Forensic blood alcohol testing laboratories.

Under existing law, the State Department of Public Health regulates laboratories engaged in the performance of forensic alcohol analysis tests by or for law enforcement agencies on blood, urine, tissue, or breath for the purpose of determining the concentration of ethyl alcohol in persons involved in traffic accidents or in traffic violations. Existing law requires these laboratories to comply with American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB) guidelines for proficiency testing. This bill would provide that, until the effective date of specified regulatory changes, accreditation in the forensic alcohol analysis discipline or subdiscipline by the ASCLD/LAB is sufficient to comply with the proficiency testing requirements. Under existing law, the department is required to establish a review committee to review the regulations and determine revisions that will limit those regulations to those that the review committee determines are reasonably necessary to ensure the competence of the laboratories and employees to prepare, analyze, and report the results of the tests and comply with applicable laws and to submit a summary of revisions to the California Health and Human Services Agency. This bill would require the review committee to submit its report by December 31, 2010.