BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1519
Page 1
GOVERNOR'S VETO
AB 1519 (Ma)
As Amended August 11, 2008
2/3 vote
ASSEMBLY: 51-5 (January 24, 2008)
SENATE: 24-10 (August 13, 2008)
ASSEMBLY: 62-5 (August 15, 2008)
Original Committee Reference: A.,E.,S.,T.&I.M.
SUMMARY : Requires that each exhibitor of a commercial display
of human remains must post signage at the entrance to the
exhibit site and ticket sales office, and make declarations in
all advertising, as specified, until January 1, 2010. Provides,
that beginning January 1, 2010, any commercial display of human
remains is prohibited unless the exhibitor files a specified
form with the Department of Justice (DOJ), and requires the
exhibitor to maintain two catalogs of consent forms, as
specified, for each body or specimen listed on the form
The Senate amendments :
1)Require that each exhibitor of a commercial display of human
remains shall conspicuously post clearly legible signs, in at
least 96-point boldface type, at the entrance and ticket
office to the exhibitor's commercial display, with specified
contents, stating whether or not the exhibitor has consent to
include the body in the exhibit. (See Comment 1, below for
contents of disclosure.)
a) Require that each exhibitor of a commercial display of
human remains shall also include the specified disclosure
statement in all advertisements of the commercial display;
b) Provide civil penalties for failure to post the signage
or make the disclosure, or make any false statement or
misrepresentation in any disclosure, of $50,000 per
violation. Further provides that each day of
non-compliance is a separate violation;
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c) Allow for enforcement actions to be brought by an
individual, a city attorney, a district attorney, or the
AG;
d) Declare that violation of the signage and declaration
provisions is not a crime; and,
e) Provide that signage and disclosure provisions sunset on
January 1, 2010.
2)Prohibit any commercial display of human remains, unless the
exhibitor files a specified form with the DOJ, attesting that
the bodies were donated with full informed consent and for the
express purpose of public exhibition. (See Comment 2 below,
for contents of form.)
a) Allow DOJ to charge a reasonable fee in order to cover
costs of filing and maintaining the filed forms;
b) Require the exhibitor to maintain two catalogs of
consent forms for each body or specimen listed on the form;
one, which shall be available to the public, shall list the
bodies or specimens only by their identification number,
and another, which shall be available to a city attorney, a
district attorney, or the AG, which shall contain the
unredacted consent forms and corresponding death
certificates for each specimen listed;
c) Provide civil penalties for failure to file the form, or
make any false statement or misrepresentation on the form,
or failure to maintain either one or both of the catalogs,
of $50,000 per violation. Further provide that each day of
non-compliance is a separate violation;
d) Allow for enforcement actions to be brought by an
individual, a city attorney, a district attorney, or the
AG; and,
e) Provide a delayed implementation date for the form
disclosure and catalog provisions of January 1, 2010.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill prohibited any person from
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displaying human remains to the public for commercial purposes
without first obtaining a permit from the county. Specifically,
in relevant part, this bill :
1)Prohibited display of human remains to the public for
commercial purposes without first obtaining a permit issued by
the county where the human remains will be displayed.
2)Provided that a county may issue a permit to any person only
upon a determination by the county public health official, or
his/her designee, that the person has provided valid written
authorization to display human remains for consideration from
specified individuals.
3)Provided a civil penalty for each violation of up to $10,000.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS :
1)Text of signage and disclosure statement : Senate amendments
require that, until January 1, 2012, each exhibitor of a
commercial display of human remains shall conspicuously post
clearly legible signs which contain one of the following
disclosure statements:
"This exhibition contains human remains, including full body
cadavers, body parts, and organs, which were donated by the
decedent or by a person authorized to make anatomical gifts
under Section 7150.15 or 7150.40 of the Health and Safety
Code. Each body and specimen in the exhibit was donated with
full informed consent for the express purpose of public
exhibition."
"This exhibition contains human remains, including full body
cadavers, body parts, and organs, which were not donated by
the decedent or by a person authorized to make anatomical
gifts under Section 7150.15 or 7150.40 of the Health and
Safety Code. The exhibitor cannot independently verify
whether the human remains in this exhibit are not those of
persons who were incarcerated, tortured, executed, or
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otherwise the victim of a human rights violation."
2)Statutory form contents : Senate amendments require that, on
and after January 1, 2010, each exhibitor of a commercial
display of human remains shall complete and file a form with
the DOJ, which contains the exhibitor's name, place and dates
of exhibition, and description of each body and specimen in
the exhibition, by identifying number.
The form contains a provision wherein the exhibitor must
attest that all listed bodies were donated by either the
decedent or person authorized to make an anatomical gift, with
full and informed consent and for the express purpose of
public exhibition.
The amendments further provide that the exhibitor must
maintain two catalogs of consent forms for each body or
specimen listed on the form; one, which shall be available to
the public, shall list the bodies or specimens only by their
identification number; and, another, which shall be available
to a city attorney, a district attorney, or the AG, which
shall contain the unredacted consent forms and corresponding
death certificates for each specimen listed.
3)Catalogs and privacy concerns : The most recent amendments to
the bill came in response to privacy concerns raised by making
organ donation consent forms available to the public. The
fear being that such publicity might chill organ and body
donations. In response to these concerns, the author further
amended to bill to require body exhibitors to maintain two
sets of catalogs, one which would be made available to the
public, with personal identifying contents removed. The other
catalog would contain the consent forms and corresponding
death certificates for each specimen listed on the form
described in Comment 2, above.
In addition, the author has included language which will
further protect the privacy of donors, which could be exposed
by enforcement actions of the bill's provisions. Typically,
court records become public documents. In any action brought
to enforce the bill, the unredacted consent catalog could be
used as evidence. In these cases, prosecutors are directed to
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take reasonable steps to protect a donor's identity. Further,
the court may permit disclosure of a donor's identity only
when the public interest in disclosure outweighs the privacy
interests of a donor and his or her immediate family in
maintaining the confidentiality of a donor's identity.
GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE :
"The historic delay in passing the 2008-2009 State Budget has
forced me to prioritize the bills sent to my desk at the end of
the year's legislative session. Given the delay, I am only
signing bills that are the highest priority for California.
This bill does not meet that standard and I cannot sign it at
this time."
Analysis Prepared by : Dana Mitchell / A.,E.,S.,T. & I.M. /
(916) 319-3450
FN:
0008004