BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2552
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 24, 2012
Counsel: Gabriel Caswell
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
AB 2552 (Torres) - As Amended: April 19, 2012
SUMMARY : Recasts provisions of driving under the influence of
drugs. Specifically, this bill :
1)Revises and recasts provisions related to driving under the
influence of alcohol or drugs, or the combination of drugs and
alcohol by separating the provisions into three distinct
sections and subsections:
a) Driving under the influence of alcohol.
b) Driving under the influence of drugs.
c) Driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
2)Requires health practitioners make a written report to law
enforcement when the health practitioner knows or reasonably
suspects the person is suffering from any wound or other
physical injury inflicted by his or her own act or inflicted
by another where the injury is the result of a vehicle
accident involving the suspected use of alcohol or drugs.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires health practitioners report the following injuries to
law enforcement: (Penal Code Section 11160).
a) Any person suffering from any wound or other physical
injury inflicted by his or her own act or inflicted by
another where the injury is by means of a firearm.
b) Any person suffering from any wound or other physical
injury inflicted upon the person where the injury is the
result of assaultive or abusive conduct.
2)It is unlawful for any person who is under the influence of
AB 2552
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any alcoholic beverage or drug, or under the combined
influence of any alcoholic beverage and drug, to drive a
vehicle. �California Vehicle Code Section 23152(a).]
3)It is unlawful for any person who has 0.08 percent or more, by
weight, of alcohol in his or her blood to drive a vehicle.
For purposes of this article and Section 34501.16, percent, by
weight, of alcohol in a person's blood is based upon grams of
alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood or grams of alcohol per
210 liters of breath. In any prosecution under this
subdivision, it is a rebuttable presumption that the person
had 0.08 percent or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her
blood at the time of driving the vehicle if the person had
0.08 percent or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her
blood at the time of the performance of a chemical test within
three hours after the driving. �California Vehicle Code
Section 23152(b).]
4)It is unlawful for any person who is addicted to the use of
any drug to drive a vehicle. This subdivision shall not apply
to a person who is participating in a narcotic treatment
program approved pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with
Section 11875) of Chapter 1 of Part 3 of Division 10.5 of the
Health and Safety Code. �California Vehicle Code Section
23152(c).]
5)It is unlawful for any person who has 0.04 percent or more, by
weight, of alcohol in his or her blood to drive a commercial
motor vehicle, as defined in Section 15210. In any
prosecution under this subdivision, it is a rebuttable
presumption that the person had 0.04 percent or more, by
weight, of alcohol in his or her blood at the time of driving
the vehicle if the person had 0.04 percent or more, by weight,
of alcohol in his or her blood at the time of the performance
of a chemical test within three hours after the driving.
�California Vehicle Code Section 23152(d).]
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "Driving under
the influence of alcohol and drugs is a growing public safety
problem in California. Federal and state agencies report an
increase in the number of car accidents in which alcohol and
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drugs were detected.
"According to the National Highway Traffic Administration's
(NHTSA) 'National Roadside Survey of Alcohol and Drug Use by
Drivers' based on random road checks, found that 16.3% of all
drivers nationwide at night were on various legal and illegal
impairing drugs.
"Based on data from NHTSA, 30 percent of all drivers who were
killed in motor vehicle crashes in California in 2010 tested
positive for legal and/or illegal drugs. The percentage of
these cases has been increasing since 2006.
"The California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) reported that
drug use in California fatal crashes is rising. According to
OTS, in 2009, 1,458 California drivers were killed in crashes,
of which 1,173 were tested for drugs after death. The federal
government reports that 339 tested positive for 'drug
involvement', or 23 percent of all drivers.
"Drug-impaired driving is often under-reported and
under-recognized and toxicology testing is expensive.
Additionally, because there is no established impairment level
for drugs, prosecuting drug impaired driving cases can be
difficult.
"Under current law, all individuals arrested for driving under
the influence are arrested under a single, catch-all section
of the law. Current law does not distinguish between
individuals arrested for being under the influence of alcohol,
drugs, or a combination of both.
"This process of arresting individuals for DUI leaves state
and local entities with little information to study and
understand trends on the different types of substances
involved in DUI incidents.
"AB 2552 will break up the code section of the law used by law
enforcement to charge individuals for DUI into three sections.
These new sections will allow state and local entities to
collect arrest data that is more precise and that can reflect
the actual numbers of alcohol, drug or a combination of
alcohol and drugs. This type of data is critical for health
and safety agencies to make better informed decisions
regarding funding for officer training, equipment, and/or drug
AB 2552
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and alcohol programs.
"This new way of arresting people is a top priority for law
enforcement and for state officials because it will help them
determine the prevalence of alcohol or other drugs in DUI
arrests and find better ways to control it."
2)Tracking : Under current law defendants are charged with a
section that prohibits driving under the influence of drugs
and/or alcohol. This bill will divide these sections out so
that statistics may be kept to show how many instances of
driving under the influence of drugs alone occurs, based on
persons charged with these offenses.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Narcotic Officers' Association
California Police Chiefs Association
San Bernardino Sheriff's Department
Opposition
California Public Defenders Association
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition
Analysis Prepared by : Gabriel Caswell / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744