BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                      



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  AB 2552|
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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 2552
          Author:   Torres (D)
          Amended:  8/21/12 in Senate
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE  :  7-0, 6/26/12
          AYES:  Hancock, Anderson, Calderon, Harman, Liu, Price, 
            Steinberg

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  7-0, 8/16/12
          AYES:  Kehoe, Walters, Alquist, Dutton, Lieu, Price, 
            Steinberg

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  75-0, 5/21/12 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Vehicles:  driving under the influence:  
          controlled substances

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This bill recasts the provisions on driving 
          under the influence of alcohol or drugs.  The provisions of 
          the bill sunset on January 1, 2014.

           ANALYSIS  :    Existing law provides that it is unlawful for 
          any person who is under the influence of any alcoholic 
          beverage or drug, or under the combined influence of any 
          alcoholic beverage and drug, to drive a vehicle.  (Vehicle 
          Code (VEH) § 23152(a))

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          Existing law provides it is unlawful for any person who has 
          0.08 percent or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her 
          blood to drive a vehicle.  For purposes of this article and 
          Section 34501.16, percent, by weight, of alcohol in a 
          person's blood is based upon grams of alcohol per 100 
          milliliters of blood or grams of alcohol per 210 liters of 
          breath.  In any prosecution under this subdivision, it is a 
          rebuttable presumption that the person had 0.08 percent or 
          more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood at the time 
          of driving the vehicle if the person had 0.08 percent or 
          more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood at the time 
          of the performance of a chemical test within three hours 
          after the driving.  (VEH § 23152(b).)

          Existing law provides that it is unlawful for any person 
          who is addicted to the use of any drug to drive a vehicle.  
          This subdivision shall not apply to a person who is 
          participating in a narcotic treatment program approved 
          pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 11875) of 
          Chapter 1 of Part 3 of Division 10.5 of the Health and 
          Safety Code.  (VEH § 23152(c).)

          Existing law provides that it is unlawful for any person 
          who has 0.04 percent or more, by weight, of alcohol in his 
          or her blood to drive a commercial motor vehicle, as 
          defined in Section 15210.  In any prosecution under this 
          subdivision, it is a rebuttable presumption that the person 
          had 0.04 percent or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or 
          her blood at the time of driving the vehicle if the person 
          had 0.04 percent or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or 
          her blood at the time of the performance of a chemical test 
          within three hours after the driving.  (VEH § 23152(d).)  

          This bill revises and recasts provisions related to driving 
          under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or the combination 
          of drugs and alcohol by separating the provisions into 
          three distinct sections and subsections:

           Driving under the influence of alcohol.
           Driving under the influence of drugs. 
           Driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs.

          This bill deletes the January 1, 1992, operative date in 
          Section 23152 of the Vehicle Code.

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          This bill also provides that the provisions of the bill 
          sunset January 1, 2014.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  No   
          Local:  No

          According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:

           One-time costs of approximately $1.2 million (Motor 
            Vehicle Account) to the Department of Motor Vehicles 
            (DMV) for programming changes.

           Potential federal grant funding of $400,000 to $500,000 
            through the Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) pending a 
            written grant agreement between the OTS and DMV, and 
            subject to BTH approval, to support the project.

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  8/20/12)

          California Peace Officers' Association
          California State Sheriffs' Association
          California Narcotic Officers' Association
          California Police Chiefs Association

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    The California State Sheriffs' 
          Association states:

               Under current law, all individuals arrested for 
               driving under the influence are arrested under a 
               single, catch-all section of the law.  Current law 
               does not distinguish between individuals arrested for 
               being under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or a 
               combination of both.  This process leaves state and 
               local entities with little information to study and 
               understand trends on the different types of substances 
               involved in DUI incidents.

               AB 2552 will break up the code section of the law used 
               by law enforcement to charge individuals for DUI into 
               three sections.  These new sections will allow state 
               and local entities to collect arrest data that is more 
               precise and that can reflect the actual numbers of 
               alcohol, drug or a combination of alcohol and drugs.  

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               This type of data is critical for health and safety 
               agencies to make better informed decisions regarding 
               funding for officer training, equipment, and/or drug 
               and alcohol programs.


           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  75-0, 5/21/12
          AYES:  Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, 
            Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, 
            Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, 
            Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson, 
            Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Beth Gaines, 
            Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Gorell, Grove, Hagman, 
            Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hill, Huber, Hueso, 
            Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie 
            Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, 
            Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Olsen, Pan, V. 
            Manuel Pérez, Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, 
            Swanson, Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, 
            Yamada, John A. Pérez
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Donnelly, Fletcher, Roger Hernández, 
            Norby, Perea


          RJG:n  8/21/12   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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