BILL ANALYSIS
AB 483
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 483 (Buchanan)
As Amended September 3, 2009
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |78-0 |(May 21, 2009) |SENATE: |33-7 |(September 8, |
| | | | | |2009) |
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Original Committee Reference: INS.
SUMMARY : Requires the Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating
Bureau (WCIRB) to establish an Internet Web site that identifies
whether an employer is insured for workers' compensation.
The Senate amendments:
1)Require the subject Web site of the WCIRB to include the date
that it was last updated.
2)Permit a person to submit a query for coverage information
concerning a specified employer within five years of the date of
query.
3)Require the subject Web site of the WCIRB to become operative no
later than one year after the effective date of the regulations
adopted by the Insurance Commissioner (IC).
4)Prohibit the subject Web site of the WCIRB from including any
links to a commercial, for-profit Web site, other than a link to
the WCIRB's homepage, and shall not contain any advertising
other than the name, logo, and contact information of the WCIRB.
5)Require the IC to evaluate the subject Web site and submit the
findings by July 1, 2013, to the Legislature and the Departments
of Finance and Industrial Relations.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires all employers to either have a policy of workers'
compensation insurance or be lawfully self-insured.
2)Allows enforcement agencies access to various elements of data
in order to investigate and enforce the requirements that
employers be covered, but generally does not make this data
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available to the public.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill:
1)Required a licensed rating organization to establish and
maintain an Internet Web site for the purpose of assisting
people to determine whether an employer is insured for workers'
compensation. The only licensed rating organization in this
regard is the WCIRB.
2)Specified that this Internet Web site shall be established and
maintained in accordance with regulations adopted by the IC
after notice and hearing. The regulations would be adopted by
January 1, 2011, and the Web site would become operative no
later than 180 days after the effective date of the regulations.
3)Specified that the Internet Web site shall:
a) Permit a person to ask a question about coverage
information on a specified employer;
b) Permit the question to specify an employer, using the
name, address, or other identifying information of the
employer including the employer's federal identification
number, as may be provided by regulations adopted by the IC;
c) In response to the question, provide the name of the
workers' compensation insurer or insurers for the employer on
the date of the query according to the most recent
information available, and provide a contact address for the
insurer or by providing a hypertext link to insurer
information available on the California Department of
Insurance's (CDI) Internet Web site;
d) Be accessible for inquiries without charge, provided the
Web site is used for intended purposes;
e) Contain a hypertext link to the California Department of
Industrial Relations' Internet Web site for the purpose of
locating employers who may be self-insured; and,
f) Include a disclaimer stating that the search results may
not reflect the most recent changes in information, including
a statement that the failure of an employer to appear on the
Web site does not mean that the employer does not have
insurance.
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4)Provided that the rating organization shall not be required to
disclose on the Web site any policy numbers, inception or
expiration dates, or confidential information.
5)Specified that the regulations shall specify a method by which
an employer may dispute, through the rating organization or the
employer's insurance company, the accuracy of the information
displayed on the Internet Web site.
6)Provided that no rating organization, member of a rating
organization when acting within their capacity as a member, or
employee shall be liable to any person for injury or damages
caused by the good faith disclosure of information pursuant to
this legislation.
7)Provided that this legislation shall not be construed to create
liability except as provided in this section, nor as a
legislative recognition that, except for the enactment of this
section, a liability would exist.
8)Specified that nothing in this legislation shall be construed as
limiting the authority of a rating organization to disclose
information contained in its records to others.
FISCAL EFFECT : Minor costs to CDI to adopt regulations. The
costs incurred by the WCIRB are not state costs, and are funded by
its member insurers.
COMMENTS :
1)According to the author's office, current law makes workers'
compensation coverage information difficult to obtain and many
employers either do not know or will not provide this
information to workers. Workers can only receive this
information if they request it through writing or email from the
WCIRB. According to the author, this bill makes available Web
site information on the coverage status of employers, protects
workers from employers without workers' compensation coverage,
and protects insured employers from competitive disadvantages by
uninsured employers. The author further states that the state
could save money by handling fewer inquiries because the
information would be made available over the Internet.
2)The California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, sponsor of the bill,
states that 33 other states have online proof of workers'
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compensation coverage databases in use. This federation also
notes that California's Contractors State Licensing Board also
provides similar information in a searchable public format.
Creation of a searchable database allows employees to identify
their employer's insurance company and enables them to file an
injury claim directly with the insurer. It also allows a
prospective employee to confirm that an employer has coverage
before accepting a position. Finally, supporters argue that a
searchable Web site would help state agencies enforce the
requirement that all employers carry workers' compensation
insurance.
3)In the 2005-06 Session, similar legislation, AB 1883 (De La
Torre) was approved by the Legislature but vetoed by the
Governor. In 2008, the Legislature approved another similar
measure, AB 507 (De La Torre), that was vetoed by the Governor.
Analysis Prepared by : Manny Hernandez / INS. / (916) 319-2086
FN: 0003022