BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 2303 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 18, 2012 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Felipe Fuentes, Chair AB 2303 (Committee on Insurance) - As Amended: March 15, 2012 Policy Committee: InsuranceVote:9 - 0 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: Yes Reimbursable: No SUMMARY This bill is the annual Assembly Committee on Insurance omnibus bill which conforms state law to federal insurance law, cleans up the state insurance code, and makes non-controversial licensing changes. Specifically, this bill: 1)Requires liquidation notices to include a reference to a website that provides ongoing information for creditors of the company being liquidated. 2)Requires insurers to provide data related to child care liability policies to the Commissioner upon request. 3)Establishes a $64 fee for the issuance of a non-resident variable contract authority license. 4)Requires the Commissioner's curriculum board to propose mandatory pre-licensing and continuing education curriculum for bail agents and insurance adjusters. 5)Increases from 12 to 20 the number of pre-licensing classroom hours required for bail agents. 6)Establishes a limited lines license for crop insurance adjusters and prohibits individuals from acting as a crop insurance adjuster without a license. 7)Prohibits contracting with or employing someone to adjust crop insurance claims unless that person is licensed. 8)Permits the Commissioner to adopt regulations to implement the AB 2303 Page 2 crop insurance adjuster license, including additional competency requirements and establishing standards of practice for crop insurance adjusters. 9)Conforms statutes related to the conservation and liquidation process with changes made in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank). FISCAL EFFECT Costs associated with this legislation should be minor and absorbable within existing resources. COMMENTS 1)Purpose . This bill is sponsored by the Department of Insurance as the 2012 omnibus bill which proposes a range of cleanup, federal conformity, and non-controversial licensing changes. 2)Crop Insurance Adjusters. This provision establishes a limited lines crop insurance adjuster license. Federal crop insurance requirements were recently changed requiring crop insurance adjusters to have specific knowledge of the crops at issue in a claim. If a state does not offer a license based on a crop specific test, then adjusters certified by the National Crop Insurance Services (NCIS) may adjust claims in the state without a license. This bill establishes state licensure based on the NCIS certification process to comply with the federal requirements. Analysis Prepared by : Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916) 319-2081