BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                            Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair


          SB 62 (Price) - Coroners: reporting requirements: prescription  
          drug abuse.
          
          Amended: April 22, 2013         Policy Vote: B&P 10-0
          Urgency: No                     Mandate: Yes
          Hearing Date: April 29, 2013                            
          Consultant: Brendan McCarthy    
          
          This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
          
          
          Bill Summary: SB 62 would require coroners to report to the  
          Medical Board of California when toxicity from a prescription  
          drug was a contributing factor in a cause of death.

          Fiscal Impact: 
              Ongoing state mandate costs in the low hundreds of  
              thousands (General Fund). Based on 2008 information from the  
              Centers for Disease Control, there are roughly 2,000  
              prescription drug overdose deaths in the state each year.  
              Assuming that local coroners spend about one to two hours  
              preparing materials for each report to the Medical Board,  
              the statewide annual costs to reimburse the coroners for  
              their costs will likely be between $150,000 and $350,000 per  
              year.

              Ongoing investigation costs by the Medical Board, to the  
              extent the reports from coroners indicate a need for  
              investigation. The extent of this cost will depend on the  
              reports received and could be in the hundreds of thousands  
              per year (Contingent Fund of the Medical Board).

          Background: Under current law, coroners are required to report  
          to the appropriate regulatory board when a coroner determines  
          that a death may be the result of gross negligence or  
          incompetence by a physician and surgeon, podiatrist, or  
          physician's assistant.

          Under current law, the Medical Board of California licenses and  
          regulates the conduct of physicians and surgeons.

          Proposed Law: SB 62 would require coroners to report to the  








          SB 62 (Price)
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          Medical Board of California when toxicity from a Schedule II,  
          III or IV prescription drug was a contributing factor in a cause  
          of death. The report would include information on the deceased,  
          the attending physician, podiatrist, or physician assistant, and  
          any other relevant information available to identify the  
          prescription drug, the prescribing physician, and the dispensing  
          pharmacy.

          Related Legislation: 
              SB 445 (Price) would prohibit pharmacies from advertising  
              the sale of controlled substances. That bill will be heard  
              in this committee.
              SB 670 (Steinberg) grants additional authority to the  
              Medical Board to inspect medical records and limit  
              prescribing ability of physicians during investigations.  
              That bill will be heard in this committee.

          Staff Comments: Under the California Constitution, the state is  
          required to reimburse local governments for most mandated  
          activities. Because this bill requires local coroners to file  
          mandated reports with the Medical Board, this bill creates a  
          reimbursable mandate.