California 2015-2016, 2nd Special Session Status: Enacted 4 D cosponsors

AB 15 — End of life.

Last action — Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 1, Statutes of 2015-16 Second Extraordinary Session.

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. ✓
    Passed Assembly
  4. ✓
    Passed Senate
  5. ✓
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced August 17, 2015. Enacted.

Odds of enactment

High chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a high chance of becoming law.

Upgrade to see the exact probability and what's driving it.

A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Likely to advance 82% · moderate confidence

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 33 sponsors

    1 primary, 32 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (4 D).

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 4 recorded votes so far.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Summary

Existing law authorizes an adult to give an individual health care instruction and to appoint an attorney to make health care decisions for that individual in the event of his or her incapacity pursuant to a power of attorney for health care. This bill, until January 1, 2026, would enact the End of Life Option Act authorizing an adult who meets certain qualifications, and who has been determined by his or her attending physician to be suffering from a terminal disease, as defined, to make a request for a drug prescribed pursuant to these provisions for the purpose of ending his or her life. The bill would establish the procedures for making these requests. The bill would also establish specified forms to request an aid-in-dying drug, under specified circumstances, an interpreter declaration to be signed subject to penalty of perjury, thereby creating a crime and imposing a state-mandated local program, and a final attestation for an aid-in-dying drug. This bill would require specified information to be documented in the individual's medical record, including, among other things, all oral and written requests for an aid-in-dying drug. This bill would prohibit a provision in a contract, will, or other agreement from being conditioned upon, or affected by, a person making or rescinding a request for the above-described drug. The bill would prohibit the sale, procurement, or issuance of any life, health, or annuity policy, health care service plan contract, or health benefit plan, or the rate charged for any policy or plan contract, from being conditioned upon or affected by the request. The bill would prohibit an insurance carrier from providing any information in communications made to an individual about the availability of an aid-in-dying drug absent a request by the individual or his or her attending physician at the behest of the individual. The bill would also prohibit any communication from containing both the denial of treatment and information as to the availability of aid-in-dying drug coverage. This bill would provide a person, except as provided, immunity from civil or criminal liability solely because the person was present when the qualified individual self-administered the drug, or the person assisted the qualified individual by preparing the aid-in-dying drug so long as the person did not assist with the ingestion of the drug, and would specify that the immunities and prohibitions on sanctions of a health care provider are solely reserved for conduct of a health care provider provided for by the bill. The bill would make participation in activities authorized pursuant to its provisions voluntary, and would make health care providers immune from liability for refusing to engage in activities authorized pursuant to its provisions. The bill would also authorize a health care provider to prohibit its employees, independent contractors, or other persons or entities, including other health care providers, from participating in activities under the act while on the premises owned or under the management or direct control of that prohibiting health care provider, or while acting within the course and scope of any employment by, or contract with, the prohibiting health care provider. This bill would make it a felony to knowingly alter or forge a request for drugs to end an individual's life without his or her authorization or to conceal or destroy a withdrawal or rescission of a request for a drug, if it is done with the intent or effect of causing the individual's death. The bill would make it a felony to knowingly coerce or exert undue influence on an individual to request a drug for the purpose of ending his or her life, to destroy a withdrawal or rescission of a request, or to administer an aid-in-dying drug to an individual without their knowledge or consent. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would provide that nothing in its provisions is to be construed to authorize ending a patient's life by lethal injection, mercy killing, or active euthanasia, and would provide that action taken in accordance with the act shall not constitute, among other things, suicide or homicide. This bill would require physicians to submit specified forms and information to the State Department of Public Health after writing a prescription for an aid-in-dying drug and after the death of an individual who requested an aid-in-dying drug. The bill would authorize the Medical Board of California to update those forms and would require the State Department of Public Health to publish the forms on its Internet Web site. The bill would require the department to annually review a sample of certain information and records, make a statistical report of the information collected, and post that report to its Internet Web site. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. 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.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 1, Statutes of 2015-16 Second Extraordinary Session.

  2. Approved by the Governor.

  3. Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 2 p.m.

  4. In Assembly. Ordered to Engrossing and Enrolling.

  5. Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 23. Noes 15. Page 81.).

  6. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  7. Ordered to second reading.

  8. (Ayes 24. Noes 14. Page 72.)

  9. Withdrawn from committee.

  10. In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.

  11. Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 44. Noes 35. Page 85.)

  12. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  13. From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 5. Noes 3.) (September 4).

