BILL ANALYSIS AB 2635 Page 1 Date of Hearing: May 5, 2010 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Felipe Fuentes, Chair AB 2635 (Portantino) - As Amended: April 5, 2010 Policy Committee: Public SafetyVote: 7-0 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: Yes Reimbursable: Yes SUMMARY This bill adds a nonsworn law enforcement employee whose job description includes collecting fingerprints to the list of persons (peace officers, firefighters, and emergency medical personnel) who may seek to have an arrestee's blood tested, either voluntarily or by court order, for HIV or Hepatitis B or C, when exposed to an arrestee's bodily fluids during the course of duty. FISCAL EFFECT Likely negligible state court costs/savings to the extent this bill results in additional/fewer hearings for county detention personnel forced to pursue a court hearing to obtain an arrestee's blood sample in the wake of a bodily fluid exposure. COMMENTS 1)Rationale . Current law specifies that peace officers, firefighters, or emergency medical personnel, who, in the scope of duty, are exposed to an arrestee's blood or bodily fluids, may, prior to filing a petition with the court, have a licensed health care provider notify the arrestee of the exposure and attempt to obtain consent of the arrestee to perform a test for HIV, or hepatitis B nor C. If consent is not provided, the official may petition the court for an order requiring testing, as specified. If the court finds probable cause indicates a potential exposure occurred, the court shall order the arrestee to provide blood for testing, as specified. AB 2635 Page 2 Because current law does not cover law enforcement agency employees who collect fingerprints, and may therefore be placed in harm's way, the author and the sponsor of this measure - AFSCME - wish to expand the statute to do so. 2)Is this bill necessary ? Though the sponsor cannot identify a situation in which a nonsworn employee who collects fingerprints was unable to obtain a necessary blood test following an exposure incident involving an arrestee, or forced to pursue a court-ordered solution, expanding the statute to include these employees appears consistent with legislative intent. 3)Prior legislation , AB 169 (Portantino), Statutes of 2009, added custodial officers, custody assistants, and non-sworn uniformed employees of a law enforcement agency, to the list of persons who may seek to have an arrestee's blood tested. Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081