Amended in Assembly April 8, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2425

Introduced by Assembly Member Quirk

February 21, 2014

An act to amend begin delete Section end delete begin insert Sections 100700 and end insert 100703 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to laboratories.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2425, as amended, Quirk. Laboratories: review committee.

Existing law requires laboratories engaging in the performance of forensic alcohol analysis tests by or for law enforcement agencies on blood, urine, tissue, or breath for the purposes of determining the concentration of ethyl alcohol in persons involved in traffic accidents or in traffic violations to comply with various existing State Department of begin delete Health Care Services end delete begin insert Public Health end insert regulations regarding the inspection of laboratories, collection and handling of samples, methods of analysis, and laboratory records, until the time those regulations are revised, as specified. Existing law requires the State Department of begin delete Health Care Services end delete begin insert Public Health end insert to establish a review committee, which is required to meet at least once in each 5-year period after its initial meeting, or within 60 days of receipt of a request by the department or a member of the review committee, to evaluate and determine revisions to relevant department regulations. Existing law requires the review committee to submit a summary of those revisions to the California Health and Human Services Agency and authorizes the agency to disapprove of one or more of those revisions within 90 days of receiving them. begin insert Existing law requires the department to adopt regulations to incorporate the review committee’s revisions. end insert

This bill would begin delete instead require the California Health and Human Services Agency to approve of those revisions within 90 days of receiving them from the review committee. end delete begin insert exempt laboratories that are accredited in forensic alcohol analysis by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board or another accrediting agency approved by the review committee from the existing State Department of Public Health regulations described above end insert begin insert until the time when the department adopts regulations that incorporate the review committee’s revisions. The bill would instead require the review committee to meet at least once in each 3-year period after its initial meeting and would require the review committee, in determining revisions, to take into consideration the advancement and development of scientific processes, including the reporting of results with an estimated uncertainty measurement. The bill would instead authorize the California Health and Human Services agency to disapprove of one or more of the review committee’s revisions within 30 days of receiving them. end insert begin delete This end delete

begin insert This end insert bill would make an additional conforming change to existing law.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

begin insert

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 100700 of the end insert begin insert Health and Safety Code end insert begin insert is
amended to read: end insert

100700.  

(a)  begin delete Laboratories end delete begin insert (1) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert Except as provided in paragraph
(2), laboratories end insert engaged in the performance of forensic alcohol
analysis tests by or for law enforcement agencies on blood, urine,
tissue, or breath for the purposes of determining the concentration
of ethyl alcohol in persons involved in traffic accidents or in traffic
violations shall comply with Group 8 (commencing with Section
1215) of Subchapter 1 of Chapter 2 of Division 1 of Title 17 of
the California Code of Regulations, as they exist on December 31,
2004, until the time when those regulations are revised pursuant
to Section 100703.

begin insert

(2) Laboratories that are accredited in forensic alcohol analysis
by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/Laboratory
Accreditation Board or another accrediting agency approved by
the review committee established pursuant to Section 100703 shall
be exempt from the requirements in Group 8 (commencing with
Section 1215) of Subchapter 1 of Chapter 2 of Division 1 of Title
17 of the California Code of Regulations, as they exist on January
1, 2015, until the time when the department adopts regulations
that incorporate the review committee’s revisions pursuant to
Section 100703.

end insert

(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the department shall not
require laboratories to be licensed.

begin delete SECTION 1. end delete
begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

Section 100703 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:

100703.  

(a) On or before July 1, 2005, the department shall
establish a review committee.

(b) The review committee shall have eight members, including
one person representing each of the following:

(1) Prosecuting attorneys.

(2) Law enforcement agencies.

(3) Defense attorneys.

(4) Coroners, pathologists, or medical examiners.

(5) Criminalists.

(6) Toxicologists.

(7) Crime laboratory directors.

(8) The State Department of begin delete Health Care Services end delete begin insert Public Health end insert .

(c) The review committee shall meet at least once in each
begin delete five-year end delete begin insert three-year end insert period after its initial meeting, or within 60
days of receipt of a request by the department or a member of the
review committee.

(d) The review committee shall evaluate Group 8 (commencing
with Section 1215) of Subchapter 1 of Chapter 2 of Division 1 of
Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations and determine
revisions that will limit those regulations to those that the review
committee determines are reasonably necessary to ensure the
competence of the laboratories and employees to prepare, analyze,
and report the results of the tests and comply with applicable laws.
begin insert In determining revisions, the review committee shall also take into
consideration the advancement and development of scientific
processes, including the reporting of results with an estimated
uncertainty measurement. end insert The review committee shall submit a
summary of revisions to the California Health and Human Services
Agency.

(e) Within begin delete 90 end delete begin insert 30 end insert days of receiving the review committee’s
revisions, the California Health and Human Services Agency begin delete shall
approve those revisions end delete begin insert may disapprove of one or more of those
revisions end insert .

(f)  begin delete The end delete begin insert (1) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert Except as provided in paragraph (2), the end insert department
shall adopt regulations pursuant to this section that shall incorporate
the review committee’s revisions. Nothing in this section shall be
construed as exempting the regulations from the requirements of
Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division
3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

begin insert

(2) The department shall not adopt regulations to incorporate
any review committee revisions that were disapproved under
subdivision (e).

end insert