BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 1132
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 6, 2009

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Kevin De Leon, Chair

                     AB 1132 (Jones) - As Amended:  May 11, 2009 

          Policy Committee:                               
          TransportationVote:12-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:              

           SUMMARY  

          This bill makes changes with respect to information provided by  
          the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) about organ and tissue  
          donations. Specifically, the bill:

          1)Requires DMV to add a hyperlink to the confirmation page of  
            vehicle registrations processed online in order to provide the  
            option for drivers to connect to the state-authorized Donate  
            Life California online California Organ and Tissue Donor  
            Registry.

          2)Authorizes a person registering online to designate a  
            voluntary contribution of $2 to the donor registry.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Minor and absorbable cost to DMV to prepare a hyperlink. 

           COMMENTS  

           1)Background  . Existing law requires the front of an application  
            for an original or renewal of a driver's license or ID card to  
            contain a space for an applicant to give his or her consent to  
            be an organ and tissue donor upon death. Applicants making  
            such an election are provided with a "donor" designation on  
            their driver's license, and DMV electronically transmits to  
            Donate Life California specified information on every  
            applicant that has indicated his or her willingness to  
            participate in the organ donation program. Existing law also  
            allows driver's license applicants to make a $2 dollar  
            donation for the purpose of promoting and supporting organ and  








                                                                  AB 1132
                                                                  Page  2

            tissue donation, and allows DMV to recoup administrative costs  
            for processing the donations.

           2)Rationale  . This bill is intended to increase participation in  
            the registry of organ donors. The author notes that although  
            almost 5 million Californians have enrolled with the Donate  
            Life California Registry, the state still ranks among the  
            bottom quarter nationally for the rate of organ donation  
            signups. The author indicates that part of the problem is that  
            existing law only requires DMV to make available information  
            regarding organ donations once every five years, when the  
            driver renews his or her license. The bill originally required  
            DMV to make information available about organ donation as part  
            of the annual vehicle registration renewal process, but the  
            bill was amended by the author to instead require a hyperlink  
            on the DMV website in order to reduce costs to DMV.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Brad Williams / APPR. / (916) 319-2081