(a) Liability for costs of emergency response. Pursuant to the authority vested in the City of Los Angeles by state statute, every person who is under the influence of an alcoholic beverage or any drug, or the combined influence of an alcoholic beverage and any drug, whose negligent operation of a motor vehicle, boat, vessel, or aircraft caused by that influence proximately causes any incident resulting in an appropriate emergency response, or every person whose intentionally wrongful conduct proximately causes any incident resulting in an appropriate emergency response, shall pay to said City the expense of such emergency response. In no event shall a person’s liability under this section exceed the maximum allowable under state statute.
(b) Definition of an “expense of an emergency response.” “Expense of an emergency response” means those costs incurred by the City of Los Angeles in making any appropriate emergency response to the incident, and shall be comprised of all costs directly arising because of the response to the particular incident, including, but not limited to 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.
(c) Collection of costs. The expense of an emergency response shall be charged against the person liable for the expenses under this section. The charge constitutes a debt of that person to the City of Los Angeles and is collectible by said City in the same manner as in the case of an obligation under a contract, express or implied.
Any person acquitted of, or receiving a dismissal of, all criminal charges arising out of the incident which resulted in the emergency response shall not be charged for the costs of said emergency response. Any such costs paid shall be refunded.
SECTION HISTORY
Added by Ord. No. 168,504, Eff. 2-5-93.