BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1393|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1393
Author: Assembly Insurance Committee
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
SENATE LABOR & INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMMITTEE : 4-0, 6/12/13
AYES: Monning, Leno, Padilla, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Wyland
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 4/18/13 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT : Workers compensation: obsolete study requirements
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill repeals three obsolete requirements that
certain workers compensation studies be undertaken.
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 of Industrial Relations to self-insure
or by securing insurance against liability from an insurance
company duly authorized by the state.
Existing law establishes requirements for the undertaking of
studies and reports relating to the health of the workers'
CONTINUED
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compensation system. Some of these studies have discrete
timeframes in which they are designated to take place.
Existing law requires the Commission on Health and Safety and
Workers' Compensation (Commission) to conduct a study on the
causes of workers' compensation insurer insolvencies in the
1990s and 2000s. This study was completed in 2009.
Existing law also requires the Administrative Director (AD) of
the Division of Workers' Compensation to conduct a study and
report to the Legislature concerning industrial injuries. This
study was completed in 2004.
Existing law requires the AD to conduct, in consultation with
the Insurance Commissioner (Commissioner), a study of the
impacts of the 2003 and 2004 workers' compensation reforms on
workers' compensation insurance rates. This study was completed
in 2005.
This bill repeals three obsolete requirements that certain
workers' compensation studies be undertaken. Specifically, this
bill:
1. Repeals the statute that required to Commission to conduct a
now-completed study on the causes of the workers'
compensation insurer insolvencies that occurred in the late
1990's and early 2000's.
2. Repeals the statute that required the AD to conduct a
now-completed study and report to the Legislature concerning
industrial injuries.
3. Repeals the statute that required the AD to conduct, in
consultation with the Commissioner, a now-completed study of
the impacts of the 2003 and 2004 workers' compensation
reforms on workers' compensation insurance rates.
Comments
According to the Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee
analyses, in response to specific problems regarding state
departments or other matters of immediate importance, the
Legislature may pass bills requiring department personnel to
conduct research to gather information about a program, diagnose
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problems, and propose potential solutions. Often, one of the
statutory requirements of these studies is a deadline for
publication. If there is no provision requiring the study to be
conducted again, the statute effectively becomes obsolete after
the study it requires is completed.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 4/18/13
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown,
Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway,
Cooley, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Gorell,
Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Maienschein, Mansoor,
Medina, Melendez, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian,
Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez,
Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting,
Torres, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams,
Yamada, John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Holden, Lowenthal, Mitchell, Vacancy
PQ:k 6/13/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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