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AB-2546 Vehicles: motor vehicle sideshows.(2021-2022)



Current Version: 06/13/22 - Amended Senate

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AB2546:v94#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Senate  June 13, 2022
Amended  IN  Assembly  May 19, 2022
Amended  IN  Assembly  April 28, 2022
Amended  IN  Assembly  April 20, 2022
Amended  IN  Assembly  March 23, 2022

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 2546

Introduced by Assembly Member Nazarian

February 17, 2022

An act to add Chapter 2.47 (commencing with Section 1439.70) to Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to long-term care facilities. amend Section 23109 of the Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 2546, as amended, Nazarian. Long-term care facilities during public health emergencies. Vehicles: motor vehicle sideshows.
Existing law makes it a crime for a person to engage in a motor vehicle speed contest on a highway or an exhibition of speed on a highway, or to aid or abet therein. Commencing July 1, 2025, the court may suspend a person’s driver’s license for 90 days to 6 months for an exhibition of speed, or aiding and abetting an exhibition of speed, if the violation occurred as part of a sideshow. Existing law defines “sideshow” as 2 or more persons blocking or impeding traffic on a highway for the purpose of performing motor vehicle stunts, motor vehicle speed contests, motor vehicle exhibitions of speed, or reckless driving for spectators.
This bill would expand the definition of a sideshow to include other public places open to vehicle traffic and private property, as specified. By expanding the definition of an existing crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of health facilities, including skilled nursing facilities and intermediate care facilities, by the State Department of Public Health. Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of residential care facilities for the elderly by the State Department of Social Services.

Existing law establishes the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman, under the direction of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman, in the California Department of Aging. Under existing law, the office has the responsibility of protecting and advocating for the rights and health and safety of long-term care facility residents, and in providing leadership, direction, and support to local long-term care ombudsman programs.

Existing law sets forth the conditions for declaring a state of emergency by the Governor, a local emergency by the governing body of a local government, a health emergency by the State Public Health Officer, or a local health emergency by a local health officer, and the powers resulting from those declarations.

This bill would require the State Department of Public Health, the State Department of Social Services, and the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman, or their designee, to convene a working group, with a specified composition, no later than May 1, 2023. The bill would require the working group to develop recommendations regarding best practices for public health officials and long-term care facilities, as defined, when developing policies, including certain visitation policies involving designated support persons, related to long-term care facilities during public health emergencies, as defined. The bill would require the working group to provide the recommendations to the Assembly Committee on Aging and Long-Term Care no later than November 30, 2023.

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NOYES  

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


SECTION 1.

 Section 23109 of the Vehicle Code is amended to read:

