BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 689|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 689
Author: Speier (D), et al
Amended: 8/25/05
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE : 11-0, 4/19/05
AYES: Torlakson, McClintock, Ducheny, Kehoe, Lowenthal,
Machado, Maldonado, Margett, Runner, Simitian, Soto
NO VOTE RECORDED: Ashburn, Cedillo, Murray
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 12-1, 5/26/05
AYES: Migden, Alarcon, Alquist, Ashburn, Battin, Dutton,
Escutia, Florez, Murray, Ortiz, Poochigian, Romero
NOES: Aanestad
SENATE FLOOR : 39-0, 5/31/05
AYES: Aanestad, Ackerman, Alarcon, Alquist, Ashburn,
Battin, Bowen, Campbell, Cedillo, Chesbro, Cox, Denham,
Ducheny, Dunn, Dutton, Escutia, Figueroa, Florez, Kehoe,
Kuehl, Lowenthal, Machado, Maldonado, Margett,
McClintock, Migden, Morrow, Murray, Ortiz, Perata,
Poochigian, Romero, Runner, Scott, Simitian, Soto,
Speier, Torlakson, Vincent
NO VOTE RECORDED: Hollingsworth
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 72-1, 8/30/05 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Vehicles: organ and tissue donors: registry
SOURCE : Donate Life California
CONTINUED
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DIGEST : This bill requires Department of Motor Vehicles,
beginning July of 2006, to collect organ and tissue donor
designation information on its applications for drivers'
licenses and identification cards rather than to provide a
standardized form for a donor to mail in to the stat's
donor registrar.
Assembly Amendments : 1) Make conforming name changes from
California Organ and Tissue Donor Registry to "Donate Life
California"; 2) Creates the Donate Life California Trust
Subaccount in the Motor Vehicle Account in the State
Transportation Fund, and specifies that the revenue in the
subaccount is continuously appropriated and shall be
expended by Donate Life California for the purpose of
increasing participation in organ donation programs; 3)
Specifies that the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) may
only use the donations it collects to cover its actual
administrative costs and shall deposit the remainder in the
Donate Life California Trust Subaccount.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law
1. Authorizes California's federally-designated organ
procurement organizations (OPOs) to establish a
not-for-profit organization to be designated the
California Organ and Tissue Donation Registrar
(registrar). The OPOs established Donate Life California
as the registrar, and Donate Life California has
established and maintains the California Organ and Tissue
Donor Registry (registry).
2. Requires DMV when issuing or renewing a driver's
license or an identification card to provide information
on organ and tissue donation, including a standardized
form prescribed in law that includes instructions for
mailing the completed form to the registrar.
3. Requires the DMV and the Health and Human Services
Agency to post the form on their Web sites.
4. Requires DMV to provide a sticker, the pink dot, that
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affixes to drivers' licenses and identification cards
indicating the willingness of the person to make an organ
or tissue donation.
This bill:
1. Requires DMV to collect organ and tissue donor
designation information on all applications for original
or renewal drivers' licenses or identification cards. On
the front of the application for an original or renewal
of a driver's license or identification card, DMV would
provide space to give consent to be an organ and tissue
donor upon death. The applications shall have a
statement on the back explaining that this consent is
legally binding for those 18 and older and that minors
require consent from a parent or guardian. This statement
would also explain how changes to the designation or
modifications to limit it to specific organs can be made.
2. Requires DMV on a weekly basis to transmit
electronically to the registrar the name, address, date
of birth, and driver's license or identification card
number of those who designate themselves as donors on
their applications.
3. Requires DMV to print the word "DONOR" or another
appropriate designation on the face of a driver's license
or identification card to a person who registered as a
donor on a form issued under this section.
4. Specifies that a designation made to DMV is a legally
binding document making the person a donor after death,
despite any opposition from next of kin after the donor's
death.
5. Specifies that a person under 18 may register as a
donor, but only his or her legal guardian can make a
final decision about donation.
6. Allows a person who applies for a driver's license or
identification card to designate a contribution of two
dollars to the registry. DMV shall collect and transmit
to the registrar these donations, after deducting not
more than its actual administrative costs of collecting
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donor registrations and transmitting those to the
registry.
7. Creates the Donate Life California Trust Subaccount in
the Motor Vehicle Account in the State Transportation
Fund, and specifies that the revenue in the subaccount is
continuously appropriated and shall be expended by Donate
Life California for the purpose of increasing
participation in organ donation programs.
