BILL NUMBER: AB 1212	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 29, 2007

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Nunez

                        FEBRUARY 23, 2007

   An act  to amend Section 4660 of the Labor Code, 
relating to workers' compensation.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1212, as amended, Nunez. Workers' compensation: permanent
disability.
   Existing law establishes a workers' compensation system,
administered by the Administrative Director of the Division of
Workers' Compensation, to compensate an employee for injuries
sustained in the course of his or her employment. Existing law
requires the payment of disability benefits to eligible individuals
for injuries sustained in the course of employment that cause
permanent disability, and specifies that the amount of those payments
be computed in accordance with a prescribed formula.  Existing
law requires the administrative director to formulate, and amend, at
least once every 5 years, the schedule for the determination of the
percentage of permanent disability, in accordance with specified
requirements. Existing law also requires the administrative director,
on or before January 1, 2005, to adopt regulations to implement
specified changes pertaining to the schedule, and   any
amendments thereto, or revisions thereof, as prescribed. 
   This bill would  declare the intent of the Legislature to
enact legislation that would provide for enhanced disability benefits
to compensate injured workers for lost wagesincurred as a result of
an injury arising out of, or in the course of, employment 
 require the administrative director, on or before January 1,
2009, to revise the schedule for the determination of permanent
disability to increase the ratings contained in the schedule based on
empirical studies of ratings and wage losses, including, but not
limited to, studies produced by the Commission on Health and Safety
and Workers' Compensation  .
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  no
  yes  . State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   SECTION 1.    Section 4660 of the   Labor
Code   is amended to read: 
   4660.  (a) In determining the percentages of permanent disability,
account shall be taken of the nature of the physical injury or
disfigurement, the occupation of the injured employee, and his or her
age at the time of the injury, consideration being given to an
employee's diminished future earning capacity.
   (b) (1) For purposes of this section, the "nature of the physical
injury or disfigurement" shall incorporate the descriptions and
measurements of physical impairments and the corresponding
percentages of impairments published in the American Medical
Association (AMA) Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment
(5th Edition).
   (2) For purposes of this section, an employee's diminished future
earning capacity shall be a numeric formula based on empirical data
and findings that aggregate the average percentage of long-term loss
of income resulting from each type of injury for similarly situated
employees. The administrative director shall formulate the adjusted
rating schedule based on empirical data and findings from the
Evaluation of California's Permanent Disability Rating Schedule,
Interim Report (December 2003), prepared by the RAND Institute for
Civil Justice, and upon data from additional empirical studies.
   (c) The administrative director shall amend the schedule for the
determination of the percentage of permanent disability in accordance
with this section at least once every five years. This schedule
shall be available for public inspection and, without formal
introduction in evidence, shall be prima facie evidence of the
percentage of permanent disability to be attributed to each injury
covered by the schedule.
   (d) The schedule shall promote consistency, uniformity, and
objectivity. The schedule and any amendment thereto or revision
thereof shall apply prospectively and shall apply to and govern only
those permanent disabilities that result from compensable injuries
received or occurring on and after the effective date of the adoption
of the schedule, amendment or revision, as the fact may be. For
compensable claims arising before January 1, 2005, the schedule as
revised pursuant to changes made in legislation enacted during the
2003-04 Regular and Extraordinary Sessions shall apply to the
determination of permanent disabilities when there has been either no
comprehensive medical-legal report or no report by a treating
physician indicating the existence of permanent disability, or when
the employer is not required to provide the notice required by
Section 4061 to the injured worker.
   (e) On or before January 1,  2005   2009
 , the administrative director shall  adopt regulations
to implement the changes made to this section by the act that added
this subdivision   revise the schedule  to
increase the ratings contained in the schedule based on empirical
studies of ratings and wage losses, including, but not limited to,
studies produced by the Commission on Health and Safety and Workers'
Compensation  . 
  SECTION 1.    It is the intent of the Legislature
to enact legislation that would provide for enhanced disability
benefits for injured workers to compensate those workers for lost
wages incurred as a result of an injury arising out of, or in the
course of, employment.