BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1395
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SENATE THIRD READING
SB 1395 (Alquist)
As Amended June 30, 2010
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :35-0
HEALTH 19-0 TRANSPORTATION 14-0
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|Ayes:|Monning, Fletcher, |Ayes:|Bonnie Lowenthal, |
| |Ammiano, Carter, Conway, | |Jeffries, |
| |De La Torre, De Leon, | |Bill Berryhill, |
| |Eng, Gaines, Hayashi, | |Blumenfield, Buchanan, |
| |Hernandez, Jones, Bonnie | |Eng, Furutani, Galgiani, |
| |Lowenthal, Nava, | |Hayashi, Miller, Niello, |
| |V. Manuel Perez, Salas, | |Norby, Portantino, |
| |Smyth, Audra Strickland, | |Solorio |
| |Gilmore | | |
| | | | |
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APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
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|Ayes:|Fuentes, Conway, |
| |Bradford, |
| |Charles Calderon, Coto, |
| |Davis, |
| |De Leon, Gatto, Hall, |
| |Harkey, Miller, Nielsen, |
| |Norby, Skinner, Solorio, |
| |Torlakson, Torrico |
| | |
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SUMMARY : Authorizes establishment of an Altruistic Living Donor
Registry to promote and assist live kidney donations and requires,
by July 1, 2011, an applicant for an initial or renewal driver's
license or identification card to designate whether or not he or she
wishes to become an organ and tissue donor. Specifically, this
bill :
1)Authorizes the state's federally-designated organ procurement
organizations (OPOs) to establish a not-for-profit Altruistic
Living Donor Registrar (registrar) to establish and maintain a
living donor registry designed to promote and assist live kidney
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donations, including donor chains, paired exchanges, and
nondirected donations.
2)Makes the registrar responsible for developing methods to increase
the number of donors who enroll in the registry and requires the
information contained in the registry to be made available to OPOs
and transplant centers in California and used to expedite a match
between identified organ donors and potential recipients.
3)Allows the registrar to receive voluntary contributions to support
the registry and its activities and requires the registrar to
collect and make specified information relating to altruistic
kidney donations available to the public.
4)Permits the registrar to allow persons who identify themselves as
altruistic living donors of organs and tissue other than kidneys
to be added to the registry upon a finding by the federal Centers
for Medicare and Medical and the United Network for Organ Sharing
that these types of donations are generally safe, without
significant risk of complications, and would not adversely affect
the health of the donor. Requires the appropriate policy
committees of the Legislature to be notified if the registry is
expanded in this manner.
5)Requires, on and after July 1, 2011, the application for an
initial or renewal driver's license to contain yes or no check
boxes for the purpose of allowing an applicant to add his or her
name to the existing Donate Life California Organ and Tissue Donor
Registry.
6)Directs the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to inquire verbally
of an applicant applying in person for an original or renewal
driver's license or identification card at a department office as
to whether the applicant wishes to enroll in the organ donor
registry, and prohibits failure or refusal to answer this question
or check a box on the application form from being a basis for DMV
to deny an applicant a driver's license or identification card.
7)Requires information relating to disenrolling from the registry to
be disclosed with the check boxes required by 6) above and makes
clarifying changes to information regarding medical treatment that
DMV is already required to provide on the back of the application
form.
8)Directs DMV to provide annual reports and submit quarterly updates
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for four years, to the Donate Life California Registry and the
Legislature, information on funds collected through voluntary
contributions as well as a summary of applicants that includes
specified non-identifiable information.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee,
minor absorbable workload to the DMV to comply with license
application form modifications and related reporting on potential
donors.
COMMENTS : The author states that this bill seeks to create the
first altruistic living donor registry in the country that would be
composed of individuals who are willing to donate a kidney to help
others. The author notes that the registry established in this bill
will expedite the match between organ donors and recipients.
According to the author, only 27% of DMV customers check yes to
designate themselves as organ donors and while that level is an
improvement from 20% four years ago, the state needs to do better at
recruiting donors . The author argues that adding a "no" box to the
existing application for an original or renewal driver's license or
identification card will improve the donor designation rate by
allowing DMV to ask customers to answer the donation question.
SB 108 (Speier), Chapter 740, Statutes of 2001, authorizes the
establishment of the state's existing registry in the California
Health and Human Services Agency (CHHSA). Since CHHSA never
received funds for the registry, SB 112 (Speier), Chapter 405,
Statutes of 2003, transferred responsibility for establishing the
registry to a private, nonprofit organization administered by the
four federally-designated OPOs. Donate Life California was formed
in 2004 to manage the registry, which allows Californians who are at
least 18 years of age to register their authorization to donate
specific or all organs or tissue upon death. According to Donate
Life California, there are over a million individuals who have
signed up in the registry.
According to the sponsor, Governor Schwarzenegger, this bill will
make California a leader in organ donation by requiring driver's
license applicants to either affirmatively register to be an organ
donor or allow the choice to be made at another time and creating
the first in the nation live donor registry aimed at increasing
kidney donations.
Analysis Prepared by : Cassie Rafanan / HEALTH / (916) 319-2097
FN: 0005604
SB 1395
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