BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  SB 1314
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   July 2, 2014

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mike Gatto, Chair

                    SB 1314 (Monning) - As Amended:  June 19, 2014

          Policy Committee:                             Insurance  
          Vote:13-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:              No

           SUMMARY  

          This bill extends the time to appeal unemployment insurance (UI)  
          decisions from 20 to 30 days.  

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          1)Minor and absorbable costs to the Employment Development  
            Department (EDD) to revise various forms, notices, and  
            publications with the new response timeframe (Unemployment  
            Administration Fund).

          2)Because EDD currently has flexibility to grant benefits if  
            appeals are submitted late, this bill is not expected to  
            affect a large number of people. EDD submits all appeals  
            received to the California UI Appeals Board, even they are  
            received them after the 20-day deadline.  If an appeal is  
            submitted late, the claimant must explain to the  
            Administrative Law Judge why the appeal was late, and the  
            Judge may decide the claimant had good cause for the late  
            submission, and grant UI benefits regardless of missing the  
            deadline. However, on the margins, the bill could increase the  
            number of individuals receiving UI benefits.  If 100  
            individuals statewide, out of the approximately 400,000  
            appeals closed annually, are able to appeal and receive an  
            average of 15 weeks of UI benefits as a result of the  
            increased time this bill allows for appeals, increased costs  
            of about $450,000 (Unemployment Fund).  

           COMMENTS  

           Purpose  . According to the author, many Californians who have  








                                                                  SB 1314
                                                                  Page  2

          been denied unemployment benefits are not able to meet the  
          current deadline to file an appeal because they have been unable  
          to contact an EDD representative, or because they were not able  
          to receive call-backs from their caseworkers.  Delays have  
          resulted in claimants missing an appeals deadline to challenge  
          the UI benefit decision.  SB 1314 will extend the deadline to  
          appeal the denial by EDD of UI benefits from 20 to 30 days.
           
          Analysis Prepared by  :    Lisa Murawski / APPR. / (916) 319-2081