health to establish and maintain the California Electronic Violent Death Reporting System and to collect data on violent deaths as reported from data sources, including, but not limited to, death certificates, law enforcement reports, and coroner or medical examiner report. AB 540 was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

Alcohol Justice
Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility
Riverside Sheriffs' Association

Opposition

None

Analysis Prepared by:

Nikki Moore / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744

1. Unlike most drug tests, a person may test positive for cannabinoids due to marijuana consumption that occurred well before an incident and played no contributing role in an accident. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration has noted that “specific drug concentration levels cannot be reliably equated with a specific degree of driver impairment.” National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, Roadside Survey of Alcohol and Drug Use by Drivers (February 2015). ↑