BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 36
Page 1
Date of Hearing: August 7, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON INSURANCE
Henry T. Perea, Chair
SB 36 (Hueso) - As Amended: April 30, 2013
And As Proposed To Be Amended
SENATE VOTE : 30-6
SUBJECT : Workers' compensation data
SUMMARY : Requires the Department of Insurance (DOI) to
establish a dedicated web page on its internet website for
workers' compensation information. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the DOI to establish a dedicated internet web page on
its Internet Web site for workers' compensation data.
2)Provides for delayed implementation, until July 1, 2014, to
allow the DOI time to comply with this requirement.
3)Requires that the information to be included on this page
include, but not be limited to, claims loss data, expenses,
and financial reports.
4)Allows the DOI to use a direct link on this dedicated page if
the information is contained on an internet website of another
entity.
5)Directs the DOI to use data already collected by the DOI and
the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR).
6)Provides that nothing in the bill shall be construed to
authorize the release of information protected by other
applicable laws.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires every employer to either purchase workers'
compensation insurance, or obtain a certificate of
self-insurance from the DIR.
2)Requires insurers to file annual and quarterly financial
statements with the DOI, which are (with minor exceptions)
public records.
SB 36
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3)Requires self-insured employers and self-insured groups to
make financial disclosures to the DIR, but does not make these
disclosures public records.
4)Requires insurers to file a broad range of workers'
compensation data with the Workers' Compensation Rating Bureau
(WCIRB) for purposes of rating analysis, experience
modification calculations, and related matters.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, first year costs of $128,000, and ongoing annual
costs of $40,000.
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose . According to proponents, there is a large amount of
complex information about the workers' compensation system,
but it is not easily accessed. By requiring all of the
information to be located on a dedicated page of the DOI
website, it will be easier for the public to access this
information.
2)Self insured information . Initially, the bill merely called
for workers' compensation insurers' annual and quarterly
financial statements to be posted on the DOI website. These
statements are already available for the public to review, but
not via the website. However, the bill was amended in the
Senate to a) expand the scope of workers' compensation
information to be posted, and b) to include data that self
insured employers file, to the extent that other laws do not
protect that information from disclosure.
However, as proposed to be amended, the self insured employer
data posting requirement is being eliminated from the bill.
According to self insured employers, most of what they are
required to file is proprietary information, much different
from the financial information that an insurer is required to
file. They point out that because policyholders must rely on
the financial strength of an insurer, the public interest in
knowing more about insurers' financial status has long been
the policy of the state. Self insured employers, however, are
not asking others to rely on their financial strength, and as
a result their financial information is only relevant to the
DIR, which determines whether to issue a certificate of
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self-insurance.
Insurers have argued, particularly because self-insured groups
functionally are in competition with them, that broader
financial disclosure is appropriate, and that obligations
placed on insurers should equally be applied to the self
insured sector.
3)Delayed implementation . The July 1, 2014, implementation date
is being proposed to be added at the request of the DOI, to
allow time to create the mandated dedicated page. In
addition, the language allowing direct links to information
available on a website of another entity was requested by DOI
to make the establishment and ongoing management of the
dedicated page more efficient by ensuring it does not have to
import information that is readily available with an internet
link.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Voters Injured at Work, Sponsor
Opposition
None received.
Analysis Prepared by : Mark Rakich / INS. / (916) 319-2086