BILL ANALYSIS SB 57 Page 1 SENATE THIRD READING SB 57 (Alarcon) As Amended July 12, 2005 Majority vote SENATE VOTE :24-13 HEALTH 8-4 PUBLIC SAFETY 5-2 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Ayes:|Chan, Berg, Mullin, |Ayes:|Leno, Ruskin, Dymally, | | |Dymally, Jones, Laird, | |Goldberg, Hancock | | |Ridley-Thomas, De La | | | | |Torre | | | | | | | | |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------| |Nays:|Aghazarian, Nakanishi, |Nays:|La Suer, Spitzer | | |Richman, Strickland | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY : Permits an additional penalty assessment of $2 for every $10 or fraction thereof to be collected upon Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) Act and Vehicle Code offenses. Requires revenue generated from the assessment to be deposited into the Maddy Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Fund, with 15% designated for pediatric trauma centers. Specifically, this bill : 1)Permits, for purposes of supporting EMS, as specified, a county board of supervisors to elect to levy an additional penalty of $2 for every $10 or fraction thereof, which is to be collected together with and in the same manner as existing assessments, as specified, upon every fine, penalty, or forfeiture imposed and collected by the courts for criminal offenses, including violations relating to the ABC Act, and Vehicle Code violations, and local ordinances adopted pursuant to the Vehicle Code except parking offenses, as specified. 2)Requires moneys collected pursuant to #1) above to be taken from fines and forfeitures deposited with the county treasurer prior to other specified assessments. 3)Requires funds collected pursuant to #1) to be deposited into the Maddy EMS Fund, as specified. SB 57 Page 2 4)Requires 15% of the money deposited in the Maddy EMS Fund pursuant to #1) above to be utilized to provide funding for all pediatric trauma centers throughout the county, both publicly and privately owned and operated. Limits expenditure of this money to reimbursement to physicians and surgeons, hospitals for patients who do not make payment for services, or to hospitals for expanding the services provided at pediatric trauma centers, including the purchase of equipment. Refers to this provision as the "Pediatric Care Allocation." 5)Requires counties that do not maintain pediatric trauma centers to utilize the money deposited into the Maddy EMS Fund to improve access to pediatric trauma and emergency services in the county, with preference for funding given to hospitals that specialize in services to children, and physicians and surgeons who provide care for children. Permits funding to be used for administrative costs, as specified. 6)Requires costs of administering money deposited into the Maddy EMS Fund pursuant to #1) above to be reimbursed from the money collected, not to exceed 10%. 7)Sunsets the provisions of this bill on January 1, 2009. EXISTING LAW establishes the: 1)ABC Act, which is an exercise of the police powers of the state for the protection of the safety, welfare, health, peace, and morals of the people of the state, to eliminate the harmful consequences of unlicensed and unlawful manufacture, selling, and disposing of alcoholic beverages, and to promote temperance in the use and consumption of alcoholic beverages. 2)Maddy EMS Fund, which permits each county to establish an EMS fund, upon adoption of a resolution by the board of supervisors. Requires the fund to be administered by each county, except that a county electing to have the state administer its medically indigent services program may elect to have its Maddy EMS Fund administered by the state. FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee analysis, Fiscal Impact (in thousands) SB 57 Page 3 Major Provisions 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 Fund Assessments Potentially significant revenues Special * Court programming costs $184 ** Special * (first assessment) Manual processing $180 $180 $180 Special * (statewide) ________________ * Maddy EMS Fund; 15% of total slated for counties' pediatric trauma units **Based on number of counties that participate; cost of $25,000 per county COMMENTS : According to the author, this bill seeks to generate funding to help alleviate a $365 million shortfall facing trauma centers. The author states this bill would create a specific mechanism for the Maddy EMS Fund to allow counties to collect an additional $2 penalty on every $10 penalty for specified criminal offenses, which would be a $20 to $40 increase on an average $340 ticket payment. The author asserts this bill will result in funding for emergency and trauma care estimated at $60 million per year. In addition, this bill establishes a Pediatric Care Allocation for equipment and facilities, which will be instrumental in maintaining the financial stability of the emergency and trauma centers, decreasing the diversion time and patient wait time, and improving overall services. The Emergency Medical Services Administrators Association of California (EMSAAC) indicates that there are very few pediatric trauma centers in the state and many of these centers serve children from other counties. EMSAAC asserts that since these trauma centers get patients from other counties, this bill should be amended to allow counties that do not have pediatric trauma centers to use this funding to pay for pediatric trauma services for that county's children delivered in another county's trauma center. University of California (UC) writes in support that current EMS funds are insufficient to cover the costs of providing EMS and trauma services to medically indigent, uninsured, and SB 57 Page 4 underinsured Californians, and this bill will be instrumental in maintaining the financial stability of hospitals that are critical to California's health care system. The Judicial Council writes in opposition that the additional penalty assessment in this bill will impose significant burdens on court administration, in counties that adopt the assessments, courts will need to reprogram their case management systems to perform the new calculations, and some older systems are not even capable of reprogramming. Calculations will have to be done by hand or systems will have to be replaced resulting in substantial court costs. The Teamsters and other labor organizations oppose this bill indicating that assessments can total between 300 to 350% of base violation fine, which goes against truth in government principles, and unfairly impacts working men and women who must transport themselves too and from work, or who use their vehicles for work. Analysis Prepared by : Teri Boughton / HEALTH / (916) 319-2097 FN: 0011774