BILL NUMBER: AB 384 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE SEPTEMBER 4, 2007
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 5, 2007
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 29, 2007
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 19, 2007
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 19, 2007
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Portantino and Galgiani
(Principal coauthors: Assembly Members Garcia and Leno)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Adams, Arambula, Beall, Benoit,
Berryhill, Caballero, Carter, Cook, Davis, DeSaulnier, DeVore,
Emmerson, Hernandez, Horton, Huffman, Jeffries, Karnette, Krekorian,
Lieu, Ma, Mendoza, Mullin, Nava, Sharon?Runner, Ruskin, Salas, Silva,
Smyth, Solorio, Soto, Strickland, Swanson, Torrico, Walters, and
Wolk)
(Coauthors: Senators Alquist, Corbett, Denham, Maldonado,
Negrete?McLeod, Torlakson, Wiggins, Wyland, and Yee)
FEBRUARY 15, 2007
An act to amend Section 68120 of the Education Code, and
to amend Section 22820 of the Government Code, relating to
firefighters, and making an appropriation therefor.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 384, as amended, Portantino. Firefighters.
(1) Existing law requires the Regents of the University of
California, the Board of Directors of the Hastings College of the
Law, and the Trustees of the California State University to excuse
the mandatory systemwide tuition and fees of any surviving spouse or
surviving child, natural or adopted, of a deceased person who was a
resident of the state, who was employed by a public agency, who was a
contractor, or who was an employee of a contractor, as defined,
whose principal duties consisted of active law enforcement service or
active fire suppression and prevention, and who was killed in the
performance of those duties.
Under existing law, a surviving stepchild living or domiciled with
the deceased person at the time of his or her death, and who was
claimed on the tax form most recently filed by the deceased person,
or who received 50% or more of his or her support from that deceased
person in the tax year immediately preceding his or her death, also
qualifies for the waiver of mandatory systemwide tuition and fees.
This provision is applicable to the Regents of the University of
California only if the regents, by resolution, make it applicable.
This bill would enact the California Fallen Federal Firefighter
Survivor Assistance Act of 2007, which would excuse the mandatory
systemwide tuition and fees of any surviving spouse, as defined, or
surviving child or stepchild of a deceased firefighter employed by
the federal government who was a resident of, and whose regular duty
assignment was to perform firefighting services in, this state, upon
specified circumstances. The bill would provide that those benefits
shall supplement, and not supplant, specified federal benefits, as
described, and would make a survivor ineligible for the mandatory
tuition and fee waiver if provision of those benefits would result in
the reduction or elimination of the above-described federal
benefits.
(2) The
The Public Employees' Medical and Hospital Care Act
provides continuing health benefit coverage to the surviving spouse,
as defined, or eligible family member of a firefighter or peace
officer who dies as a result of an injury or disease sustained in the
line of duty. Contributions paid by those persons and the state are
deposited into one of 2 continuously appropriated funds to provide
that coverage.
This bill would enact the California Fallen Federal
Firefighter Survivor Assistance Act of 2007, which would extend
that health benefit coverage to the surviving spouse, as defined, or
eligible family member of a firefighter employed by the federal
government who was a resident of, and whose regular duty assignment
was to perform firefighting services in, this state, and who dies as
a result of an injury or disease sustained in the line of duty. By
extending that coverage to those survivors, the bill would increase
the contributions to continuously appropriated funds, thereby making
an appropriation.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the
California Fallen Federal Firefighter Survivor Assistance Act of
2007.
SEC. 2. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Five of the state's finest and bravest gave their lives in the
line of duty last fall battling to protect a home in the midst of
the blistering Esperanza Fire near Cabazon in Riverside County.
(b) Captain Mark Loutzenhiser and Engine Operators Jess McLean,
Jason McKay, Daniel Hoover-Najera, and Pablo Cerda died after their
engine was burned over while battling the wind-whipped fire, which
grew to more than 24,000 acres in just 24 hours.
(c) Of the five fallen firefighters, both Captain Loutzenhiser and
Engine Operator McLean were career civilian federal firefighters who
resided in California, served on Engine 57 at the San Jacinto Ranger
Station in Idyllwild, and left behind surviving family members.
(d) When a firefighter makes the ultimate sacrifice for the public'
s safety, his or her family also makes a huge sacrifice in the lost
years of love and support. A fallen firefighter's family is also left
behind with a multitude of uncertainties that accompany their grief
and sorrow.
(e) When a firefighter is killed in the line of duty, he or she
not only leaves behind a family who must suffer the loss of a loved
one, but also a family that may be faced with a severe financial
squeeze. This financial loss can take a terrible toll on the
surviving family's pocketbook and ultimately makes the cost of
providing for postsecondary education and
acquiring adequate health insurance virtually impossible.
(f) The existing state-funded program to assist uninsured spouses
and children of fallen firefighters and police officers in purchasing
medical and dental benefits was intended to apply to any surviving
uninsured spouse or child of a fallen California firefighter.
(g) It is the intent of the Legislature to clarify that Section
22820 of the Government Code applies to those survivors of California
federal firefighters killed in the line of duty.
(h) The existing public postsecondary educational fee waivers
extended to a survivor of a fallen firefighter ultimately assist
survivors in reestablishing their lives in the face of tremendous
sacrifice and loss.
