BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



          SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND HOUSING
                              Senator Jim Beall, Chair
                                2015 - 2016  Regular 

          Bill No:          AB 8              Hearing Date:    6/23/2015
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          |Author:   |Gatto                                                 |
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          |Version:  |12/1/2014     REVISED                                 |
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          |Urgency:  |No                     |Fiscal:      |Yes             |
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          |Consultant|Eric Thronson                                         |
          |:         |                                                      |
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          SUBJECT:  Emergency services:  hit-and-run incidents


            DIGEST:  This bill establishes the "Yellow Alert" notification  
          system and authorizes the California Highway Patrol (CHP) to  
          activate the system for certain hit-and-run incidents.

          ANALYSIS:
          
          Existing law:
          
          1)Authorizes use of the Emergency Alert System (EAS), a national  
            public warning system that requires broadcasters, cable  
            television systems, wireless cable systems, satellite digital  
            audio radio service providers, and direct broadcast satellite  
            providers, for "AMBER Alerts," a program designed to aid in  
            the recovery of an abducted child or an individual with a  
            proven mental or physical disability when all of the following  
            conditions have been met:  



             a)   A law enforcement agency determines that the victim is  
               in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death; and



             b)   There is information available that, if disseminated to  
               the general public, could assist in the safe recovery of  
               the victim.







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          1)Requires CHP, in consultation with others, to develop policies  
            and procedures to instruct agencies how to carry out an AMBER  
            Alert.



          2)Authorizes use of the EAS for "Blue Alerts," a quick-response  
            system designed to issue and coordinate alerts when a law  
            enforcement officer has been killed or is seriously injured  
            and when all the following conditions have been met: 



             a)   The suspect has fled the scene and poses an imminent  
               threat to public safety;



             b)   A detailed description of the suspect's vehicle or  
               license plate is available for broadcasting; and



             c)   There is information available that, if disseminated to  
               the general public, could help avert further harm or  
               accelerate apprehension of the suspect.



          1)Establishes a "Silver Alert" notification system, designed to  
            issue and coordinate alerts if a person that is age 65 years  
            or older, developmentally disabled, or cognitively impaired is  
            missing and if the following conditions have been met:



             a)   A law enforcement agency has used all available local  
               resources to locate the missing person;



             b)   The missing person is believed to be in danger because  








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               of, for example, health or weather conditions; and



             c)   It has been determined that the public dissemination of  
               information may lead to a safe recovery of the missing  
               person. 



          This bill:

          1)Establishes the "Yellow Alert" notification system and  
            authorizes CHP to activate the system for certain hit-and-run  
            incidents.    


          2)Defines a Yellow Alert as a notification designed to issue and  
            coordinate alerts that enlist the public in locating  
            hit-and-run suspects when a hit-and-run incident results in  
            death or injury.



          3)Authorizes a law enforcement agency to request that CHP  
            activate a Yellow Alert if certain identifying information  
            about the hit-and-run suspect or the suspect's vehicle is  
            available and if law enforcement believes that public  
            dissemination of the available information will aid in  
            apprehending the suspect or averting further harm.



          4)Requires the CHP, if it concurs that Yellow Alert activation  
            requirements are met, to issue a Yellow Alert via local  
            digital signs within the geographic area requested by the  
            investigating law enforcement agency.


          COMMENTS:

          1)Purpose. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration  
            reports that the number of hit-and-run accidents is increasing  
            nationally.  According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic  
            Safety, one in five of all pedestrian fatalities involve  








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            hit-and-run accidents and 60% of hit-and-run fatalities have  
            pedestrian victims.  Additionally, USA Today writes that in  
            2013 an estimated 20,000 hit-and-run incidents occur each year  
            in the City of Los Angeles alone and 4,000 of these incidents  
            involved injuries or death.


            To address this problem, the author has introduced this bill,  
            which is modeled after legislation in Colorado (Medina Alert)  
            that has been instrumental in locating hit-and-run suspects.   
            Specifically, this bill would create a Yellow Alert  
            notification system, similar to California's successful AMBER  
            Alert system, that would authorize CHP to activate digital  
            highway signage (as well as other electronic messaging  
            systems) when there is information available to locate  
            hit-and-run suspects.  The Yellow Alert notification system  
            would provide the public with information about the  
            hit-and-run suspect and/or the suspect's vehicle and request  
            that the public be on the lookout and report information to  
            law enforcement.

          2)Emergency alert system background.  The nation's first AMBER  
            Alert was established in 1996, and named after 9-year-old  
            Amber Hagerman who was kidnapped while riding her bicycle and  
            brutally murdered in Arlington, Texas.  The alert system was  
            intended to help inform local residents to search for a child  
            who was abducted nearby.  AMBER is an acronym for America's  
            Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response. 

            The alerts were initially issued over broadcasting channels  
            designed to alert residents of dangerous weather events, but  
            since then they have grown to include highway billboard signs,  
            text messages, and other notification methods. Although the  
            federal government does not have direct control over the  
            system, several federal agencies have urged states to  
            implement it. The U.S. Department of Justice created an AMBER  
            Alert page, and issued guidance to states to establish  
            criteria before issuing an alert, including that the victim be  
            at risk of serious bodily injury or death, a sufficient  
            description to be informative is included, and that law  
            enforcement must confirm there was an abduction, among others.

