BILL NUMBER: AB 447	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 30, 2015
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 2, 2015
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 29, 2015

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Maienschein
    (   Coauthor:   Assembly Member  
Cooley   ) 

                        FEBRUARY 23, 2015

   An act to add Section 679.74 to the Insurance Code, relating to
insurance.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 447, as amended, Maienschein. Property insurance:
discrimination.
   Existing law prohibits an admitted insurer licensed to issue
policies of residential property insurance from failing or refusing
to accept an application for, or issuing a policy to an applicant
for, that insurance, except as specified, or from canceling the
insurance, under conditions less favorable to the insured than in
other comparable cases, except for reasons applicable alike to
persons of every sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national
origin, disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital
status, or sexual orientation. Existing law provides that sex, race,
color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, medical
condition, genetic information, marital status, or sexual orientation
shall not, of itself, constitute a condition or risk for which a
higher rate, premium, or charge may be required of the insured.
   Existing law also prohibits an application for one of these
policies, or an insurance investigation report, from carrying any
identification, or any requirement therefor, of the applicant's sex,
race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, medical
condition, genetic information, marital status, or sexual
orientation.
   This bill would, for specified types of real property, add certain
other  facts   characteristics  relating
to the insured or the insured property to the categories that may not
be used by an insurer for the purposes described above, including,
under certain circumstances, the level or source of income and the
receipt of government or public  assistance.  
assistance by an individual or group of individuals residing or
intending to reside upon the property, as specified. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 679.74 is added to the Insurance Code, to read:

   679.74.  (a)  (1)    An admitted
insurer that is licensed to issue a policy of insurance upon real
property of the type described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of
Section 675 or paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 675.5,
when that real property is used for residential purposes, or property
of the type described in subdivision (a) of Section 10087, shall not
fail or refuse to accept an application for, or to issue a policy to
an applicant for, that insurance unless the insurance is to be
issued to the applicant by another insurer under the same management
and control, or cancel that insurance, based upon the following
characteristics: 
   (A) 
    (1)  The level or source of income of an individual or
group of individuals residing or intending to reside upon the
property to be insured, if the individual or group of individuals is
not the owner of the real property. 
   (B) 
    (2)  The receipt of assistance, intended for housing,
from the federal or state government, or from a local public entity,
as defined in Section 50079 of the Health and Safety Code, including,
but not limited to, federal vouchers issued under Section 8 of the
United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1437f), by an
individual or group of individuals residing or intending to reside
upon the property insured or to be insured. 
   (2) The characteristics listed in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of
paragraph (1) shall not constitute a condition or risk for which a
higher rate, premium, or charge may be required of the insured for a
policy of insurance upon real property of the type described in
paragraph (1). 
   (b) An application for a policy of insurance upon real property of
the type described in  paragraph (1) of 
subdivision (a), or an insurance investigation report furnished by an
insurer to its agents or employees for use in determining the
insurability of an applicant under such a policy, shall not carry any
identification, or any requirement for identification, of the
following characteristics:
   (1) The level or source of income of an individual or group of
individuals residing or intending to reside upon the property to be
insured, if the individual or group of individuals is not the owner
of the real property.
   (2) The receipt of assistance, intended for housing, from the
federal or state government, or from a local public entity, as
defined in Section 50079 of the Health and Safety Code, including,
but not limited to, federal vouchers issued under Section 8 of the
United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1437f), by an
individual or group of individuals residing or intending to reside
upon the property insured or to be insured.
   (c) In the case of real property of the type described in
paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 675, paragraph (1) of
subdivision (b) of Section 675.5, or subdivision (a) of Section 10087
that is used for both residential and commercial purposes, the
insurer, or its agent or employee, may consider the source of income
of a nonresidential tenant of the property in determining the
insurability of an applicant. 
   (d) Nothing in this section prohibits an insurer from failing or
refusing to accept an application for, issuing, or canceling or
failing to renew, a policy of insurance covered by this chapter as a
result of underwriting or assessment of factors other than those
characteristics listed in subdivision (a), or as otherwise prohibited
by law.