23109.
 (a) A person shall not engage in a motor vehicle speed contest on a highway. As used in this section, a motor vehicle speed contest includes a motor vehicle race against another vehicle, a clock, or other timing device. For purposes of this section, an event in which the time to cover a prescribed route of more than 20 miles is measured, but in which the vehicle does not exceed the speed limits, is not a speed contest.
(b) A person shall not aid or abet in any motor vehicle speed contest on any highway.
(c) A person shall not engage in a motor vehicle exhibition of speed on a highway, and a person shall not aid or abet in a motor vehicle exhibition of speed on any highway.
(d) A person shall not, for the purpose of facilitating or aiding or as an incident to any motor vehicle speed contest or exhibition upon a highway, in any manner obstruct or place a barricade or obstruction or assist or participate in placing a barricade or obstruction upon any highway.
(e) (1) A person convicted of a violation of subdivision (a) shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for not less than 24 hours nor more than 90 days or by a fine of not less than three hundred fifty-five dollars ($355) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment. That person shall also be required to perform 40 hours of community service. The court may order the privilege to operate a motor vehicle suspended for 90 days to six months, as provided in paragraph (8) of subdivision (a) of Section 13352. The person’s privilege to operate a motor vehicle may be restricted for 90 days to six months to necessary travel to and from that person’s place of employment and, if driving a motor vehicle is necessary to perform the duties of the person’s employment, restricted to driving in that person’s scope of employment. This subdivision does not interfere with the court’s power to grant probation in a suitable case.
(2) If a person is convicted of a violation of subdivision (a) and that violation proximately causes bodily injury to a person other than the driver, the person convicted shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for not less than 30 days nor more than six months or by a fine of not less than five hundred dollars ($500) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(f) (1) If a person is convicted of a violation of subdivision (a) for an offense that occurred within five years of the date of a prior offense that resulted in a conviction of a violation of subdivision (a), that person shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for not less than four days nor more than six months, months and by a fine of not less than five hundred dollars ($500) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000).
(2) If the perpetration of the most recent offense within the five-year period described in paragraph (1) proximately causes bodily injury to a person other than the driver, a person convicted of that second violation shall be imprisoned in a county jail for not less than 30 days nor more than six months and by a fine of not less than five hundred dollars ($500) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000).
(3) If the perpetration of the most recent offense within the five-year period described in paragraph (1) proximately causes serious bodily injury, as defined in paragraph (4) of subdivision (f) of Section 243 of the Penal Code, to a person other than the driver, a person convicted of that second violation shall be imprisoned in the state prison, or in a county jail for not less than 30 days nor more than one year, and by a fine of not less than five hundred dollars ($500) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000).
(4) The court shall order the privilege to operate a motor vehicle of a person convicted under paragraph (1), (2), or (3) suspended for a period of six months, as provided in paragraph (9) of subdivision (a) of Section 13352. In lieu of the suspension, the person’s privilege to operate a motor vehicle may be restricted for six months to necessary travel to and from that person’s place of employment and, if driving a motor vehicle is necessary to perform the duties of the person’s employment, restricted to driving in that person’s scope of employment.
(5) This subdivision does not interfere with the court’s power to grant probation in a suitable case.
(g) If the court grants probation to a person subject to punishment under subdivision (f), in addition to subdivision (f) and any other terms and conditions imposed by the court, which may include a fine, the court shall impose as a condition of probation that the person be confined in a county jail for not less than 48 hours nor more than six months. The court shall order the person’s privilege to operate a motor vehicle to be suspended for a period of six months, as provided in paragraph (9) of subdivision (a) of Section 13352 or restricted pursuant to subdivision (f).
(h) If a person is convicted of a violation of subdivision (a) and the vehicle used in the violation is registered to that person, the vehicle may be impounded at the registered owner’s expense for not less than one day nor more than 30 days.
(i) (1) A person who violates subdivision (b), (c), or (d) shall upon conviction of that violation be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than 90 days, by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500), or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(2) (A) Commencing July 1, 2025, the court may order the privilege to operate a motor vehicle suspended for 90 days to six months for a person who violates subdivision (c), as provided in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (8) of subdivision (a) of Section 13352, only if the violation occurred as part of a sideshow. For purposes of this section, “sideshow” is defined as an event in which two or more persons block or impede traffic on a highway, highway or other public place open to vehicle traffic, or access private property without the consent of the owner, operator, or agent thereof, for the purpose of performing motor vehicle stunts, motor vehicle speed contests, motor vehicle exhibitions of speed, or reckless driving, driving for spectators.
(B) The person’s privilege to operate a motor vehicle may be restricted for 90 days to six months to necessary travel to and from that person’s place of employment and, if driving a motor vehicle is necessary to perform the duties of the person’s employment, restricted to driving in that person’s scope of employment.
(C) If the court is considering suspending or restricting the privilege to operate a motor vehicle pursuant to this paragraph, the court shall also consider whether a medical, personal, or family hardship exists that requires a person to have a driver’s license for such limited purpose as the court deems necessary to address the hardship. This subdivision does not interfere with the court’s power to grant probation in a suitable case.
(j) If a person’s privilege to operate a motor vehicle is restricted by a court pursuant to this section, the court shall clearly mark the restriction and the dates of the restriction on that person’s driver’s license and promptly notify the Department of Motor Vehicles of the terms of the restriction in a manner prescribed by the department. The Department of Motor Vehicles shall place that restriction in the person’s records in the Department of Motor Vehicles and enter the restriction on a license subsequently issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles to that person during the period of the restriction.
(k) The court may order that a person convicted under this section, who is to be punished by imprisonment in a county jail, be imprisoned on days other than days of regular employment of the person, as determined by the court.
(l) This section shall be known and may be cited as the Louis Friend Memorial Act.

SEC. 2.

 No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.
SECTION 1.Chapter 2.47 (commencing with Section 1439.70) is added to Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:
2.47.Long-Term Care Facilities During Public Health Emergencies
1439.70.

For the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:

(a)“Designated support person” means an individual designated by a resident or resident representative to provide in-person, onsite support for a resident.

(b)“Long-term care facility” means any of the facilities listed in Section 1418 of this code or subdivision (b) of Section 9701 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, unless excluded by either of those provisions.

(c)“Public health emergency” means a public health-related condition that results in the declaration of a state of emergency or local emergency, as defined in Section 8558 of the Government Code, or the declaration of a health emergency or local health emergency, as described in Section 101080. A public health-related condition may include, but is not limited to, a natural disaster, an outbreak of an infectious disease, or a bioterrorist attack, if within the scope of Section 101080 of this code or Section 8558 of the Government Code.

(d)“Resident” means a resident or patient of a long-term care facility.

(e)“Resident representative” means an individual who has authority to act on behalf of the resident, including, but not limited to, a conservator, guardian, person authorized as agent in the resident’s advance health care directive, the resident’s spouse, registered domestic partner, or family member, a person designated by the resident to act as a representative, or other surrogate decisionmaker designated in accordance with statutory and case law.

1439.71.

(a)The State Department of Public Health, the State Department of Social Services, and the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman, or their designee, shall convene a working group comprised of stakeholders representing long-term care facility residents, consumer advocates, and long-term care facilities no later than May 1, 2023.

(b)The working group shall develop recommendations regarding best practices for public health officials and long-term care facilities when developing policies related to long-term care facilities during public health emergencies. The recommendations shall include, but not be limited to, best practices for family and designated support person visitation policies, including the effects of limiting visitation on the health of long-term care residents.

(c)The working group shall provide the recommendations to the Assembly Committee on Aging and Long-Term Care no later than November 30, 2023.