            California began the AMBER Alert as a regional program in  
            1999, and in 2002 the Legislature passed AB 415 (Runner,  
            Chapter 517) establishing it statewide.  As of February 2014,  








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            there have been 219 activations in California, 255 recovered  
            victims and 131 suspects arrested.  The CHP is responsible for  
            statewide coordination of the AMBER Alert system.

            In 2010, SB 839 (Runner, Chapter 311) expanded the alert  
            system to include Blue Alerts which allow the CHP to initiate  
            a quick response to coordinate alerts following an attack on a  
            law enforcement officer if the officer was killed, suffered  
            serious bodily injury, or was assaulted with a deadly weapon  
            and the suspect remains at large. 

            Finally, in 2012 the Legislature established the Silver Alert  
            program through SB 1047 (Alquist, Chapter 651), to coordinate  
            communication after the unexplained or suspicious  
            disappearance of an elderly person.  The system is intended to  
            provide immediate attention to the public about the missing  
            person, including photographs, descriptions, and information  
            about the last time and location they were seen.  The  
            Legislature has since expanded the program to include any  
            developmentally disabled or cognitively impaired individual  
            that otherwise meets the requirements, regardless of the  
            person's age.

          3)Are hit-and-runs appropriate for the alert system?  For cases  
            in which current law authorizes an emergency alert, the  
            primary imperative is to prevent imminent danger.  For an  
            AMBER Alert to be issued, a law enforcement agency must first  
            assess if the victim is "in imminent danger of serious bodily  
            injury or death" and whether the widespread dissemination of  
            pertinent information to the public would assist in the safe  
            recovery of the victim.  Similarly, a Silver Alert can only be  
            issued when a person 65 years of age or older is reported  
            missing and determined by the law enforcement agency to be in  
            potential danger due to age or a variety of other factors.   
            Additionally, an offending suspect needs to be considered an  
            imminent threat to the public or other law enforcement  
            personnel before a Blue Alert can be initiated after a violent  
            attack on a law enforcement officer.  Alternatively, law  
            enforcement suggests that hit-and-run offenders typically try  
            to hide and hope they cannot be identified.  This appears to  
            be one example of how hit-and-run incidents may not be  
            appropriate for the alert system.

            Further, the inherent nature of hit-and-run incidents leads to  
            information about the suspect or the suspect's vehicle being  








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            unavailable or unverifiable.  In a missing person's case, once  
            a law enforcement agency decides to request an Amber or Silver  
            Alert, the agency often has access to an accurate description  
            of the missing person, if not a photograph or digital image,  
            that confers a high degree of certainty in the information  
            being disseminated to the public about the missing person.  In  
            essence, it is easier to identify and verify the person for  
            whom the public should be on alert.  For hit-and-run  
            incidents, the investigating law enforcement agency may have  
            limited information available that cannot be verified.  If law  
            enforcement has the suspect's identifying information  
            necessary to institute a Yellow Alert, it seems reasonable  
            that law enforcement can use that information to apprehend the  
            suspect without needing to post the information on a  
            changeable message sign.  Given this, it is unclear how  
            hit-and-runs are appropriate for the state's alert system.

          4)Distracted driving concerns.  A variety of constituencies have  
            conducted distracted driving studies focused on a number of  
            potential distractions.  There are studies that use data to  
            prove illuminated billboards do not lead to negative outcomes,  
            and other studies that refute these conclusions.  Nearly all  
            studies admit that, in most instances, it is very difficult to  
            identify one single factor that led to an adverse incident  
            such as an automobile accident.  Research tends to show that  
            accidents arise from an accumulation of factors, including  
            distractions in the vehicle and outside, weather conditions,  
            and even distracting thoughts within the driver's mind.

            It is clear, however, that billboards by their very nature  
            capture a driver's attention.  Advertising is intended to  
            communicate a message to the recipient, which requires some  
            attention.  One recent study of driver behavior conducted by  
            the Accident Research Center at Monash University concluded  
            that "the presence of billboards changed drivers' pattern of  
            visual attention, increased the amount of time needed for  
            drivers to respond to road signs, and increased the number of  
            errors in the driving task."  Other studies using naturalistic  
            driving data have found that, of all the various distractions  
            contributing to poor driving outcomes, visual distraction is  
            the primary concern in driver distraction.  

            This bill proposes that the state use its digital billboards  
            to advertise to the public an alert.  While illuminated  
            billboards may not by themselves lead to adverse safety  








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            impacts, it is clear that they contribute to the multiple  
            distractions drivers navigate each day.  Adding distractions,  
            especially ones that are particularly effective at drawing  
            one's attention, can only increase the risk of negative  
            outcomes.  The question is not whether these alerts on the  
            state's changeable message signs cause accidents and other  
            negative consequences, but how many distractions are enough to  
            create an environment potentially too risky and dangerous for  
            people traveling from one place to another.  

