Amended in Assembly August 18, 2016

Amended in Assembly June 29, 2016

Amended in Senate February 18, 2016

Senate Bill No. 877

Introduced by Senator Pan

(Principal coauthors: Senators Monning and Wolk)

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Bonta and Brown)

January 15, 2016

An act to add Article 3 (commencing with Section 131230) to Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 112 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to public health.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 877, as amended, Pan. Reporting and tracking of violent deaths.

Existing law establishes the State Department of Public Health, which is responsible for various programs relating to the health and safety of people in the state, including licensing health facilities, regulating food and drug safety, and monitoring and preventing communicable and chronic diseases.

This bill would, to the extent that funding is appropriated by the Legislature or available through private funds in each fiscal year, require the department to establish and maintain the California Electronic Violent Death Reporting System. The bill would further require the department to collect data on violent deaths, as specified, begin delete and enter into contracts, grants, or other agreements with one or more local agencies end delete begin insert and to post on the department’s Internet Web site a summary and analysis of the collected data. The bill would authorize the department to enter into a contract, grant, or other agreement with a local agency end insert to collect certain data, begin insert within the agency’s own jurisdiction or through other local agencies, as specified, end insert and would authorize the department to apply for begin delete grants end delete begin insert grants end insert to implement these provisions. The bill would, to the extent that funding is available for this purpose, authorize a law enforcement agency to report to the department data on the circumstances surrounding all violent deaths from investigative reports and laboratory toxicology reports to be used by the department for the limited purpose of conducting public health surveillance and epidemiology. The bill would also make related legislative findings and declarations.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(a) Information and data regarding violent deaths can help
provide states and communities with a clearer understanding of
violent deaths and therefore lead to better prevention of violent
deaths.

(b) According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), in the United States, violence accounts for
approximately 56,000 deaths annually. Violent deaths result from
the intentional use of physical force or power against oneself,
another person, or a group or community, and include suicide,
homicide, and legal intervention deaths. Violence adversely affects
all Americans, not only through premature death, but also through
medical costs and lost productivity.

(c) The CDC further notes that the cost of these deaths totaled
$47.2 billion: $47 billion in work loss costs and $215 million in
medical treatment.

(d) In 2002, the National Violent Death Reporting System
(NVDRS) was established as a surveillance system that pulls
together data on violent deaths. NVDRS collects information from
death certificates, coroner or medical examiner reports, police
reports, and crime laboratories.

(e) NVDRS data begin delete informs end delete begin insert inform end insert decisionmakers and program
planners about the magnitude, trends, and characteristics of violent
deaths in a particular state or community so appropriate prevention
efforts can be identified and implemented, and the data begin delete facilitates end delete
begin insert facilitate end insert the evaluation of state-based prevention programs and
strategies.

(f) According to NVDRS, a national system will allow the CDC
to provide information for every state to inform their prevention
efforts. It will also ensure enhanced information on the national
scope of the problem of violent deaths is available to monitor and
track trends and to inform national efforts.

SEC. 2.  

Article 3 (commencing with Section 131230) is added
to Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 112 of the Health and Safety
Code, to read:

 

Article 3.  Electronic Violent Death Reporting System

 

131230.  

(a) To the extent that funding is appropriated by the
Legislature or available through private funds in each fiscal year,
the department shall establish and maintain the California
Electronic Violent Death Reporting System.

(b) The department shall collect data on violent deaths as
reported from data sources, including, but not limited to, death
certificates, law enforcement reports, and coroner or medical
examiner reports. The department shall post on its Internet Web
site a summary and analysis of the collected data.

(c)  begin insert (1) end insert begin insert   end insert The department begin delete shall enter into contracts, grants, or
other agreements with one or more local agencies end delete begin insert may enter into
a contract, grant, or other agreement with a local agency end insert to collect
the data specified in subdivision begin delete (b). end delete begin insert (b) within the agency’s
jurisdiction. end insert

begin insert

(2) (A) The department may enter into a contract, grant, or
other agreement with a local agency to collect the data specified
in subdivision (b) from other local agencies if the following
conditions are met:

end insert begin insert

(i) The local agency entering into the agreement agrees to
collect the data from the other local agencies.

end insert begin insert

(ii) The local agency entering into the agreement is not
responsible for reporting to the department data that have not
been made available by the other local agencies.

end insert begin insert

(B) The other local agencies described in subparagraph (A)
may also enter into their own agreements with the department
pursuant to paragraph (1).

end insert begin insert

(3) The data collected pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2) shall
be limited to data that the local agency entering into the agreement
or the other local agencies are authorized to collect within their
respective jurisdictions.

end insert begin insert

(4) A local agency entering into an agreement pursuant to
paragraph (1) or (2) shall collect data based on existing or new
data elements required by the California Electronic Violent Death
Reporting System only to the extent that resources are made
available.

end insert

(d) To the extent that funding is available for this purpose, a
law enforcement agency may report to the department data on the
circumstances surrounding all violent deaths from investigative
reports and, if available, laboratory toxicology reports to be used
by the department for the limited purpose of conducting public
health surveillance and epidemiology. Aggregate data shall be
public, but individual identifying information shall remain
confidential. The collected data shall be based on the data elements
of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s
National Violent Death Reporting System.

(e) The department may apply for grants provided under the
National Violent Death Reporting System for purposes of
implementing this section.

(f) The department may accept private or foundation moneys
to implement this section.

(g) This section does not limit data sources that the department
may collect, which may include any public agency document that
may contain data on violent deaths.

131231.  

For purposes of this article, “violent death” means a
death resulting from the use of physical force or power against
oneself, another person, or a group or community, and includes,
but is not limited to, homicide, suicide, legal intervention deaths,
unintentional firearm deaths, and undetermined intent deaths.