BILL NUMBER: SB 677	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  MAY 19, 2009
	AMENDED IN SENATE  MAY 14, 2009

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Yee

                        FEBRUARY 27, 2009

   An act to  amend Section 3352   add and
repeal Section 3352.1  of the Labor Code, relating to workers'
compensation.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 677, as amended, Yee. Workers' compensation: exclusions:
farming operations.
   Existing workers' compensation law generally requires employers to
secure the payment of workers' compensation, including medical
treatment, for injuries incurred by their employees that arise out
of, and in the course of, employment. Existing law requires employers
to secure this payment either by being insured by one or more
insurers duly authorized to write compensation insurance in this
state or by securing from the Director of Industrial Relations a
certificate of consent to self-insure. Existing law excludes various
persons from the definition of employee for purposes of these
provisions.
   This bill would  , until January 1, 2013,  exclude any
person employed by his or her parent, child, spouse, or registered
domestic partner, or by the spouse or registered domestic partner of
his or her parent or child, in a farming operation that is registered
with the director or the director's designee and meets certain
specified conditions. The bill would require the owner or owners of
the farming operation to submit specified information when
registering with the director or the director's designee. The bill
would provide that this information shall become public record,
except as specified. The bill would  , however, authorize not
more than 3,000 registrations within a calendar year under these
provisions and would  provide that registration shall be in
effect for one year, except as specified.
   This bill would provide that if any of the conditions of
registration are violated, the farming operation shall be deemed to
have failed to secure the payment of compensation and shall be
subject to the resulting penalties. The bill would also provide that
a violation of the conditions shall constitute good cause for the
director or the director's designee to cancel the farming operation's
registration.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