          5)CHP opposition.  In a letter dated May 15, 2015, the CHP  
            Commissioner informed the author that CHP opposes this bill  
            for three reasons.  First, CHP is concerned that this bill  
            would significantly increase the total number of alerts  
            displayed on the state's changeable message signs.  CHP  
            asserts that this will decrease the effectiveness of the AMBER  
            Alert system, as it will desensitize the public and reduce its  
            attention to the most serious child abduction cases for which  
            the alert system is currently deployed.  The increased number  
            of alerts could also lead to increased driver distraction and  
            more dangerous highways.

            Second, CHP states that it anticipates a significant decrease  
            in the number of hit-and-run collisions due to the  
            implementation of legislation allowing previously unlicensed  
            drivers the ability to obtain a driver's license.  Having in  
            possession a driver's license reduces the incentive for  
            fleeing an accident, and therefore there should be fewer  
            hit-and-runs.

            Finally, CHP expresses concern that nothing in statute  
            prioritizes the various alerts, and that can become  
            problematic for CHP if they are put in the position of  
            determining which alert to post on a changeable message sign  
            when they get more than one at a time.  

          6)Previously vetoed legislation.  AB 47 (Gatto) of 2014, which  
            was identical to this bill, was vetoed by Governor Brown on  
            the grounds that similar legislation adding developmentally  
            disabled persons to the alert system had just been signed.   
            The Governor pointed out in his veto message that expansion of  
            the system should be tested before other categories of  
            individuals are added.  In light of Governor Brown's apparent  
            feeling about expanding the alert system, the committee may  
            wish to consider why this bill may have a different fate than  








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            last year's effort.
          
          7)Proposed amendments.  As noted previously, if CHP concurs that  
            certain conditions are met, this bill requires them to issue  
            the Yellow Alert on local digital signs.  In other "alert"  
            legislation, CHP is given the option to use digital signs but  
            is not mandated to do so.  There are certainly instances in  
            which CHP may determine that posting these messages on digital  
            signs serves no real purpose, and yet under this bill CHP has  
            no discretion in the matter.  If the committee chooses to pass  
            this bill, to resolve this issue and to be consistent with  
            other "alert" legislation, the committee may wish to amend the  
            bill to give CHP the discretion to determine when to post the  
            alert on digital signs.

            This bill references local digital signs for use with these  
            Yellow Alerts.  It isn't entirely clear what local digital  
            signs are, however, because in statute and practice we have no  
            definition for such.  If the author means for CHP to activate  
            the changeable message signs operated by Caltrans on the state  
            highway system, then the bill should be specific.  If the  
            committee chooses to pass this bill, it may wish to amend the  
            bill to replace "local digital signs" with "changeable message  
            signs."

          8)Double-referral.  The Rules Committee has referred this bill  
            to both this committee and the Public Safety Committee.   
            Therefore, if the bill passes this committee, it will be  
            referred to the Committee on Public Safety.
          
          Related Legislation:
          
          AB 400 (Alejo) - authorizes the use of changeable message signs  
          for voter registration and Election Day reminders.  This bill is  
          also being heard in this committee today.


          AB 643 (Nazarian) - authorizes the CHP, upon activation of a  
          Silver Alert, to communicate the Alert on highway changeable  
          message signs under certain conditions.  This bill is also being  
          heard in this committee today.


          AB 47 (Gatto, Statutes of 2014) - which was identical to this  
          bill, was vetoed by Governor Brown.  The Governor pointed out in  








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          his veto message that expansion of the system should be tested  
          before other categories of individuals are added.

          SB 1127 (Torres, Chapter 440, Statutes of 2014) - included a  
          missing person who is developmentally disabled or cognitively  
          impaired among persons who may be the subject of a Silver Alert.

          SB 1047 (Alquist, Chapter 651, Statutes of 2012) - established  
          California's Silver Alert System.

          SB 839 (Runner, Chapter 311 of 2010) - established California's  
          Blue Alert System.

          Assembly Votes:

            Floor:    79-0
            Appr:     17-0
            Pub S:      7-0
            Trans:    16-0
          
          FISCAL EFFECT:  Appropriation:  No    Fiscal Com.:  Yes     
          Local:  No


            POSITIONS:  (Communicated to the committee before noon on  
          Wednesday,
                          June 17, 2015.)
          
            SUPPORT:  

          ABATE of California
          American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
          American Motorcyclist Association
          Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs
          California Bicycle Coalition
          California Council of the Blind
          California Police Chiefs Association
          California State Firefighters' Association
          California Walks
          City of Los Angeles, Office of the Mayor
          Emergency Nurses Association
          Inland Empire Biking Alliance
          Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition
          Los Angeles Walks
          Matco Inc. Construction and Restoration








          AB 8 (Gatto)                                        Page 10 of ?
          
          
          Nick's Computer Works
          People Power of Santa Cruz County
          Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates
          Safe Routes to Shool National Partnership
          San Diego County Bicycle Coalition
          San Francisco Bicycle Coalition
          San Luis Obispo County Bicycle Coalition
          Shasta Living Streets
          Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition
          Transportation Authority of Marin
          Walk and Bike Mendocino
          6 individuals

          OPPOSITION:

          California Highway Patrol


                                      -- END --