Bill Text: CA SB877 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Reporting and tracking of violent deaths.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)
Status: (Passed) 2016-09-27 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 712, Statutes of 2016. [SB877 Detail]
Download: California-2015-SB877-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 877 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 712
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 27, 2016
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 27, 2016
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 25, 2016
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 23, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 18, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 29, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE FEBRUARY 18, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Senator Pan
(Principal coauthors: Senators Monning and Wolk)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Bonta and Brown)
JANUARY 15, 2016
An act to add Article 3 (commencing with Section 131230) to
Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 112 of the Health and Safety Code,
relating to public health.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 877, Pan. Reporting and tracking of violent deaths.
Existing law establishes the State Department of Public Health,
which is responsible for various programs relating to the health and
safety of people in the state, including licensing health facilities,
regulating food and drug safety, and monitoring and preventing
communicable and chronic diseases.
This bill would, to the extent that funding is appropriated by the
Legislature or available through private funds in each fiscal year,
require the department to establish and maintain the California
Electronic Violent Death Reporting System. The bill would further
require the department to collect data on violent deaths, as
specified, and to post on the department's Internet Web site a
summary and analysis of the collected data. The bill would authorize
the department to enter into a contract, grant, or other agreement
with a local agency to collect certain data, within the agency's own
jurisdiction or through other local agencies, as specified, and would
authorize the department to apply for grants to implement these
provisions. The bill would, to the extent that funding is available
for this purpose, authorize a law enforcement agency to report to the
department data on the circumstances surrounding all violent deaths
from investigative reports and laboratory toxicology reports to be
used by the department for the limited purpose of conducting public
health surveillance and epidemiology. The bill would also make
related legislative findings and declarations.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) Information and data regarding violent deaths can help provide
states and communities with a clearer understanding of violent
deaths and therefore lead to better prevention of violent deaths.
(b) According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), in the United States, violence accounts for
approximately 56,000 deaths annually. Violent deaths result from the
intentional use of physical force or power against oneself, another
person, or a group or community, and include suicide, homicide, and
legal intervention deaths. Violence adversely affects all Americans,
not only through premature death, but also through medical costs and
lost productivity.
(c) The CDC further notes that the cost of these deaths totaled
$47.2 billion: $47 billion in work loss costs and $215 million in
medical treatment.
(d) In 2002, the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS)
was established as a surveillance system that pulls together data on
violent deaths. NVDRS collects information from death certificates,
coroner or medical examiner reports, police reports, and crime
laboratories.
(e) NVDRS data inform decisionmakers and program planners about
the magnitude, trends, and characteristics of violent deaths in a
particular state or community so appropriate prevention efforts can
be identified and implemented, and the data facilitate the evaluation
of state-based prevention programs and strategies.
(f) According to NVDRS, a national system will allow the CDC to
provide information for every state to inform their prevention
efforts. It will also ensure enhanced information on the national
scope of the problem of violent deaths is available to monitor and
track trends and to inform national efforts.
SEC. 2. Article 3 (commencing with Section 131230) is added to
Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 112 of the Health and Safety Code, to
read:
Article 3. Electronic Violent Death Reporting System
131230. (a) To the extent that funding is appropriated by the
Legislature or available through private funds in each fiscal year,
the department shall establish and maintain the California Electronic
Violent Death Reporting System.
(b) The department shall collect data on violent deaths as
reported from data sources, including, but not limited to, death
certificates, law enforcement reports, and coroner or medical
examiner reports. The department shall post on its Internet Web site
a summary and analysis of the collected data.
(c) (1) The department may enter into a contract, grant, or other
agreement with a local agency to collect the data specified in
subdivision (b) within the agency's jurisdiction.
(2) (A) The department may enter into a contract, grant, or other
agreement with a local agency to collect the data specified in
subdivision (b) from other local agencies if the following conditions
are met:
(i) The local agency entering into the agreement agrees to collect
the data from the other local agencies.
(ii) The local agency entering into the agreement is not
responsible for reporting to the department data that have not been
made available by the other local agencies.
(B) The other local agencies described in subparagraph (A) may
also enter into their own agreements with the department pursuant to
paragraph (1).
(3) The data collected pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2) shall be
limited to data that the local agency entering into the agreement or
the other local agencies are authorized to collect within their
respective jurisdictions.
(4) A local agency entering into an agreement pursuant to
paragraph (1) or (2) shall collect data based on existing or new data
elements required by the California Electronic Violent Death
Reporting System only to the extent that resources are made
available.
(d) To the extent that funding is available for this purpose, a
law enforcement agency may report to the department data on the
circumstances surrounding all violent deaths from investigative
reports and, if available, laboratory toxicology reports to be used
by the department for the limited purpose of conducting public health
surveillance and epidemiology. Aggregate data shall be public, but
individual identifying information shall remain confidential. The
collected data shall be based on the data elements of the federal
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Violent Death
Reporting System.
(e) The department may apply for grants provided under the
National Violent Death Reporting System for purposes of implementing
this section.
(f) The department may accept private or foundation moneys to
implement this section.
(g) This section does not limit data sources that the department
may collect, which may include any public agency document that may
contain data on violent deaths.
131231. For purposes of this article, "violent death" means a
death resulting from the use of physical force or power against
oneself, another person, or a group or community, and includes, but
is not limited to, homicide, suicide, legal intervention deaths,
unintentional firearm deaths, and undetermined intent deaths.