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

   SECTION 1.    Section 3352.1 is added to the 
 Labor Code   , to read:  
   3352.1.  (a) (1) "Employee" excludes a person employed by his or
her parent, child, spouse, or registered domestic partner, or by the
spouse or registered domestic partner of his or her parent or child,
in a farming operation that is registered with the director or the
director's designee and meets all of the following conditions:
   (A) (i) The farming operation shall be wholly owned by one or more
of the family members described in this subdivision.
   (ii) The farming operation shall be conducted on land that is
owned by, or leased to, the person or persons who own the farming
operation.
   (B) The owner's taxable income on the state income tax return that
he or she filed with the state during the 12-month period preceding
registration shall not exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000). If
there are multiple owners of the farming operation, a single
ten-thousand-dollar ($10,000) limit shall apply to the combined
taxable income of all the owners.
   (C) The owner or owners of the farming operation shall be in
compliance with all other applicable provisions of this code. Any
violation of this code by the owner or owners of the farming
operation shall prompt the director or the director's designee to
cancel the farming operation's registration and the exclusion under
this subdivision shall no longer apply.
   (D) The person or persons that the owner or owners of the farming
operation seek to exclude from being an employee pursuant to this
subdivision shall be covered by health insurance.
   (E) While the farming operation is registered pursuant to this
subdivision, the farming operation and its owners shall not do any of
the following:
   (i) Employ the services of any person who is otherwise an employee
for purposes of this chapter.
   (ii) Employ or utilize, directly or indirectly, any labor by
independent contractors or farm labor contractors.
   (iii) Furnish services to any person as an employee, independent
contractor, or farm labor contractor or employee thereof.
   (2) The director or the director's designee may register not more
than 3,000 farming operations within a calendar year. Registration
with the director or the director's designee pursuant to this
subdivision shall remain in effect for a period of one year, unless
the director or the director's designee cancels the registration
pursuant to subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) or subparagraph (B) of
paragraph (3).
   (3) (A) If any of the conditions listed in paragraph (1) are
violated while the farming operation's registration is in effect, the
employer shall be deemed to have failed to secure the payment of
compensation as required by Section 3700, and Sections 3700.5,
3710.1, and 3722 shall apply.
   (B) If any of the conditions listed in paragraph (1) are violated
while the farming operation's registration is in effect, the director
or the director's designee shall have good cause to cancel the
operation's registration.
   (4) Registration requires the farming operation to provide all of
the following to the director or the director's designee:
   (A) Proof that any persons that the owner or owners of the farming
operation seek to exclude from being an employee pursuant to this
subdivision are covered by health insurance.
   (B) Proof of the amount of the owner or owners taxable income
during the 12-month period preceding registration.
   (C) The names and ages of the persons employed by the farming
operation.
   (D) A signed affidavit that no occupational injuries or illnesses
have occurred on the farm during the 12-month period preceding
registration.
   (E) (i) Proof that the owner or owners of the farming operation
cannot afford the workers' compensation policy premium that would
apply to the operation in the year for which exclusion pursuant to
this subdivision is sought.
   (ii) A verified quote from a licensed insurer for the workers'
compensation policy that the owner or owners of the farming operation
cannot afford.
   (5) The information required by paragraph (4) shall become public
record, with the following exceptions:
   (A) Copies of tax returns shall not be public record and shall not
be discoverable in any civil action.
   (B) The space where any social security numbers are required to be
disclosed on the registration form shall be redacted from public
disclosure.
   (b) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2013, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2013, deletes or extends
that date.  
  SECTION 1.    Section 3352 of the Labor Code is
amended to read:
   3352.  "Employee" excludes the following:
   (a) Any person defined in subdivision (d) of Section 3351 who is
employed by his or her parent, spouse, or child.
   (b) Any person performing services in return for aid or sustenance
only, received from any religious, charitable, or relief
organization.
   (c) Any person holding an appointment as deputy clerk or deputy
sheriff appointed for his or her own convenience, and who receives no
compensation from the county or municipal corporation or from the
citizens thereof for his or her services as the deputy. This
exclusion is operative only as to employment by the county or
municipal corporation and does not deprive any person so deputized
from recourse against a private person employing him or her for
injury occurring in the course of and arising out of the employment.
   (d) Any person performing voluntary services at or for a
recreational camp, hut, or lodge operated by a nonprofit
organization, exempt from federal income tax under Section 101(6) of
the Internal Revenue Code, of which he or she or a member of his or
her family is a member and who receives no compensation for those
services other than meals, lodging, or transportation.
   (e) Any person performing voluntary service as a ski patrolman who
receives no compensation for those services other than meals or
lodging or the use of ski tow or ski lift facilities.
   (f) Any person employed by a ski lift operator to work at a snow
ski area who is relieved of and not performing any prescribed duties,
while participating in recreational activities on his or her own
initiative.
   (g) Any person, other than a regular employee, participating in
sports or athletics who receives no compensation for the
participation other than the use of athletic equipment, uniforms,
transportation, travel, meals, lodgings, or other expenses incidental
thereto.
   (h) Any person defined in subdivision (d) of Section 3351 who was
employed by the employer to be held liable for less than 52 hours
during the 90 calendar days immediately preceding the date of the
injury for injuries, as defined in Section 5411, or during the 90
calendar days immediately preceding the date of the last employment
in an occupation exposing the employee to the hazards of the disease
or injury for injuries, as defined in Section 5412, or who earned
less than one hundred dollars ($100) in wages from the employer
during the 90 calendar days immediately preceding the date of the
