NAC Support Letter

The Honorable Dr. Akilah Weber Pierson, Chair
Senate Committee on Health
1021 O Street, Ste. 3310
Sacramento, CA 95814

Re: SB 1071 (Ochoa-Bogh) “Not An Accident” Death Certificate – SUPPORT

Dear Chair Weber Pierson and Members of the Committee,

The Not An Accident Campaign respectfully submits this letter in strong support of SB 1071.

The Not An Accident Campaign is a collaborative effort between Stop Drug Homicide and We Save Lives. Together, we represent dozens of organizations and thousands of individuals across California and throughout the nation who believe that truth in official records matters.

For decades, families have been told that when a death results from the knowing distribution of lethal drugs, impaired driving, or other reckless criminal conduct, the manner of death must still be recorded as an accident. In many of these cases, courts later establish criminal responsibility or civil liability. Yet the official death certificate remains unchanged. This disconnect undermines public confidence and leaves families with records that do not reflect established judicial findings.

SB 1071 offers a careful and reasonable solution. The bill does not alter medical determinations of cause of death. It does not create automatic reclassification. Instead, it provides a lawful pathway to amend the manner of death when there is a qualifying judicial finding. This ensures that official records can align with adjudicated facts.

Accurate death certificates serve more than an administrative function. They are permanent legal documents. They inform public health statistics, legislative policy, and research. When manner of death classifications fail to reflect established responsibility, the resulting data does not fully capture the realities facing our communities.

For families, this issue is also about dignity and integrity. A death that results from proven criminal conduct is not an accident in the ordinary meaning of the word. Allowing official records to reflect court findings provides clarity, accountability, and a measure of justice.

For these reasons, the Not An Accident Campaign respectfully urges an Aye vote on SB 1071 by the Senate Committee on Health.

Respectfully,

The Not An Accident Campaign