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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 04111989 - 1.47 7 To: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS s_--L- Phil Batchelor ..�-� -_��.. Contra FROM: County Administrator Costa County $'•� •;, DATE: March 28, 1989 o,r'q 2'ouK�' �T Implementing Legislation to Require Drivers SUBJECT: under the Influence to Pay for Emergency Response Activities SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATION• Acknowledge receipt of status report from County Administrator regarding the status of efforts to: 1) implement legislation to require drivers under the influence of alcohol or drugs to pay for the cost of emergency response caused by their negligence; and 2) include in the Board' s 1989 Legislative Program a provision to increase the amount of liability. BACKGROUND: The Internal Operations Committee requested that County staff implement a program to bill drivers operating a vehicle under the influence, for damages resulting from their negligence. This is in response to chaptered legislation which added Article 8, Chapter 1, Part 1, Division 2, Title 5 to the Government Code consisting of Sections 53150 through 53158 . This law provides that any person who is under the influence of an alcoholic beverage and/or any drug, and whose negligent operation of a motor vehicle, boat, vessel, or civil aircraft causes any incident resulting in an appropriate emergency response be liable for the expense of that emergency response. As originally enacted, liability was limited to $500 for any particular incident. This limit was increased to $1000 (Chapter 112, Statutes of 1986) effective January 1, 1987. In response to a recommendation by County public protection staff, the Board included in its 1989 Legislative Program a provision for efforts to increase liability to a maximum of $5000 per incident. On January 31, 1989, SB 318 was introduced by Senator Ed Royce, R. Anaheim, at the request of this County, which proposes to increase the limits that a public agency could ch a ge an operator CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S): ACTION OF BOARD ON April 1 1 , 1989 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED X OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE X UNANIMOUS(ABSENT —' ) AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AYES: NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD ABSENT: ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. CC: County Administrator ATTESTED APR 11 1989 Office of Revenue Collections (ORC) PHIL BATCHELOR,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF Consolidated Fire District SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR Legislative Delegation (via CAO) Sheriff (Patrol ) � .�;Glh M382 (10/88) BY DEPUTY i I Page 2 of a vehicle doing so under the influence from $1000 to $ 1000 per agency up to a maximum of $5000 . The Royce bill was heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 14, 1989. As a result, it is likely that the bill will be amended in the Senate Judiciary . Committee in order to clarify that routine traffic stops do not justify a billing for emergency response liability. This is acceptable to this County because we do not bill for routine stops as some jurisdictions apparently do. Presently, the County has implemented a program to recover costs through its Office of Revenue Collections (ORC) . After an incident which qualifies as an emergency response, each county department involved in the action files a report with ORC detailing the incident, individuals involved, and associated costs. This usually occurs within 7-10 days from the time of incident. Within two business days, ORC begins its collection activities which entails sending three written notices to the involved party in the next 14 days. After those notices, telephone calls and site visits commence to secure payment. Current activity shows 11 open files for the past five months. The experience in collection shows a recovery rate of approximately 30o as opposed to the other collection categories administered by ORC of approximately 150. All of the current outstanding billings have been less than $500. As all the dollar amounts of the billing for responses has been $500 or less, it appears that the current legislative limit of $1000 will be adequate for most routine emergency responses. However, if there is a response to a multiple vehicle accident, hazardous material problem and/or difficult terrain involved, activities performed by police, fire and/or ambulance services can amount to costs above the $1000 limit. It is the larger costs associated with those infrequent incidents for which the County seeks insurance through the proposed legislation by Senator Royce.