BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1109
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Date of Hearing: April 23, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON RULES
Richard Gordon, Chair
AB 1109
(Wilk) - As Introduced February 27, 2015
SUBJECT: Legislature: health benefits coverage.
SUMMARY: Limits Members of the Legislature to health benefit
plans available through the California Health Benefit Exchange.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires that the only health benefit plans available to
Members of the Legislature shall be health benefit plans
offered through the California Health Benefit Exchange.
2)Requires the state to reimburse a Member for the cost of
coverage in an amount not to exceed the amount of the state
employer's contribution.
EXISTING LAW: Proposition 112 establishes the Citizens
Compensation Commission (Commission) to set the salaries and
medical, dental, insurance and other similar benefits of Members
of the Legislature and the state's other elected officials. It
also directs the Commission to consider specified criteria in
establishing salaries and benefits.
FISCAL EFFECT: Indeterminable, should this bill pass the Rules
Committee it will be referred to the Appropriations Committee
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for fiscal analysis.
COMMENTS: According to the author, "the legislature is
responsible for passing the laws that govern how Covered
California operates and as such, how Californian's will receive
their benefits within the parameters of the ACA. There is no
better way to understand how the Exchange is working than for
Legislators themselves to share in the same benefits program
that Californian's are required to participate in.
Additionally, this could lower health care costs for Legislators
depending on which plan they chose to enroll in, thereby saving
the state money in both real and administrative costs."
The annual salaries and medical, dental, insurance, and other
similar benefits of Members of the Legislature are determined by
the California Citizens Compensation Commission pursuant to
Article 3, Section 8 of the California Constitution.
Consequently, changing that authority would require a
constitutional amendment.
The bill would require the state to reimburse the Member for the
cost of coverage in an amount not to exceed the state employer's
contribution as of December 31, 2015. This provision is
problematic because it does not take into account future changes
to premiums or policy. This bill would lock-in contribution
rates as of December 31, 2015, regardless of premium increases.
Also, further clarification on the reimbursement may be
necessary; it is not clear how the reimbursement process would
impact administrating entities.
Opposition: According to Health Access California, "the
Legislature is a large employer with more than 50 employees:
employees of large employers are not eligible to participate in
Covered California unless their employer fails to offer them
coverage that is of at least 60% minimum value or that costs
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more than 9.5% of their income."
Prior legislation. AB 1246 (Nestande) failed passage in this
Committee in the 2013-2014 session year.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
None on file
Opposition
Health Access California
AFSCME California
Analysis Prepared by:Mukhtar Ali / RLS. / (916) 319-2800
AB 1109
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