BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2740
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 4, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
AB
2740 (Low) - As Amended March 15, 2016
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
No
SUMMARY:
This bill provides that it is a crime for a person who has 5
ng/ml or more of delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in his or
her blood to drive a vehicle. Specifically, this bill:
1)Creates a per se standard for driving under the influence of
marijuana (to apply specific punishments). However, the bill
also:
a) Establishes a rebuttable presumption for each of those
offenses that the person had 5 ng/ml or more of THC in his
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or her blood at the time of driving the vehicle if the
person had 5 ng/ml or more of THC in his or her blood at
the time of the performance of a chemical test within two
hours of the driving.
b) Requires corroborating evidence, as specified, in
addition to a level of 5 ng/ml or more of THC in the
driver's blood, for a conviction for either of those
offenses.
2)Makes it an offense for a person, while having 5 ng/ml or more
of THC in his or her blood, to drive a vehicle and
concurrently do any act forbidden by law, or neglect any duty
imposed by law in driving the vehicle, when the act or neglect
proximately causes bodily injury to a person other than the
driver. These offenses can be punished as misdemeanors, or
felonies for various terms, including for up to four, six, or
ten years in state prison.
FISCAL EFFECT:
1)Likely significant fiscal impact to the Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). If five persons were
convicted per year for vehicular manslaughter while driving
under the influence of THC, and were sentenced to six years in
state prison, the annual cost to CDCR would be approximately
$145,000 the first year and $290,000 the second year, $435,000
the third year, and annual $870,000 every year beginning on
the sixth year. For illustrative purposes, last year, there
were over 800 persons in state prison for violation of the two
Vehicle Codes amended by this bill, and another 100 for
vehicular manslaughter.
2)Significant, nonreimbursable costs for incarceration, offset
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to a degree by increased fine revenue, to the extent
misdemeanor charges results in incarceration.
COMMENTS:
1)Bacgkround. The Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act
(Act) consisted of three separate bills which were enacted
together on September 11, 2015, to bring licensure and
regulation to the medical marijuana industry nearly 20 years
after the passage of Proposition 215 in 1996, which legalized
the use of medical marijuana. The bills created a
comprehensive state licensing system for the commercial
cultivation, manufacture, retail sale, transport,
distribution, delivery, and testing of medical cannabis. In
addition, the bills affirm local control and require licensure
by both a local government and the state in order for a
licensee to operate. The Act went into effect on January 1,
2016, although licensure requirements will not go into effect
until the regulatory entities responsible for implementing the
act pass necessary regulations.
Among other things, the Act establishes the new Bureau under
the Department Consumer Affairs (DCA), which is responsible
for licensing and regulating dispensaries, transporters, and
distributors. Current law requires the Bureau to contract
with the California Marijuana Research Program (CMRP), known
as the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research (CMCR),
authorized pursuant to Section 11362.9 of the Health and
Safety Code (HSC), to develop a study that identifies the
impact of cannabis on motor skills.
2)Purpose. According to the author, "With the recent enactment
of new laws formalizing the distribution of medical marijuana,
and the anticipated voter initiative legalizing recreational
use of marijuana, we are going to see a dramatic increase in
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the number of persons driving under the influence of
marijuana, which will drastically impact public safety. The
state must be prepared to address these developments. Every
day there are more and more people driving on the road after
using marijuana. In 2012, the California Office of Traffic
Safety (OTS) released a study of weekend nighttime drivers
that found more California drivers tested positive for
marijuana than alcohol. AB 2740 prepares the state for new
regulations and protects public safety by creating a per se
prohibition on driving while having a specified amount of THC
in the blood that is similar in intent and effect to making it
unlawful to drive with a blood alcohol level of .08% or
higher."
This bill seeks to change the standards for determining
whether a driver was under the influence at the time he or she
was pulled over by law enforcement. The new standards would
be per se amount of THC. This means that if a driver was
operating a motor vehicle with the specified amount of THC in
their system they would be automatically determined as driving
under the influence, so long as there were any subjective
corroborating evidence such as not following a traffic law.
3)Drug Impairment. According to a 2011 National Highway
Transportation and Safety Administration, Drug Recognition
Expert Training Manual, "Toxicology has some important
limitations. One limitation is that, with the exception of
alcohol, toxicology cannot produce 'per se' proof of drug
impairment. That is, the chemist can't analyze the blood or
urine and come up with a number that 'proves' the person was
or wasn't impaired." It further states,"It is difficult to
establish a relationship between a person's THC blood or
plasma concentration and performance impairing effects.
3)Support. According to the Kern County District Attorney, AB
2740 helps address some of the problems that arise by creating
a per se prohibition on driving while having a specified
amount of THC in the blood that is similar in intent and
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effect to the provision of current law that makes it unlawful
to drive with a blood alcohol level greater than 0.08
percent."
4)Opposition. The Consortium Management Group (CMG), identify
three overarching challenges that must be met before an
appropriate policy can be crafted: 1) TCH concentration does
not measure impairment; 2) there is currently no practical way
to test for the THC level of a driver when he or she is pulled
over by law enforcement; and 3) THC is known to remain in the
body for up to 4 weeks following ingestion of cannabis.
5)Related Legislation: AB 1571 (Lackey) requires the court to
consider a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or more, in
combination with the presence of specified drugs, as an
aggravating factor that may justify enhancing the terms and
conditions of probation, for first time driving under the
influence (DUI) offenders. AB 1571 is before this committee
later this month.
Analysis Prepared by:Pedro Reyes / APPR. / (916)
319-2081
AB 2740
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