BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 826
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Date of Hearing: July 6, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON INSURANCE
Jose Solorio, Chair
SB 826 (Leno) - As Amended: May 3, 2011
SENATE VOTE : 31-8
SUBJECT : Workers' compensation information system
SUMMARY : Establishes penalties for the failure of an employer
to report claim information to the Workers' Compensation
Information System (WCIS). Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the Administrative Director (AD) of the Division of
Workers' Compensation (DWC) to assess administrative penalties
for WCIS data reporting violations.
2)Requires the AD to promulgate a schedule of penalties capped
at $5,000 against a claims administrator in any given year,
that provides for no more than $100 per violation for
violations where a report is not submitted or not accepted,
and no more than $50 per violation for violations involving
errors or late filings.
3)Provides that no penalty shall be imposed pursuant to other
specified provisions of law relating to claims audits if the
violations are subject to sanctions pursuant to the bill's
provisions.
4)Requires the schedule that the AD promulgates to exclude
violations below specified thresholds, as established by the
AD, to be not less than 3% of the reports filed, and
authorizes to AD to establish higher thresholds for data
elements that are not reasonably available.
5)Requires the AD to publish an annual report on the compliance
of claims administrators, and authorizes the administrators to
be named in the report.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides for a comprehensive system of workers' compensation
benefits for workers injured on the job, paid by employers, or
insurers on behalf of employers.
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2)Establishes the WCIS.
3)Requires claims administrators to submit a range of claims
related information to the WCIS for purposes of research into
claims and claims costs.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the analysis of the Senate
Appropriations Committee, minor and absorbable costs to the DWC.
COMMENTS :
1)Background . According to the sponsor of this bill, Small
Business California, the bill is designed to address the lack
of enforcement authority to ensure that appropriate data is
submitted to the WCIS. A recent Commission on Health and
Safety and Workers' Compensation (CHSWC) study concluded that
compliance issues have rendered the quality of data collected
by WCIS of limited value. The bill is structured so that
minor errors on marginally relevant data fields (the
thresholds the AD is authorized to adopt) do not result in
penalties, while at the same time establishing an incentive to
accurately provide substantive data.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Small Business California
California Labor Federation
California Nurses Association
Allied Managed care
Acclamation Insurance Management Services
California Chiropractic Association
Opposition
None received.
Analysis Prepared by : Mark Rakich / INS. / (916) 319-2086
SB 826
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