BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2337|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2337
Author: Linder (R)
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 11-0, 6/24/14
AYES: DeSaulnier, Gaines, Beall, Cannella, Galgiani, Hueso,
Lara, Liu, Pavley, Roth, Wyland
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-0, 8/14/14
AYES: De Le�n, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: Walters, Gaines
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 4/24/14 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Drivers licenses: suspension and revocation:
hit-and-run accidents
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill extends by one year the revocation period
of an individuals drivers license if he/she is convicted of a
hit-and-run accident in which another individual is killed or
seriously injured.
ANALYSIS : Existing law requires a driver who is involved in
an accident resulting in 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,
including vehicle registration, to the occupant or occupants of
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AB 2337
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the other vehicle or vehicles and to law enforcement. The
driver must also produce his/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 permanent, serious
injury or death of another individual shall be punished by two,
three, or four years in state prison or 90 days to one year in
county jail, a fine of between $1,000 and $10,000, or both.
Existing law further requires the Department of Motor Vehicles
(DMV) to immediately revoke, for one year, the driver's license
of an individual who has been convicted of failing to stop at
the scene of an accident resulting in injury or death of another
individual.
This bill increases the driver's license revocation period from
one year to two years for an individual who is convicted of a
hit-and-run accident resulting in the death or injury of another
individual.
Comments
Existing law provides penalties of up to four years in county
jail or state prison for a driver convicted of a hit-and-run
incident resulting in injury to or death of another individual.
DMV must revoke the driver's license immediately upon receipt of
a court record of conviction, until the revocation period ends
and the driver provides proof of insurance and pays the
reinstatement fee. Thus, the driver's license revocation begins
as or even before the driver serves his/her jail or prison term.
In effect, then, this bill only applies to drivers convicted of
hit-and-run who receive jail or prison terms of less than two
years, as drivers who are in jail presumably do not have need of
a driver's license.
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FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, there will be
one-time DMV implementation costs of approximately $426,000 for
significant programming changes that allow for the reporting of
new convictions from the courts, retaining convictions on driver
records, revising license suspension and reinstatement periods,
producing mailed notices, and making other changes related to
commercial drivers. (Motor Vehicle Account)
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/14/14)
Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs
California Association of Highway Patrolmen
California Bicycle Coalition
California Electric Bicycle Coalition
California State Sheriffs' Association
Chief Probation Officers of California
City of Thousand Oaks
Crime Victims United California
Fraternal Order of Police
Long Beach Police Officers Association
Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers Association
Los Angeles Police Protective League
Peace Officers Research Association of California
Riverside Sheriffs' Association
Sacramento County Deputy Sheriffs Association
Transportation Authority of Marin
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author's office states that
approximately 20,000 hit-and-run traffic accidents occur in Los
Angeles alone each year. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety
finds that approximately 11% of all police-reported crashes
involve at least one driver who flees the scene. The Foundation
also finds that nationally, nearly 15,000 people die annually in
hit-and-run crashes; approximately six in 10 fatally injured
victims are pedestrians. The author's office notes that
hit-and-run incidents in California have increased by 3% since
last year and that the ability to find and convict hit-and-run
motorists has been limited by strained resources, which have
been focused on higher priority crimes. The author's office
states that by increasing the driver's license revocation period
for a hit-and-run incident, this bill will help reduce the
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number of hit-and-run incidents while prioritizing highway
safety and protecting victims.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 4/24/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon,
Gorell, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Roger Hern�ndez, Holden, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein,
Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nestande, Olsen, Pan,
Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel P�rez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon,
Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner,
Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, John A.
P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Gray, Harkey, Mansoor, Nazarian, Vacancy
JA:k 8/16/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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