  14. Re-referred to Com. on FINANCE.

  15. From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on FINANCE. Read second time and amended.

  16. Re-referred to Com. on FINANCE.

  17. Read second time and amended.

  18. From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on FINANCE. (Ayes 10. Noes 3.) (September 1).

  19. Referred to Com. on P.H. & D.S.

  20. From printer.

  21. Read first time. To print.

Sponsors

  • Wolk · Cosponsor
  • Wieckowski · Cosponsor
  • Rendon · Cosponsor
  • Quirk · Cosponsor
  • Perea · Cosponsor
  • Monning · Cosponsor
  • Mike McGuire · Cosponsor
  • McCarty · Cosponsor
  • Low · Cosponsor
  • Leno · Cosponsor
  • Jones-Sawyer · Cosponsor
  • Hill · Cosponsor
  • Hertzberg · Cosponsor
  • Hernandez · Cosponsor
  • Hancock · Cosponsor
  • Hall · Cosponsor
  • Glazer · Cosponsor
  • Frazier · Cosponsor
  • Eggman · Primary
  • Cooper · Cosponsor
  • Chu · Cosponsor
  • Chiu · Cosponsor
  • Burke · Cosponsor
  • Block · Cosponsor
  • Alejo · Cosponsor
  • Mitchell · Cosponsor
  • De León · Cosponsor
  • Atkins · Cosponsor
  • Robert Garcia · Cosponsor
  • Mia Bonta · Cosponsor
  • Corey A. Jackson · Cosponsor
  • Mark Stone · Cosponsor
  • Travis Allen · Cosponsor

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

1 sponsors · 32 co-sponsors · 89 not signed on · 11 voted No

Sponsors (1)

  • Eggman

Co-sponsors (32)

Not signed on (89)

89 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 89 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

3rd Reading AB15 Eggman By Wolk and Monning

Passed 23 Yea · 15 Nay · 2 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 211402
Democratic 2100
Total 231502
% of votes cast 58%38%0%5%
How each member voted (40)
Member Party Vote
Cannella — Nay
Glazer — Yea
Allen — Yea
Mitchell — Yea
De León — Yea
Hall — Yea
Beall — Yea
Hancock — Yea
Hernandez — Yea
Hill — Yea
Lara — Yea
Leno — Yea
Leyva — Yea
Pavley — Yea
Roth — Yea
Wieckowski — Yea
Wolk — Yea
Runner — Nay
Hueso — Not Voting
Bates — Nay
Huff — Nay
Mendoza — Nay
Monning — Yea
Moorlach — Nay
Morrell — Nay
Nielsen — Nay
Pan — Not Voting
Vidak — Nay
Fuller — Nay
Galgiani — Yea
Anderson — Nay
Block — Yea
Hertzberg — Yea
Liu — Yea
Beth Gaines — Nay
Bill Berryhill — Nay
Mark Stone — Nay
Jackson, Corey A. Democratic Yea
McGuire, Mike Democratic Yea
Nguyen, Stephanie Democratic Nay

Official roll call →

AB 15 EGGMAN Assembly Third Reading

Passed 44 Yea · 35 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 412801
Democratic 3100
Republican 0600
Total 443501
% of votes cast 55%44%0%1%
How each member voted (80)
Member Party Vote
Eggman — Yea
Cooley — Yea
Dababneh — Yea
Daly — Not Voting
Burke — Yea
Campos — Yea
Frazier — Yea
Gatto — Yea
Gordon — Yea
Salas — Yea
Bonilla — Yea
Hadley — Yea
Jones-Sawyer — Yea
Gray — Yea
Levine — Yea
Low — Yea
McCarty — Yea
Medina — Yea
Atkins — Yea
Nazarian — Yea
Baker — Yea
Chau — Yea
Chiu — Yea
Chu — Yea
Cooper — Yea
Dodd — Yea
Perea — Yea
Rendon — Yea
Ting — Yea
Weber — Yea
Lopez — Nay
Gonzalez — Nay
Harper — Nay
Chang — Nay
Chávez — Nay
Bigelow — Nay
Linder — Nay
Mayes — Nay
O'Donnell — Nay
Obernolte — Nay
Quirk — Yea
Ridley-Thomas — Nay
Santiago — Nay
Steinorth — Nay
Waldron — Nay
Wilk — Nay
Gomez — Yea
Achadjian — Nay
Alejo — Yea
Bloom — Yea
Brough — Nay
Brown — Nay
Holden — Yea
Kim — Nay
Maienschein — Yea
Mathis — Nay
Melendez — Nay
Mullin — Yea
Olsen — Nay
Rodriguez — Nay
Thurmond — Yea
Wagner — Nay
Williams — Nay
Wood — Yea
Beth Gaines — Nay
Cristina Garcia — Yea
Eduardo Garcia — Yea
Mark Stone — Yea
Roger Hernández — Nay
Travis Allen — Nay
Bonta, Mia Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Gipson, Mike A. Democratic Nay
Irwin, Jacqui Democratic Yea
Dahle, Megan Republican Nay
Gallagher, James Republican Nay
Grove, Shannon Republican Nay
Jones, Brian W. Republican Nay
Lackey, Tom Republican Nay
Patterson, Joe Republican Nay

Official roll call →

Do pass.

