BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 693
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 693 (Huffman)
As Amended April 28, 2011
Majority vote
TRANSPORTATION 13-0 APPROPRIATIONS 14-0
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|Ayes:|Bonnie Lowenthal, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Blumenfield, |
| |Jeffries, Achadjian, | |Bradford, Charles |
| |Bonilla, Buchanan, Eng, | |Calderon, Campos, Davis, |
| |Mitchell, Galgiani, | |Gatto, Hall, Hill, Lara, |
| |Logue, Miller, Norby, | |Mitchell, Nielsen, Norby, |
| |Portantino, Solorio | |Solorio |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Requires the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to
provide an online option for drivers to connect to the
California Organ and Tissue Donor Registry. Specifically, this
bill :
1)Requires DMV to add a graphic hyperlink to the confirmation
page of vehicle registrations processed online, providing the
option for registrants to connect to the state-authorized
Donate Life California online California Organ and Tissue
Donor Registry (Registry).
2)Allows a person who has connected to the Registry via that
hyperlink to make a voluntary contribution for the purpose of
promoting and supporting organ and tissue donation.
3)Requires such a contribution to be treated as a voluntary
contribution to the Registry and not as a fee for the issuance
of vehicle registration.
4)Provides that online enrollment in the Registry constitutes a
legal document under the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act and
remains binding after the donor's death despite any express
desires of next of kin opposed to the donation.
5)Allows information obtained by the Organ and Tissue Donor
Registrar for these purposes to be used only for these
purposes only and prohibits them from being disseminated
further by the Registrar.
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6)Provides immunity from liability to public entities and
employees for any loss, detriment, or injury resulting
directly or indirectly from false or inaccurate information
contained in the enrollment form.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires the application for an original or renewal driver's
license or ID card to contain a space for the applicant to
enroll in the Registry.
2)Requires DMV to inquire verbally of an applicant applying in
person for an original or renewal driver's license or ID card
at a DMV office as to whether the applicant wishes to enroll
in the Registry. Failure or refusal to answer this question
or check a box on the application form may not be a basis for
DMV to deny an applicant a driver's license or ID card.
3)Requires DMV to collect donor designation information on all
applications for an original or renewal driver's license or ID
card.
4)Requires DMV to print the word "DONOR" or another appropriate
designation on the face of a driver's license or ID card to a
person who has indicated on the application his or her intent
to enroll in the organ donation program.
5)Requires DMV, on a weekly basis, to electronically transmit to
Donate Life California, specified information from every
application that indicates the applicant's decision to enroll
in the organ donation program.
6)Allows a person who applies for an original or renewal
driver's license or ID card to designate a voluntary
contribution of $2 for the purpose of promoting and supporting
organ and tissue donation. This contribution must be treated
as a voluntary contribution to Donate Life California and not
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as a fee for the issuance of a driver's license or ID card.
7)Allows DMV to use those donations to cover its actual
administrative costs incurred in administering the organ
donation program.
8)Requires DMV to deposit all the revenue remaining after
deducting its administrative costs into the Donate Life
California Trust Subaccount, which is continuously
appropriated, without regard to fiscal years, to the State
Controller for allocation to Donate Life California and must
be expended for the purpose of increasing participation in
organ donation programs.
9)Requires the enrollment form to be posted on the Internet Web
sites for DMV and the California Health and Human Services
Agency.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, minor absorbable costs to DMV, which indicates it
will have such a hyperlink on its registration confirmation Web
page within a few weeks.
COMMENTS : Over the past several years, the Legislature has
established an active role for DMV in organ donation programs.
Specifically, the DMV collects donor signups from driver's
license applicants and verbally queries those applicants who
fail to respond to the inquiry on the license application as to
their willingness to be organ donors. Additionally, the DMV Web
site contains an organ donation enrollment form.
In consideration of DMV's expenditure of resources this program,
the statute contains a provision allowing driver's license
applicants to make a $2 donation to support organ donation
programs, and authorizes DMV to recover its costs "off the top"
from these donations. The remaining funds are allocated to
Donate Life California and must be expended for the purpose of
increasing participation in organ donation programs.
This bill would require DMV to provide vehicle owners who have
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renewed their registrations online a link to Donate Life
California. This should be a relatively simple and
straightforward task and DMV, in fact, reports that it is in the
process of accomplishing it. Vehicle owners would also be
provided an opportunity to make contributions to the Registry,
as driver's license applicants already are.
This bill's sponsor, Donate Life California, notes that this
bill is "designed to increase organ and tissue donor
registration by allowing drivers additional opportunities to
donate organs and tissue by giving them the option to register
as an organ and tissue donor when they annually renew their
vehicle registration online. Californians currently have the
opportunity to enroll on the state donor registry when applying
for or renewing their driver license or ID card. However, this
opportunity comes only once every five years. AB 693 would
allow Californians the annual opportunity to enroll as they
register their vehicles."
They further note that since partnering with DMV, nearly eight
million Californians have signed up for the program. "However,
California still ranks amongst the lowest for those checking 'yes'
to donation in comparison to other states. Just 33% of drivers
are organ and tissue donors. By comparison, the top quartile of
states averaged a 58% donor designation rate."
The author adds, "Giving Californians an annual option to join
the Donate Life California Registry will increase the number of
donors and help save the lives of thousands of people who are
awaiting life-saving transplants."
Legislative history: AB 1132 (Jones) of 2010 would have
required DMV to make information available about organ donation
as part of the online vehicle registration renewal process and
would have allowed an online contribution to be made during
registration renewal for promoting and supporting organ and
tissue donation. Additionally, it would have limited, to
$300,000 annually, the amount of DMV's administrative costs that
could have been reimbursed from voluntary contributions made by
driver's licenses. Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed the bill,
saying, "While I fully support the Donate Life program, this
bill would cap the amount the Department of Motor Vehicles can
recover for its administrative costs under the program and
removes the flexibility of the Department to cover its future
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costs as inflation and other expenditures increase."
Analysis Prepared by : Howard Posner / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093
FN: 0000588