BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 643|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 643
Author: Nazarian (D)
Amended: 4/8/15 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANS. & HOUSING COMMITTEE: 11-0, 6/23/15
AYES: Beall, Cannella, Allen, Bates, Gaines, Galgiani, Leyva,
McGuire, Mendoza, Roth, Wieckowski
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-0, 5/18/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Emergency services: Silver Alerts
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill allows the California Highway Patrol (CHP),
upon activation of a Silver Alert, to communicate the Alert on
highway changeable message signs under certain conditions.
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
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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.
2)Requires the CHP, in consultation with others, to develop
policies and procedures to instruct agencies how to carry out
an AMBER Alert.
3)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.
4)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
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.
5)Directs CHP, upon activation of a Silver Alert, to issue a
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be-on-the-lookout alert, an Emergency Digital Information
Service message, or an electronic flyer. As opposed to AMBER
and Blue alerts, existing law does not authorize use of the
EAS or changeable message signs for Silver Alerts.
This bill allows CHP, upon activation of a Silver Alert, to
communicate the Alert on highway changeable message signs if the
following conditions are met:
1)A law-enforcement agency determines that a vehicle may be
involved in the missing person incident; and
2)Specific vehicle identification is available for public
dissemination.
Comments
1)Purpose. The author has introduced this bill to improve the
effectiveness of the Silver Alert program. He notes that
Californians drive over 300 billion miles annually and,
consequently, have frequent exposure to changeable message
signs, primarily along the state's freeway corridors. In
authorizing the use of these changeable message signs to
disseminate information regarding Silver Alerts, the author
hopes this exposure will lead to the safe return of missing
persons.
2)EAS background. The nation's first AMBER Alert was
established in 1996, and named after nine-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
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at risk of serious bodily injury or death, that 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, 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)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
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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
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.
4)Diluting the message? In 2014 the Legislature passed AB 47
(Gatto), which proposed to create a "Yellow Alert" system for
hit-and-run accidents. Though AB 47 passed with bipartisan
support, it was vetoed by the Governor. In his veto message,
Governor Brown noted that since the Legislature had just added
a new class of individuals to the existing alert system with
SB 1127 (Torres, Chapter 440, Statutes of 2014), adding yet
another category (hit-and-run suspects) could overload the
alert system, thereby diluting its effectiveness. Further, in
a letter opposing AB 8 (Gatto), a bill identical to AB 47, CHP
raises this concern again this year.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified7/8/15)
Alzheimer's Association
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American Silver Alert Coalition
Association of Regional Center Agencies
California Assisted Living Association
California College and University Police Chiefs Association
California Police Chiefs Association
California Senior Legislature
Center for Autism and Related Disorders
Congress of California Seniors
County of Marin
County of San Diego
North Los Angeles County Regional Center
State Council on Developmental Disabilities
The Arc and United Cerebral Palsy California Collaboration
The Help Group
OPPOSITION: (Verified7/8/15)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-0, 5/18/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang,
Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle,
Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina
Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez,
Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden,
Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez,
Low, Maienschein, McCarty, Medina, Mullin, Nazarian,
Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon,
Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark
Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams,
Wood, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Kim, Mathis, Mayes, Melendez
Prepared by:Eric Thronson / T. & H. / (916) 651-4121
7/8/15 15:52:22
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