Amended in Senate April 7, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 1053


Introduced by Assembly Member Cooley

February 22, 2013


An actbegin delete to amend Section 1764.1 of the Insurance Code, relating to insurance.end deletebegin insert relating to local government, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1053, as amended, Cooley. begin deleteInsurance: nonadmitted insurer: surplus line brokers: disclosure. end deletebegin insertSacramento Metropolitan Fire District: return of improperly collected money.end insert

begin insert

Existing law authorizes the formation of a fire protection district and further authorizes an established district to raise revenues, including, but not limited to, levying assessments for fire suppression services pursuant to a specified procedure. Existing law also authorizes a district to charge fees to cover the costs of providing certain services or enforcing certain regulations and to waive those fees under specified conditions.

end insert
begin insert

This bill would authorize the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District, until January 1, 2015, and notwithstanding any other law, to return money it improperly collected from payees due to a clerical error in the district’s administration of an assessment levied from 2005 to 2012, inclusive. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the public purpose served by this act.

end insert
begin insert

This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District.

end insert
begin insert

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

end insert
begin delete

(1) Existing law requires every nonadmitted insurer and every surplus line broker, as applicable, to obtain, at the time of accepting an application for an insurance policy, other than a renewal of that policy, the signature of the applicant on a disclosure, as specified. An industrial insured is not required to receive the disclosure except on confirmation of insurance. An industrial insured is defined as, among other things, having 25 or more employees on average during the prior 12 months and having aggregate annual premiums for insurance for all risks other than workers’ compensation and health coverage totaling no less than $25,000. A violation of this requirement is a crime punishable by imprisonment in the state prison, or in a county jail for not exceeding one year or by a fine of not more than $10,000, or by both.

end delete
begin delete

This bill would change the definition of industrial insured by increasing the industrial insured’s aggregate annual premiums for insurance for all risks other than workers’ compensation and health coverage to no less than $50,000. Because this bill would change the definition of a crime, it is a state-mandated local program.

end delete
begin delete

(2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

end delete

Vote: begin deletemajority end deletebegin insert23end insert. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: begin deleteyes end deletebegin insertnoend insert. State-mandated local program: begin deleteyes end deletebegin insertnoend insert.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

P2    1begin insert

begin insertSECTION 1.end insert  

end insert
begin insert

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
2following:

end insert
begin insert

3(a) Integrity and accountability in government demands that
4when a subdivision of the state discovers that it improperly
5collected money from the public due to a clerical error, that it be
6authorized to return the money to the members of the public from
7whom the money was mistakenly collected.

end insert
begin insert

8(b) This act, by authorizing an efficient return of money that
9the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District improperly collected
10in the form of an assessment due to an unintentional clerical error,
11serves a public purpose by maintaining public confidence in the
P3    1imposition and collection of property assessments to pay for public
2improvements and services, correcting an unintentional error and
3restoring accuracy in the district’s finances, providing
4transparency and accountability in the proper collection and use
5of public funds, and by avoiding the potential public expense of
6defending against costly litigation filed by those parties from whom
7money was mistakenly collected.

end insert
8begin insert

begin insertSEC. 2.end insert  

end insert

begin insert(a)end insertbegin insertend insertbegin insertNotwithstanding any other law, the Sacramento
9Metropolitan Fire District may return to a payor any money the
10district improperly collected from the payor due to a clerical error
11in the district’s administration of that certain assessment known
12as the Special Fire Tax for Rancho Murieta and Sloughouse area
13levied from 2005 to 2012, inclusive.end insert

begin insert

14(b) This act shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2015,
15 and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that
16is enacted before January 1, 2015, deletes or extends that date.

end insert
17begin insert

begin insertSEC. 3.end insert  

end insert
begin insert

The Legislature finds and declares that a special law
18is necessary and that a general law cannot be made applicable
19within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California
20Constitution because of the unique and limited need of the
21Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District to return money it
22improperly and unintentionally collected in the form of an
23assessment.

end insert
24begin insert

begin insertSEC. 4.end insert  

end insert
begin insert

This act is an urgency statute necessary for the
25immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within
26the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into
27immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

end insert
begin insert

28To remedy as soon as possible the mistaken collection from the
29public of fire district assessment amounts, it is necessary for this
30act to take effect immediately.

end insert

All matter omitted in this version of the bill appears in the bill as introduced in the Assembly, February 22, 2013. (JR11)



O

    98