BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
AB 2552 (Torres) - Vehicles: provisions on driving under the
influence.
Amended: August 6, 2012 Policy Vote: Public Safety 7-0
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: August 16, 2012
Consultant: Jolie Onodera
SUSPENSE FILE. AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED.
Bill Summary: AB 2552 would revise and recast the provisions on
driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or a
combination of alcohol and drugs, by separating the provisions
into distinct sections.
Fiscal Impact:
One-time costs of approximately $1.2 million (Motor Vehicle
Account) to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) for
programming changes.
Potential federal grant funding of $400,000 to $500,000
through the Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) pending a written
grant agreement between the OTS and DMV, and subject to BTH
approval, to support the project.
Background: Existing law provides that it is unlawful for any
person who is under the influence of any alcoholic beverage or
drug, or under the combined influence of any alcoholic beverage
and drug, to drive a vehicle.
Under existing law, the provisions related to driving under the
influence of alcohol or drugs, or the combination of drugs and
alcohol, are listed together in sections of statute and are not
separately distinguishable between individuals arrested for
driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or a combination
of both. As a result, limited data is available to accurately
identify the number of arrests due to each specific type of
violation.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA), "In particular, a lack of statewide arrest or
disposition data distinguishing drug-impaired from
alcohol-impaired driving arrests significantly impedes the
States' ability to assess the extent of drug-impaired driving
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and evaluate the impact of countermeasures. Similarly, the lack
of standardized and complete State record systems limits the
NHTSA's ability to make clear inferences about the scope of the
national drug-impaired-driving problem." "Only two states
(Hawaii and New York) have driving under the influence of drugs
statutes separate from their alcohol DUI laws. In all other
States, a driver violates a DUI statute if the driver drives
under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or a combination of
alcohol and drugs." (Drug Impaired Driving: Understanding the
Problem and Ways to Reduce It, A Report to Congress, NHTSA,
December 2009)
Proposed Law: This bill would revise and recast provisions
related to driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or
the combination of drugs and alcohol by separating the
provisions into the following three distinct sections:
Driving under the influence of alcohol.
Driving under the influence of drugs.
Driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
Staff Comments: The DMV has indicated the provisions of this
bill will necessitate extensive programming changes that
realistically could not be completed by the January 1, 2013,
implementation date of this bill. In addition to significant
overtime costs to expedite the extensive programming workload,
the DMV would also incur additional costs to manually process
DUI abstracts and impose suspension actions until the automation
changes are completed. Estimated costs would likely be in the
range of $2.4 million (Motor Vehicle Account) in an effort to
meet the requirements of the bill under the tight timeframe. A
number of pending programming efforts and a critical DMV
information technology project could also be compromised in
efforts to meet the timelines of this bill, potentially
resulting in additional future costs to the department.
The DMV has indicated a delayed operative date of 12 months will
reduce the estimated programming costs to $1.2 million, and will
help to alleviate the need for overtime and additional workload
for manual processes. Moreover, the delayed operative date will
not disrupt DMV's other critical programming efforts currently
underway.
Staff notes the OTS has indicated the NHTSA has approved a
funding request for $400,000 to $500,000 in unexpended federal
grant funds (Section 408 - State Traffic Safety Information
Systems Improvements) pending a written grant agreement between
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the OTS and the DMV to ensure costs are reasonable and
allowable. Approval from the Business, Transportation, and
Housing Agency would also be required. These federal grant funds
would assist the DMV with a portion of the programming costs.
To the extent the improved tracking of DUI offenses leads to
better data and more comprehensive information, could result in
assisting researchers to quantify the magnitude of drug-impaired
driving, and could enhance traffic safety by allowing for
appropriate sentencing, probation, and rehabilitation upon
conviction, for either alcohol or drug impairment.
Recommended Amendments: In order to substantially reduce the
fiscal impact of this measure, staff recommends an amendment to
delay the operative date by 12 months to January 1, 2014. This
will also provide the DMV with additional time to ensure proper
planning and staff are available to complete this project.
Proposed Author Amendments: The proposed author amendments delay
implementation to January 1, 2014.