BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: Ab 1532
SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: gatto
VERSION: 5/23/14
Analysis by: Erin Riches FISCAL: yes
Hearing date: June 24, 2014
SUBJECT:
Vehicles: hit-and-run accidents
DESCRIPTION:
This bill establishes penalties for a hit-and-run accident that
does not result in bodily injury or property damage.
ANALYSIS:
Hit and run: injury or death
Existing law requires a driver who is involved in an accident
resulting in the injury or death of another individual to
immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the accident. At
that time, the driver must provide specified information to the
occupant or occupants of the other vehicle or vehicles and to
law enforcement. The driver must also produce his or her
driver's license or other identification upon request. Existing
law requires the driver to render reasonable assistance to any
injured individual. If another individual is killed in the
accident, and no law enforcement is present, the driver must
report the accident to the California Highway Patrol or to local
law enforcement.
Existing law provides that a driver who fails to stop when
involved in an accident resulting in the injury of another
individual shall be punished by up to one year in county jail or
state prison, a fine of between $1,000 and $10,000, or both.
Existing law provides that a driver who fails to stop when
involved in an accident resulting in the death or permanent,
serious injury of another individual shall be punished by two,
three, or four years in state prison; 90 days to one year in
county jail; a fine of between $1,000 and $10,000; or by both
imprisonment and a fine. Existing law authorizes the court to
reduce or eliminate the minimum imprisonment, fine, or both.
AB 1532 (GATTO) Page 2
Existing law defines "permanent, serious injury" as the loss or
permanent impairment of function of a bodily member or organ.
Existing law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to
immediately revoke, for one year, the driver's license of an
individual convicted for failing to stop when involved in an
accident resulting in the injury or death of another individual.
Hit and run: property damage
Existing law requires a driver who is involved in an accident
resulting only in damage to any property, including vehicles, to
immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the accident. At
that time, the driver must provide specified information to the
owner of the vehicle or property. The driver must also produce
his or her driver's license or other identification upon
request. The driver must leave in a conspicuous place on the
vehicle or other damaged property a written notice providing
specified information. Existing law also requires the driver to
report the accident to law enforcement.
Existing law provides that a driver who fails to stop when
involved in an accident resulting in property damage is guilty
of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by imprisonment of up to
six months in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.
Existing law provides that a court may suspend for up to six
months a driver's license of an individual convicted of failing
to stop in an accident resulting in property damage. In lieu of
suspending the driver's license, the court may order restricted
driving privileges.
This bill provides that a driver who fails to stop when involved
in an accident where an individual is struck, but not injured,
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months
in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both. This bill
further requires DMV to suspend the individual's driver's
license for six months.
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose . The author states that hit-and-run accidents run
rampant in cities such as Los Angeles. A recent investigation
by L.A. Weekly found that nearly 20,000 hit-and-run crashes -
everything from fender-benders to multiple fatalities - are
recorded annually by the Los Angeles Police Department. These
AB 1532 (GATTO) Page 3
incidents made up nearly half (48%) of all vehicle crashes in
2009, compared to an average rate of just 11% nationwide. In
a recent interview, Los Angeles Police Department Chief
Charlie Beck stated that a combination of new laws, stiffer
penalties, and increased awareness would lead drivers to take
greater responsibility for their actions. The author states
that this bill answers "this call to action" by bringing
greater penalties for the "cowardly crime" of hit-and-run.
2.Punishing the innocent ? As currently written, this bill
penalizes a driver involved in an accident where an individual
is struck, but not injured. If an accident is so minor that a
pedestrian or bicyclist is not injured, it is conceivable that
a driver might not even realize there was a collision and
simply continue driving, because he or she was ignorant of
that fact. In addition, enforcing this bill could be
difficult since there would be no evidence in the form of
injury or property damage. Finally, if a pedestrian or
bicyclist is not injured in an accident it seems quite
punitive to potentially impose a $1,000 fine, six months in
county jail, and a six-month driver's license suspension upon
the driver. The author states that this penalty simply
mirrors the penalty for a hit-and-run accident involving
property damage. To better align the penalty with the crime,
the author will accept amendments during the hearing to reduce
the penalty in this bill from a misdemeanor to an alternative
infraction/misdemeanor.
3.What problem are we trying to solve ? The author states that
the primary intent of this bill is to encourage drivers to
stop when involved in any kind of accident in which another
individual, particularly a bicyclist or pedestrian, is
involved. The author points out that if a driver does not
stop, it is impossible to know whether any injury has
occurred. The author states that although existing law
establishes penalties for three types of hit-and-run accidents
- those that cause injury; those that cause permanent, serious
injury or death; or those that cause only property damage -
existing law fails to address a fourth category: minor
injuries. The author maintains that some judges have
dismissed hit-and-run cases due to the victim's injuries not
rising to the level of "permanent, serious injury." This bill
as currently written, however, establishes penalties for a
driver involved in an accident where an individual is struck
but not injured, which does not appear to address the stated
problem of lesser injuries. The author will accept amendments
AB 1532 (GATTO) Page 4
during the hearing to remove the words "but not injured," so
that this bill applies instead to the driver of a vehicle
involved in an accident where an individual is struck.
RELATED LEGISLATION:
AB 2337 (Linder), also being heard by this committee today,
extends by one year the revocation period of an individual's
driver's license if he or she is convicted of a hit-and-run
accident in which another individual is killed or seriously
injured.
AB 184 (Gatto), Chapter 765, Statutes of 2013, extends the
statute of limitations to up to six years after a hit-and-run
accident that caused death or permanent, serious injury.
Assembly Votes:
Floor: 74-4
Appr: 15-1
Trans: 13-1
Pub S: 7-0
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on
Wednesday, June 18,
2014.)
SUPPORT: Alliance for Biking and Walking
Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs
Benjamin Franklin Elementary Foundation
California Alliance for Retired Americans
California Association of Highway Patrolmen
California Bicycle Coalition
California Fraternal Order of Police
California Walks
Circulate San Diego
Citizens for Law and Order
Conor Lynch Foundation
Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors
Crime Victims Action Alliance
Finish the Ride
League of American Bicyclists
League of California Cities
Long Beach Police Officers Association
Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition
Los Angeles County Deputy Probation Officers
AB 1532 (GATTO) Page 5
Union, AFSCME,
Local 865
Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers
Association
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti
Los Angeles Police Protective League
Los Angeles Walks
Marin County Bicycle Coalition
Missing Link Bicycle Cooperative
National Providers for Home Health, Inc.
People Power of Santa Cruz County
Riverside Sheriffs' Association
Sacramento County Deputy Sheriffs Association
Safe Routes to School National Partnership
San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee
Santa Ana Police Officers Association
Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition
Walk Bike Glendale
Walk San Francisco
Two individuals
OPPOSED: None received.