BILL ANALYSIS
AB 882
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Date of Hearing: April 27, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Mike Eng, Chair
AB 882 (Fuller) - As Amended: May 4, 2009
SUBJECT : Highways: victim signs
SUMMARY : Requires the Department of Transportation (Caltrans),
upon request of an immediate family member or another
individual, to erect signs at specified locations in memory of a
relative lost in a vehicular accident. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires Caltrans to design, construct, place, and maintain
along state highways, signs that read: "Please Drive Safely"
followed by "In Memory of (victim's name)."
2)Defines "victims" to mean a person who was killed in a
vehicular accident unrelated to drugs or alcohol. Signs may
memorialize more than one victim.
3)Requires these signs to be placed along state highways in
accordance with Caltrans polices and any applicable federal
limitation or conditions on highway signage.
4)Allows the placement of a sign to be located at or near the
sites of the fatal accidents, if it is safe and practical to
do so.
5)Requires payment of the party requesting the sign to cover
sign costs and administrative fees.
6)Authorizes an immediate family member, or someone with the
approval of an immediate family member, to request a memorial
sign for such a victim. If there is opposition to the sign
from another immediate family member, no sign would be placed.
7)Requires the sign to remain posted for seven years or until it
is determined that the sign is no longer serviceable,
whichever date is first.
8)Requires that a limit of 20 signs be placed each calendar year
under provisions of this bill.
AB 882
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EXISTING LAW:
1)Vests Caltrans with the responsibility for maintaining and
operating the state highway system, including the installation
and maintenance of highway safety, directional and
informational signs.
2)Require Caltrans to design, construct, place and maintain
signs along highways stating "Please Don't Drink and Drive"
and the victim's name upon the sign.
3)Limits the signs' eligibility to victims of specified criminal
drunk and drug-related driving offenses involving a conviction
of the person at fault or when the person causing the accident
violated the drunk/drugged driving provisions but died in the
accident or was not prosecuted due to mental incompetence.
4)Authorizes an "Adopt-A-Highway" program for the maintenance
and beautification of highway rights-of-way, including
periodic litter removal along a roadway section by a
sponsoring organization or individual in exchange for the
placement of a roadside sign identifying the sponsoring group
or individual.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : According to the author, "fatal accidents sites on
state highway often become unofficial memorials to their
victims. Although grieving family members often create
memorials that include flowers, balloons, and stuffed animals,
they are quickly removed by Caltrans since it is unlawful to
place such items along a highway." The author adds memorial
signs can often help families of victims through the grieving
process.
The author intends to build on the success of the existing
victim memorial sign program that has been in place since 2002.
The current memorial sign program allows for any victims of
accidents involving drunk driving or driving under the influence
of drugs (except for the intoxicated driver themselves) to be
memorialized. The program applies to accidents in which the
at-fault driver was convicted of second-degree murder, gross
vehicular manslaughter, or vehicular manslaughter while
intoxicated.
AB 882
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The establishment of the victim memorial sign program required
Caltrans to provide the Legislature with an evaluation of the
program by January 1, 2006. That report indicated that Caltrans
had installed 29 signs on state highways in 16 counties.
The Caltrans report also pointed out that the number of
alcohol-involved fatalities decreased from 789 to 710 during for
the three-year periods after and before enactment, although it
could not be ascertained if the drop was related to the memorial
sign program. Caltrans also noted that it had not observed a
reduction in makeshift memorials despite the program being
created in part to reduce such unauthorized roadside memorials.
Despites such findings, Caltrans endorsed and extended the
program indefinitely, citing benefits to victims' families,
local communities, and the state for very little cost and
effort.
Existing law requires Caltrans to charge the requesting party a
fee to cover the cost of the sign and the program. Caltrans
estimates the cost of each sign to be $1000. This represents an
average cost of $630 for administration and labor, $236 for the
signs, and $134 for equipment, posts, and hardware. The signs
remain in place for seven years or until the sign is no longer
serviceable, whichever comes first.
Related legislation : AB 1781 (Mountjoy), Chapter 81, Statutes
of 2006, deleted the sunset on a program to allow DUI victim
signs to be placed along state highways.
AB 965 (Mountjoy), Chapter 864, Statutes of 2001, created the
"Please Don't Drink and Drive" victim memorial sign program.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
ABATE of California, INC
AB 882
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Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Alejandro Esparza / TRANS. / (916)
319-2093