BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                      



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                   AB 585|
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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 585
          Author:   Fong (D), et al.
          Amended:  8/24/11 in Senate
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE LABOR & INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMM.  :  6-0, 7/6/11
          AYES:  Lieu, Wyland, DeSaulnier, Leno, Padilla, Yee
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Runner

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  Not relevant


           SUBJECT  :    Workers compensation:  cancer presumption

           SOURCE  :     California Professional Firefighters


           DIGEST  :    This bill extends the disputable presumption of 
          cancer as an occupational injury to active firefighting 
          members of a fire department that serve a National 
          Aeronautics and Space Administration installation and who 
          adhere to training standards, as specified.

           Senate Floor Amendments  of 8/24/11 make a minor grammatical 
          correction and add coauthors.

           ANALYSIS  :    Existing law establishes a workers' 
          compensation system that provides benefits to an employee 
          who suffers from an injury or illness that arises out of 
          and in the course of employment, irrespective of fault.  
          This system requires all employers to secure payment of 
          benefits by either securing the consent of the Department 
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          of Industrial Relations to self-insure or by securing 
          insurance against liability from an insurance company duly 
          authorized by the state.

          Existing law creates, through the William Dallas Jones 
          Cancer Presumption Act of 2010, a disputable presumption 
          that if a "firefighter", as defined, develops cancer, the 
          cancer is considered an occupational injury for the 
          purposes of the workers' compensation system.  The 
          compensation awarded for occupationally-related cancer must 
          include full hospital, surgical, medical treatment, 
          disability indemnity, and death benefits, as provided by 
          workers compensation law.  This presumption runs for 10 
          years, commencing on their last day of employment.  

          Existing law provides that the presumptions listed above 
          are disputable and may be controverted by evidence.  
          However, unless controverted, the Workers' Compensation 
          Appeals Board must find is accordance with the presumption. 
           

          Existing law provides that the following firefighting 
          members are eligible for the above-discussed cancer 
          presumption:

          1. A fire department of a city, county, city and county, 
             district, or other public or municipal corporation or 
             political subdivision.

          2. A fire department of the University of California (UC) 
             and the California State University (CSU).

          3. The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

          4. A county forestry or firefighting department or unit.

          5. Active firefighting members of a fire department that 
             serves a United States Department of Defense (DOD) 
             installation and who are certified by the DOD as meeting 
             its standards for firefighters.

          Existing law provides that the State Fire Marshal, with 
          policy guidance and advice from the State Board of Fire 
          Services, must manage and direct a comprehensive training 

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          and education program for all of California's firefighting 
          personnel.  (Health and Safety Code Sections 13155 to 
          13159.4)

          This bill extends the disputable presumption of cancer as 
          an occupational injury to active firefighting members of a 
          fire department that serve a National Aeronautics and Space 
          Administration (NASA) installation and who adhere to 
          training standards discussed above.

           Comments  

          The statutory provision for a rebuttable presumption of 
          cancer being an occupational injury dates back to 1982.  
          When originally created, the presumption was only extended 
          to city, county, city and county and municipal fire 
          departments, as well as the UC and the CSU fire 
          departments.  Over time, this exemption was extended to 
          additional groups of firefighters, including fire 
          departments on DOD installations.

          Several studies have suggested that firefighters have a 
          higher incidence of certain cancers.  A May 2007 Study from 
          the School of Public Health at UC Berkeley found an 
          increased incidence of testicular cancer (odds ratio = 
          1.54, 95 percent confidence interval: 1.18-2.02), melanoma 
          (1.50, 1.33-1.70), brain cancer (1.35, 1.06-1.72), 
          esophageal cancer (1.48, 1.14-1.91), and prostate cancer 
          (1.22, 1.12-1.33).  While a 2008 RAND study disputed that 
          there was a higher incidence of cancer among firefighters, 
          other studies done in Massachusetts, Florida, and Seattle 
          and Tacoma, Washington found similar results to the UC 
          Berkeley study.

          This bill extends the rebuttable presumption of cancer 
          being an occupational injury to active firefighting 
          departments on NASA installations.  

          California currently has two NASA facilities - the Ames 
          Research Center in Mountain View and the Jet Propulsion 
          Laboratory in Pasadena.  The bill's sponsor and author note 
          that both facilities have large amounts of jet fuel and 
          exotic metals and materials; when combusted, these items 
          can give off significant carcinogens that the firefighters 

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          are exposed to both through inhalation and skin exposure.  
          The sponsor and author also note that these firefighters 
          are not employees of the federal government, and are 
          therefore within the purview of California Labor Law.

           Who was William "Dallas" Jones?   William "Dallas" Jones was 
          a dedicated firefighter in Los Angeles County for nearly 35 
          years.  The passion and professionalism with which he 
          conducted his duties as President for Los Angeles County 
          Firefighters Local 1014 and later as Secretary/Treasurer 
          for California Professional Firefighters made him highly 
          qualified to lead the state Office of Emergency Services 
          (OES) as Director from 1999-2004.   
          During his time at OES, Dallas responded to and was on the 
          ground during a myriad of emergencies, including the 
          devastating fire storms in 2003 that engulfed Southern 
          California.  After leaving that post, he continued his work 
          by returning as Secretary-Treasurer for the California 
          Professional Firefighters, even after he was diagnosed with 
          cancer in 2007.  He ultimately succumbed to cancer in 2008. 
           

           Prior Legislation
           
          AB 2253 (Coto), Chapter 672, Statutes of 2010, lengthens 
          the statute of limitations for a workers' compensation 
          cancer presumption for peace officers and firefighters from 
          five years to 10 years.

          SB 1271 (Cedillo), Chapter 747, Statutes of 2008, extends 
          the rebuttable presumption of cancer as an occupational 
          injury for firefighters to firefighters on DOD 
          installations.

          AB 3011 (Torres), Chapter 1568, Statutes of 1982, created 
          the initial rebuttable presumption of cancer as an 
          occupational injury for firefighters.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  No   
          Local:  No

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  7/12/11)

          California Professional Firefighters (source)

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          Glendale Fire Fighters' Association Local 776
          Los Angeles County Fire Fighters Local 1014
          Moffett Field Firefighter's Association Local I-79
          Palo Alto Professional Fire Fighters Local 1319
          Pasadena Firefighters Local 809
          San Jose Fire Fighters Local 230
          Santa Clara County Fire Fighters Local 1165
          South Pasadena Firefighters Local 3657

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    Proponents note that current law 
          does not extend a cancer presumption to active firefighters 
          on NASA installations, despite the fact that they are 
          trained as per California requirements and exposed to 
          significant chemical hazards.  Proponents note that at 
          Mountain View's NASA Ames Research Center and Pasadena's 
          NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, firefighters are in 
          constant contact with exotic metals and carbon fiber, which 
          are highly toxic when involved in a fire.  On a daily 
          basis, these firefighters are exposed to extremely 
          hazardous chemicals and thousands of gallons of jet fuel 
          that are stored in these facilities. 

          While protecting the civil and military personnel on these 
          facilities, these firefighters are exposed to the same 
          hazardous materials, fires, and dangers as their 
          counterparts in the public sector.  Therefore, the 
          proponents believe that is important that the existing 
          cancer presumption for firefighting personnel be extended 
          to NASA installation firefighters.


          PQ:mw  8/25/11   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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