House of
Representatives
HB 2207
driver licenses; organ donor information
Sponsor: Representative Biggs
HB 2207 provides statutory authority to the Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) to transfer information the department received prior to 1996, pertaining to a driver or identification licensee’s wish to be an organ donor, to an organ procurement organization that maintains an anatomical gift registry in accordance with Arizona law and that is located in this state.
History
Laws 2005, Chapter 234, required that as of January 1, 2006, MVD shall release a person’s name and address from the driver or identification license record to the Donor Network of Arizona for purposes of registering that person as an organ donor if that person has authorized the release of the information.
Prior to 1997, Arizona law allowed persons to make an anatomical gift by checking a box on their driver’s license application. Once a person indicated their intent to make an anatomical gift, it was printed on their driver’s license and this became the official indication of a person’s wish to be an organ donor. However, in 1997 the statute enabling the donation indication to be printed on Arizona driver’s licenses was eliminated.
Through the course of working with the Arizona Organ Donor Registry (Registry) to resume the information gathering and exchange or organ donor information based on the 2005 law, MVD discovered that its database still contains organ donor information gathered prior to the statutory repeal in 1996. However, MVD’s legal counsel and the House Rules Attorney believe that additional authority is needed by MVD to release information gathered prior to 1997 since the 2005 legislation did not expressly address this issue, and because certain actions by an individual since 1997 may have constituted a revocation of prior gift affirmation.
As defined in Arizona statute, an anatomical gift is the donation of all or part of a human body to take effect on or after death. According to Arizona’s Anatomical Gift Act, a person who is at least eighteen years of age may make an anatomical gift. Laws 2002, Chapter 3 §1 created the Arizona Anatomical Gift Registry also known as the Arizona Organ Donor Registry (Registry). The Registry is administered by Arizona’s designated Organ Procurement Organization (OPO), Donor Network of Arizona.
MVD estimates that there are currently 900,000 records on its database containing organ donor information.
Provisions
· Provides statutory authority to the Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) to transfer information the department received prior to 1996, pertaining to a driver or identification licensee’s wish to be an organ donor, to an organ procurement organization that maintains an anatomical gift registry in accordance with Arizona law and that is located in this state.
· Requires the transfer of information to be completed by June 30, 2006.
· Exempts the department from civil liability as a consequence of good faith acts or omissions relating to the gathering of information and the release of information to the anatomical gift registry.
· Presumes that all acts or omissions are in good faith unless the acts or omissions are done with gross negligence or intent to maliciously cause injury.
· Contains an emergency clause.
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Forty-seventh Legislature Analyst Initials _______
Second Regular Session April 5, 2006
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