California's Cost Recovery Program

Many people in California who have been arrested for Drunk Driving after being in an accident are surprised to get a bill in the mail for the cost of emergency services and investigation.

California Government Code Section 53150 specifies that any person who is under the influence of an alcoholic beverage and/or any drug, whose negligent operation of a motor vehicle causes any incident resulting in an emergency response, is responsible for the costs associated with a public agency's emergency response to the incident.

California Government Code Section 53156(a) defines "expense of an emergency response" as:

"reasonable costs incurred by a public agency in reasonably making an appropriate emergency response to the incident, but shall only include those costs directly arising because of the response to a particular incident. Reasonable costs shall include the costs of providing police, firefighting, rescue, and emergency medical services at the scene of the incident, as well as the salaries of the personnel responding to the incident."

As originally enacted a person's liability for emergency response was only $500 for a particular incident. However, effective January 1, 2005, the liability limit is $12,000 per incident.

On January 4, 2006, California Court of Appeal, First District, ruled on this issue. In CHP v. Superior Court of Alameda County (Allende) (2006) Cal.App. LEXIS 3, the court held that based on the plain language of Government Code Section 53150, "incident" necessarily means something more than the negligent operation of a motor vehicle while under the influence of an intoxicant. As used in Section 53150, an incident is any event that proximately causes an emergency response by a public agency. Although an accident is not necessary to trigger the right to reimbursement, an ordinary arrest, even for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, is not sufficient.

The court also held that an appropriate emergency response to an incident includes the cost of providing police services at the scene, including, among other possible items, salary costs related to ensuring public safety at the scene of the incident, obtaining appropriate medical assistance, removing vehicles, investigating the cause of the incident, conducting field sobriety tests, and if appropriate arresting and detaining the subject.

Reimbursement may also be obtained for time spent away from the scene by responding public agency personnel, provided the response is reasonable and arises from the "incident." Salary costs may be recovered for time spent traveling to and from the scene, transporting the subject from the scene, booking the subject, performing chemical tests, writing customarily required reports (including all accident and DUI related reports), and performing follow-up investigation necessary to complete the reports.

The California Highway Patrol began billing for DUI investigation on a statewide basis on January 1, 1989 and according to the CHP website January 1, 1991 through August 1, 1995, the C.H.P. billed approximately $9,306,476 in DUI emergency response costs and during that time the AVERAGE cost was about $240.00 (based on CHP information). This amount, however, is only an average.

The money collected goes to the Motor Vehicle Account.