injury for injuries, as defined in Section 5411, or during the 90
calendar days immediately preceding the date of the last employment
in an occupation exposing the employee to the hazards of the disease
or injury for injuries, as defined in Section 5412.
   (i) Any person performing voluntary service for a public agency or
a private, nonprofit organization who receives no remuneration for
the services other than meals, transportation, lodging, or
reimbursement for incidental expenses.
   (j) Any person, other than a regular employee, performing
officiating services relating to amateur sporting events sponsored by
any public agency or private, nonprofit organization, who receives
no remuneration for these services other than a stipend for each day
of service no greater than the amount established by the Department
of Personnel Administration as a per diem expense for employees or
officers of the state. The stipend shall be presumed to cover
incidental expenses involved in officiating, including, but not
limited to, meals, transportation, lodging, rule books and courses,
uniforms, and appropriate equipment.
   (k) Any student participating as an athlete in amateur sporting
events sponsored by any public agency, public or private nonprofit
college, university, or school, who receives no remuneration for the
participation other than the use of athletic equipment, uniforms,
transportation, travel, meals, lodgings, scholarships, grants-in-aid,
or other expenses incidental thereto.
   () Any law enforcement officer who is regularly employed by a
local or state law enforcement agency in an adjoining state and who
is deputized to work under the supervision of a California peace
officer pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 832.6
of the Penal Code.
   (m) Any law enforcement officer who is regularly employed by the
Oregon State Police, the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles and
Public Safety, or the Arizona Department of Public Safety and who is
acting as a peace officer in this state pursuant to subdivision (a)
of Section 830.32 of the Penal Code.
   (n) Any person, other than a regular employee, performing services
as a sports official for an entity sponsoring an intercollegiate or
interscholastic sports event, or any person performing services as a
sports official for a public agency, public entity, or a private
nonprofit organization, which public agency, public entity, or
private nonprofit organization sponsors an amateur sports event. For
purposes of this subdivision, "sports official" includes an umpire,
referee, judge, scorekeeper, timekeeper, or other person who is a
neutral participant in a sports event.
   (o) Any person who is an owner-builder, as defined in subdivision
(a) of Section 50692 of the Health and Safety Code, who is
participating in a mutual self-help housing program, as defined in
Section 50087 of the Health and Safety Code, sponsored by a nonprofit
corporation.
   (p) (1) Any person employed by his or her parent, child, spouse,
or registered domestic partner, or by the spouse or registered
domestic partner of his or her parent or child, in a farming
operation that is registered with the director or the director's
designee and meets all of the following conditions:
   (A) (i) The farming operation shall be wholly owned by one or more
of the family members described in this subdivision.
   (ii) The farming operation shall be conducted on land that is
owned by, or leased to, the person or persons who own the farming
operation.
   (B) The owner's taxable income on the state income tax return that
he or she filed with the state during the 12-month period preceding
registration shall not exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000). If
there are multiple owners of the farming operation, a single
ten-thousand-dollar ($10,000) limit shall apply to the combined
taxable income of all the owners.
   (C) The owner or owners of the farming operation shall be in
compliance with all other applicable provisions of the Labor Code.
Any violation of the Labor Code by the owner or owners of the farming
operation shall prompt the director or the director's designee to
cancel the farming operation's registration and the exclusion under
this subdivision shall no longer apply.
   (D) The person or persons that the owner or owners of the farming
operation seek to exclude from being an employee pursuant to this
subdivision shall be covered by health insurance.
   (E) While the farming operation is registered pursuant to this
subdivision, the farming operation and its owners shall not do any of
the following:
   (i) Employ the services of any person who is otherwise an employee
for purposes of this chapter.
   (ii) Employ or utilize, directly or indirectly, any labor by
independent contractors or farm labor contractors.
   (iii) Furnish services to any person as an employee, independent
contractor, or farm labor contractor or employee thereof.
   (2) Registration with the director or the director's designee
pursuant to this subdivision shall remain in effect for a period of
one year, unless the director or the director's designee cancels the
registration pursuant to subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) or
subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3).
   (3) (A) If any of the conditions listed in paragraph (1) are
violated while the farming operation's registration is in effect, the
employer shall be deemed to have failed to secure the payment of
compensation as required by Section 3700, and Sections 3700.5,
3710.1, and 3722 shall apply.
   (B) If any of the conditions listed in paragraph (1) are violated
while the farming operation's registration is in effect, the director
or the director's designee shall have good cause to cancel the
operation's registration.
   (4) Registration requires the farming operation to provide all of
the following to the director or the director's designee:
   (A) Proof that any persons that the owner or owners of the farming
operation seek to exclude from being an employee pursuant to this
subdivision are covered by health insurance.
   (B) Proof of the amount of the owner or owners taxable income
during the 12-month period preceding registration.
   (C) The names and ages of the persons employed by the farming
operation.
   (D) A signed affidavit that no occupational injuries or illnesses
have occurred on the farm during the 12-month period preceding
registration.
   (E) (i) Proof that the owner or owners of the farming operation
cannot afford the workers' compensation policy premium that would
apply to the operation in the year for which exclusion pursuant to
this subdivision is sought.
   (ii) A verified quote from a licensed insurer for the workers'
compensation policy that the owner or owners of the farming operation
cannot afford.
   (5) The information required by paragraph (4) shall become public
record, with the following exceptions:
   (A) Copies of tax returns shall not be public record and shall not
be discoverable in any civil action.
   (B) The space where any social security numbers are required to be
disclosed on the registration form shall be redacted from public
disclosure.