Passed 5 Yea · 3 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 5301
Total 5301
% of votes cast 56%33%0%11%
How each member voted (9)
Member Party Vote
Jones-Sawyer — Yea
McCarty — Yea
Bigelow — Nay
Melendez — Nay
Obernolte — Nay
Ting — Yea
Weber — Yea
Gomez — Not Voting
Bloom — Yea

Official roll call →

Do pass as amended and be re-referred to the Committee on [Finance]

Passed 10 Yea · 3 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 9300
Democratic 1000
Total 10300
% of votes cast 77%23%0%0%
How each member voted (13)
Member Party Vote
Campos — Yea
Bonilla — Yea
Maienschein — Yea
Mayes — Nay
Steinorth — Nay
Wood — Yea
Baker — Yea
Levine — Yea
Santiago — Nay
Thurmond — Yea
Eduardo Garcia — Yea
Mark Stone — Yea
Bonta, Mia Democratic Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

civil-rights healthcare health-insurance
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does AB 15 do?
Existing law authorizes an adult to give an individual health care instruction and to appoint an attorney to make health care decisions for that individual in the event of his or her incapacity pursuant to a power of attorney for health care. This bill, until January 1, 2026, would enact the End of Life Option Act authorizing an adult who meets certain qualifications, and who has been determined by his or her attending physician to be suffering from a terminal disease, as defined, to make a request for a drug prescribed pursuant to these provisions for the purpose of ending his or her life. The bill would establish the procedures for making these requests. The bill would also establish specified forms to request an aid-in-dying drug, under specified circumstances, an interpreter declaration to be signed subject to penalty of perjury, thereby creating a crime and imposing a state-mandated local program, and a final attestation for an aid-in-dying drug. This bill would require specified information to be documented in the individual's medical record, including, among other things, all oral and written requests for an aid-in-dying drug. This bill would prohibit a provision in a contract, will, or other agreement from being conditioned upon, or affected by, a person making or rescinding a request for the above-described drug. The bill would prohibit the sale, procurement, or issuance of any life, health, or annuity policy, health care service plan contract, or health benefit plan, or the rate charged for any policy or plan contract, from being conditioned upon or affected by the request. The bill would prohibit an insurance carrier from providing any information in communications made to an individual about the availability of an aid-in-dying drug absent a request by the individual or his or her attending physician at the behest of the individual. The bill would also prohibit any communication from containing both the denial of treatment and information as to the availability of aid-in-dying drug coverage. This bill would provide a person, except as provided, immunity from civil or criminal liability solely because the person was present when the qualified individual self-administered the drug, or the person assisted the qualified individual by preparing the aid-in-dying drug so long as the person did not assist with the ingestion of the drug, and would specify that the immunities and prohibitions on sanctions of a health care provider are solely reserved for conduct of a health care provider provided for by the bill. The bill would make participation in activities authorized pursuant to its provisions voluntary, and would make health care providers immune from liability for refusing to engage in activities authorized pursuant to its provisions. The bill would also authorize a health care provider to prohibit its employees, independent contractors, or other persons or entities, including other health care providers, from participating in activities under the act while on the premises owned or under the management or direct control of that prohibiting health care provider, or while acting within the course and scope of any employment by, or contract with, the prohibiting health care provider. This bill would make it a felony to knowingly alter or forge a request for drugs to end an individual's life without his or her authorization or to conceal or destroy a withdrawal or rescission of a request for a drug, if it is done with the intent or effect of causing the individual's death. The bill would make it a felony to knowingly coerce or exert undue influence on an individual to request a drug for the purpose of ending his or her life, to destroy a withdrawal or rescission of a request, or to administer an aid-in-dying drug to an individual without their knowledge or consent. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would provide that nothing in its provisions is to be construed to authorize ending a patient's life by lethal injection, mercy killing, or active euthanasia, and would provide that action taken in accordance with the act shall not constitute, among other things, suicide or homicide. This bill would require physicians to submit specified forms and information to the State Department of Public Health after writing a prescription for an aid-in-dying drug and after the death of an individual who requested an aid-in-dying drug. The bill would authorize the Medical Board of California to update those forms and would require the State Department of Public Health to publish the forms on its Internet Web site. The bill would require the department to annually review a sample of certain information and records, make a statistical report of the information collected, and post that report to its Internet Web site. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. 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.
Who sponsors AB 15?
AB 15 is sponsored by Wolk, Wieckowski, Rendon, Quirk, Perea, Monning, McGuire, Mike (Democratic), McCarty, Low, Leno, Jones-Sawyer, Hill, Hertzberg, Hernandez, Hancock, Hall, Glazer, Frazier, Eggman, Cooper, Chu, Chiu, Burke, Block, Alejo, Mitchell, De León, Atkins, Garcia, Robert (Democratic), Bonta, Mia (Democratic), Jackson, Corey A. (Democratic), Mark Stone, and Travis Allen.
What is the current status of AB 15?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced August 17, 2015. Enacted.
Where can I track AB 15?
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