BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 629|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 629
Author: Correa (D)
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
SENATE BANKING, FINANCE, AND INS. COMMITTEE : 10-0, 4/18/07
AYES: Machado, Runner, Correa, Cox, Hollingsworth,
Lowenthal, Margett, Romero, Scott, Wiggins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Florez
SUBJECT : Automobile insurance: peace officers
SOURCE : Peace Officers Research Association of
California
DIGEST : This bill deletes a code section requiring peace
officers and firefighters involved in a vehicular accident
to submit the details of that accident to their private
automobile insurance carrier within 30 days of the
accident.
ANALYSIS : Existing law requires any peace officer or
firefighter, as defined, who has been involved in an
accident to submit to his/her private automobile insurer a
written declaration stating whether or not at the time of
the accident he/she was operating an emergency vehicle, as
defined, in the performance of his/her duty during the
hours of his/her employment.
Section 557.5 of the Insurance Code, added to the code in
CONTINUED
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1973, provides that no accident report to one's private
insurance carrier is necessary if a peace officer,
Department of the California Highway Patrol officer, or
firefighter is involved in an on-duty accident. Section
557.6 of the Insurance Code, added to the code in 1982,
requires peace officers and firefighters to notify their
private insurance carriers about accidents in which they
are involved.
Section 557.6 appears to cover all accidents in which a
peace officer or firefighter is involved, not just on-duty
accidents. The only information that must be reported is
whether the accident involved an authorized emergency
vehicle. Thus, Section 557.6 conflicts with Section 557.5
with regards to on-duty accidents but is not in direct
conflict with 557.5 with respect to off-duty accidents.
Section 16002 of the Vehicle Code, enacted in 1974,
addresses situations in which any employee (including a
peace officer or firefighter) is involved in an accident in
their employer's vehicle, regardless of whether they are
on- or off-duty at the time. Specifically, Section 16002
requires employees involved in accidents while in their
employer's vehicle to notify their employer of the accident
and requires employers to notify the Department of Motor
Vehicles about the accident. Under Section 16002, a peace
officer or firefighter involved in an accident in an
authorized emergency vehicle must notify their employer of
that accident.
The only portion of Section 557.6 that is not duplicative
of, or in conflict with, another code section enacted
before it, is the requirement for the peace officer or
firefighter involved in an accident to notify their private
insurance carrier of that accident and to inform the
carrier whether that accident occurred in an authorized
emergency vehicle. No other section of law requires
individuals to report accidents in which they were involved
to their insurance company.
Comments
Purpose of the bill . According to the sponsor, the bill's
purpose is to eliminate a code section that is both in
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conflict with existing Section 557.5 of the Insurance Code
and inappropriate.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 4/26/07)
Peace Officers Research Association of California (source)
California Association of Highway Patrolmen
California Fraternal Order of Police
California Probation, Parole and Correctional Association
California State Sheriffs Association
Long Beach Police Officers Association
Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers Association
Office of the San Bernardino County Sheriff
Santa Ana Police Officers Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : This bill's sponsor, the Peace
Officers Research Association of California (PORAC),
believes that Sections 557.5 and 557.6 of the Insurance
Code conflict, and that Section 557.6 should be deleted
because its provisions are inappropriate and have the
potential for abuse. PORAC feels strongly that a peace
officer who may be involved in an accident related to the
dangerous aspects of their job, such as high-speed police
pursuits, should not be held personally responsible for
that on-duty act. The Santa Ana Police Officers
Association, Long Beach Police Officers Association, Los
Angeles County Professional Peace Officers Association, and
California Fraternal Order of Police, writing in jointly,
do not understand the usefulness of information required by
Section 557.6, given that the private insurance company is
not liable on behalf of the officer or firefighter while
they are on duty.
DLW:mw 4/30/07 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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