8. Deletes the requirement that DMV when issuing or
renewing a driver's license or an identification card to
provide information on organ and tissue donation,
including the standardized form a person mails to the
registrar to become a donor. The bill also deletes the
requirement that DMV provide the pink donor dot.
9. Specifies that this act shall become operative on July
1, 2006.
Background
SB 108 (Speier), Chapter 740, Statutes of 2001 authorized
the establishment of an Organ and Tissue Donor Registry in
the California Health and Human Services Agency. The agency
never received funding for the registry, and in 2003, SB
112 (Speier) transferred responsibility for establishing
the registry with a private, nonprofit organization
administered by the four federally-designated organ
procurement organizations (OPOs). The four
federally-designated OPOs are:
1. California Transplant Donor Network, which serves 39
counties in Northern and central California.
2. Golden State Donor Services, which serves 11 counties
in the Sacramento region.
3. Life sharing Community Organ & Tissue Donation, which
services San Diego and Imperial Counties.
4. One Legacy, which serves counties in the Los Angeles
area.
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In California, currently 18,000 people are awaiting organ
or tissue transplants, which is approximately one-quarter
of those nationwide who are awaiting transplants. It is
estimated that one-third of these people will die while
awaiting a donation. The current system for registering
donors relies on the registry created under SB 112 of 2003,
which beginning April 4th of this year provides for on-line
registration of donors. Existing law also requires DMV to
provide registration forms to those applying for drivers'
licenses or identification cards. The form includes
instructions to mail the completed form to Donate Life
California, the California Organ and Tissue Donation
Registrar.
Donate Life California representatives assert that this
system of registering donors has been very ineffective,
because in more than 90 percent of the cases the OPO
handling the donation process do not have access to the
donor card or pink dot and therefore is unaware of the
person's desire to be a donor.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: Yes Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee analysis:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2005-06 2006-07
2007-08 Fund
DMV administration $1,375 $982
$982 Sp*
Voluntary donation unspecified savings**
Sp**
*Motor Vehicle Account
NOTE: it is unclear whether this is an authorized use of
the Department of Motor Vehicles Account funds, per Article
XIX of the CA Constitution. If not, these funds will need
to come from another source, possibly General Fund.
**The bill, as drafted, does not specify the percentage of
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revenues generated by a two dollar voluntary donation
program that will be dedicated to DMV administration. If
10 percent of applicants participate in the voluntary
donation, total revenues will be $1.2 million annually. If
DMV receives 10 percent of this for administration, savings
will be $120,000 annually.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/31/05)
Donate Life California (source)
Barcellona, Inc.
BloodSource Sacramento
California Center for Public Health Advocacy
California Clinical Laboratory Association
California Donor Transplant Network
Catholic Healthcare West
Golden State Donor Services
Kaiser Permanente
Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation
National Organization for Renal Disease
One Legacy
Renal Support Network
Sierra Eye & Tissue Donor Services-DCI Donor Services
St. Joseph Health System - Sonoma County
Sutter Roseville Medical Center
Tavagione Construction and Development
UC Davis Medical Center
UCSF Tissue Bank
Van Dyke Fabrication
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/31/05)
Automobile Club of Southern California
California State Automobile Association
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Aghazarian, Arambula, Baca, Bass, Benoit, Berg,
Bermudez, Blakeslee, Bogh, Calderon, Canciamilla, Chan,
Chavez, Chu, Cogdill, Cohn, Coto, Daucher, De La Torre,
DeVore, Dymally, Emmerson, Evans, Frommer, Garcia,
Goldberg, Hancock, Harman, Jerome Horton, Shirley Horton,
Houston, Huff, Jones, Karnette, Keene, Klehs, Koretz, La
Malfa, Laird, Leno, Leslie, Levine, Lieber, Liu,
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Matthews, Maze, McCarthy, Montanez, Mullin, Nakanishi,
Nation, Nava, Niello, Parra, Pavley, Plescia, Richman,
Ridley-Thomas, Sharon Runner, Ruskin, Saldana, Salinas,
Spitzer, Strickland, Tran, Umberg, Vargas, Villines,
Wolk, Wyland, Yee, Nunez
NOES: Haynes
NO VOTE RECORDED: La Suer, Mountjoy, Negrete McLeod,
Oropeza, Torrico, Walters, Vacancy
JJA:do 8/31/05 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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