BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 11 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 29, 2015 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Jimmy Gomez, Chair AB 11 (Gonzalez) - As Amended March 11, 2015 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Labor |Vote:|5-2 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No SUMMARY: This bill revises the definition of an employee under the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 to include providers of in-home support services (IHSS) starting July 1, 2016. This change in law would allow IHSS providers to accrue one hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked. AB 11 Page 2 FISCAL EFFECT: Annual General Fund costs of approximately $100 million starting in the 2016-17 fiscal year. There are approximately 462,000 IHSS providers in California. Current law authorizes an employer to limit paid sick days to 24 hours or three days each year. On average, providers would accrue 2.8 hours of sick leave each month. Under the county maintenance of effort (MOE) financing structure, the state General Fund assumes 100 percent of the costs above counties' MOE expenditure levels. COMMENTS: 1)Purpose. AB 1522 (Gonzalez), Chapter 317, Statutes of 2014, enacted the Health Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 provides paid sick days to certain California employees effective July 1, 2015. The new law provides the right to paid sick days to an estimated 6.5 million California workers. IHSS providers were originally included in AB 1522 but were excluded towards the end of the Legislative process due to cost concerns. This bill deletes that exclusion effective July 1, 2016, allowing IHSS providers to accrue hours of sick leave each month. According to supporters, this bill ensures that IHSS caregivers are afforded the same basic right as the rest of California's workforce. 2)County IHSS MOE. The IHSS program provides personal care and domestic services to low-income aged, blind and disabled persons to help them remain safely in their own homes and communities. IHSS is considered an alternative to out-of-home care, such as nursing homes, and is a Home and Community-Based Service. AB 11 Page 3 Effective July 2012, as part of the Coordinated Care Initiative (CCI), a county maintenance-of-effort (MOE) funding formula was established for the IHSS program. Historically, for almost all IHSS recipients, 50 percent of program costs were paid for by the federal government, with 32.5 percent paid by the state and 17.5 percent by the counties. CCI statute altered the historical county contribution by enacting an MOE, which replaces the county contribution of 17.5 percent with a requirement that counties generally maintain their 2011-12 expenditure level for IHSS beginning in 2012-13, to be adjusted annually for inflation beginning in 2014-15. Under the county MOE financing structure, the state General Fund assumes all nonfederal IHSS costs above counties' MOE expenditure levels. 3)Oppose unless amended. The Alliance, a statewide coalition supporting people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, support improving wages and benefits for IHSS workers, but are concerned with the associated costs and are opposed to the bill unless dedicated state funding is specifically provided for this purpose. Analysis Prepared by: Misty Feusahrens / APPR. / (916) 319-2081 AB 11 Page 4