BILL NUMBER: AB 599 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 13, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Hall
FEBRUARY 25, 2009
An act to amend Section 100700 Sections
100702 and 100703 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to
laboratories.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 599, as amended, Hall. Forensic blood alcohol testing
laboratories.
Under existing law, the State Department of Public Health
regulates laboratories engaged in the performance of forensic alcohol
analysis tests by or for law enforcement agencies on blood, urine,
tissue, or breath for the purpose of determining the concentration of
ethyl alcohol in persons involved in traffic accidents or in traffic
violations. Existing law also requires the department to
establish a committee for the review of regulations relating to these
laboratories with this committee known as the Forensic Alcohol
Review Committee. Existing law requires these
laboratories to comply with American Society of Crime Laboratory
Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB) guidelines for
proficiency testing.
This bill would exempt from those regulations
laboratories that are accredited provide that, until
the effective date of specified regulatory changes, accreditation
in the forensic alcohol analysis discipline or subdiscipline by
the American Society of Crime Laboratory
Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB) or by another
accrediting body approved by the Forensic Alcohol Review Committee
ASCLD/LAB is sufficient to comply with the proficiency
testing requirements .
Under existing law, the department is required to establish a
review committee to review the regulations and determine revisions
that will limit those regulations to those that the review committee
determines are reasonably necessary to ensure the
competence of the laboratories and employees to prepare,
analyze, and report the results of the tests and comply with
applicable laws and to submit a summary of revisions to the
California Health and Human Services Agency.
This bill would require the review committee to submit its report
by December 31, 2010.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 100702 of the Health
and Safety Code is amended to read:
100702. (a) All laboratories that are subject to the requirements
of Section 100700 shall follow the American Society of Crime
Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB)
guidelines for proficiency testing. The required proficiency test
must shall be obtained from any
ASCLD/LAB approved test provider.
(b) Each laboratory shall participate annually in an external
proficiency test for alcohol analysis.
(c) Each examiner shall successfully complete at least one
proficiency test annually.
(d) Each laboratory shall have a procedure in writing that
describes a review of proficiency test results, and, if applicable,
the corrective action taken when proficiency test results are
inconsistent with expected test results.
(e) Prior to the effective date of the revisions to the
regulations made pursuant to Section 100703 that are adopted and take
effect after January 1, 2010, for laboratories accredited in the
forensic alcohol analysis discipline or subdiscipline by the
ASCLD/LAB, compliance with the standards of that accrediting body
shall satisfy the requirements of this section.
SEC. 2. Section 100703 of the Health
and Safety Code is amended to read:
100703. (a) On or before July 1, 2005, the department shall
establish a review committee.
(b) The review committee shall have eight members, including one
person representing each of the following:
(1) Prosecuting attorneys.
(2) Law enforcement agencies.
(3) Defense attorneys.
(4) Coroners, pathologists, or medical examiners.
(5) Criminalists.
(6) Toxicologists.
(7) Crime laboratory directors.
(8) The State Department of Health Services.
(c) The review committee shall meet at least once in each
five-year period after its initial meeting, or within 60 days of
receipt of a request by the department or a member of the review
committee.
(d) The review committee shall evaluate Group 8 (commencing with
Section 1215) of Subchapter 1 of Chapter 2 of Division 1 of Title 17
of the California Code of Regulations and determine revisions that
will limit those regulations to those that the review committee
determines are reasonably necessary to ensure the competence of the
laboratories and employees to prepare, analyze, and report the
results of the tests and comply with applicable laws. The review
committee shall submit a summary of revisions to the California
Health and Human Services Agency by December 31, 2010 .
(e) Within 90 days of receiving the review committee's revisions,
the California Health and Human Services Agency may disapprove of one
or more of the revisions.
(f) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the department shall
adopt regulations pursuant to this section that shall incorporate the
review committee's revisions. Nothing in this section shall be
construed as exempting the regulations from the requirements of
Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3
of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(2) The department shall not adopt regulations to incorporate any
review committee revisions that were disapproved under subdivision
(e).
SECTION 1. Section 100700 of the Health and
Safety Code is amended to read:
100700. (a) Laboratories engaged in the performance of forensic
alcohol analysis tests by or for law enforcement agencies on blood,
urine, tissue, or breath for the purposes of determining the
concentration of ethyl alcohol in persons involved in traffic
accidents or in traffic violations shall comply with Group 8
(commencing with Section 1215) of Subchapter 1 of Chapter 2 of
Division 1 of Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations, as they
exist on December 31, 2004, until the time when those regulations
are revised pursuant to Section 100703.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the department shall not
require laboratories to be licensed.
(c) Laboratories that are accredited in the forensic alcohol
analysis discipline or subdiscipline by the American Society of Crime
Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB) or
by another accrediting body approved by the Forensic Alcohol Review
Committee established pursuant to Section 100703, shall be exempt
from the requirements of this section.