(i) Section 68120 of the Education Code was intended to apply to
any surviving child or spouse of a California firefighter killed in
the line of duty. Since the fee waivers' enactment, colleges and
universities have administered Section 68120 in a manner that
excludes surviving spouses and children of fallen federal
firefighters who were residents of, and provided services within,
this state.
(j) It is the intent of the Legislature to clarify that Section
68120 of the Education Code applies to those survivors of California
federal firefighters killed in the line of duty.
SEC. 3. Section 68120 of the Education Code is
amended to read:
68120. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no
mandatory systemwide fees or tuition of any kind shall be required
of, or collected by, the Regents of the University of California, the
Board of Directors of the Hastings College of the Law, or the
Trustees of the California State University from any surviving spouse
or surviving child of a deceased person who met all of the following
requirements:
(1) He or she was a resident of this state.
(2) He or she was employed by a public agency, or was a
contractor, or an employee of a contractor, performing services for a
public agency, or was a firefighter employed by the federal
government whose regular duty assignment was to perform firefighting
services in this state.
(3) His or her principal duties consisted of active law
enforcement service or active fire suppression and prevention. This
section shall not apply to a person whose principal duties were
clerical, even if he or she was subject to occasional call or was
occasionally called upon to perform duties within the scope of active
law enforcement or active fire suppression and prevention.
(4) He or she was killed in the performance of active law
enforcement or active fire suppression and prevention duties, or died
as a result of an accident or an injury caused by external violence
or physical force, incurred in the performance of his or her active
law enforcement or active fire suppression and prevention duties.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a person who qualifies for
the waiver of mandatory systemwide fees and tuition under this
section as a surviving child of a contractor, or of an employee of a
contractor, who performed services for a public agency shall, in
addition to the requirements set forth in subdivision (a), meet both
of the following requirements:
(1) Enrollment as an undergraduate student at a campus of the
University of California or the California State University.
(2) Documentation that his or her annual income, including the
value of any support received from a parent, does not exceed the
maximum household income and asset level for an applicant for a Cal
Grant B award, as set forth in Section 69432.7.
(c) (1) Pursuant to subdivision (a), any benefits provided to an
eligible survivor of a deceased federal firefighter, as described in
paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), shall supplement, and not supplant,
any benefits provided to that survivor by a federal educational
assistance program that has been established for the purpose of
providing benefits to survivors of public safety officers.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a survivor described in
paragraph (1) shall not be eligible for the mandatory fee and tuition
waiver provided under this act if the provision of those benefits
would result in the reduction or elimination of a benefit provided by
a federal program described in paragraph (1).
(d) As used in this section:
(1) "Contractor" or "employee of a contractor" does not include a
security guard or security officer, as defined in Section 7582.1 of
the Business and Professions Code.
(2) "Public agency" means the state or any city, city and county,
county, district, or other local authority or public body of, or
within, the state.
(3) "Spouse" has the same meaning as defined in Section 22171.
(4) "Surviving child" means either of the following:
(A) A surviving natural or adopted child of the deceased person.
(B) A surviving stepchild who meets both of the following
requirements:
(i) He or she was living or domiciled with the deceased person at
the time of his or her death.
(ii) He or she was claimed on the tax form most recently filed by
the deceased person prior to that person's death, or he or she
received 50 percent or more of his or her support from that deceased
person in the tax year immediately preceding the death of the
deceased person, or both.
SEC. 4. SEC. 3 Section 22820 of the
Government Code is amended to read:
22820. (a) Upon the death, on or after January 1, 2002, of a
firefighter employed by a county, city, city and county, district, or
other political subdivision of the state, a firefighter employed by
the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, a firefighter
employed by the federal government who was a resident of this state
and whose regular duty assignment was to perform firefighting
services within this state, or a peace officer as defined in Section
830.1, 830.2, 830.3, 830.31, 830.32, 830.33, 830.34, 830.35, 830.36,
830.37, 830.38, 830.39, 830.4, 830.5, 830.55, or 830.6 of the Penal
Code, if the death occurred as a result of injury or disease arising
out of and in the course of his or her official duties, the surviving
spouse or other eligible family member of the deceased firefighter
or peace officer, if uninsured, is deemed to be an annuitant under
Section 22760 for purposes of enrollment. All eligible family members
of the deceased firefighter or peace officer who are uninsured may
enroll in a health benefit plan of the surviving spouse's choice.
However, an unmarried child of the surviving spouse is not eligible
to enroll in a health benefit plan under this section if the child
was not a family member under Section 22775 and regulations pertinent
thereto prior to the firefighter's or peace officer's date of death.
The employer of the deceased firefighter or peace officer shall
notify the board within 10 days of the death of the employee if a
spouse or family member may be eligible for enrollment in a health
benefit plan under this section.
(b) Upon notification, the board shall promptly determine
eligibility and shall forward to the eligible spouse or family member
the materials necessary for enrollment. In the event of a dispute
regarding whether a firefighter's or peace officer's death occurred
as a result of injury or disease arising out of and in the course of
his or her official duties as required under subdivision (a), that
dispute shall be determined by the Workers' Compensation Appeals
Board, subject to the same procedures and standards applicable to
hearings relating to claims for workers' compensation benefits. The
jurisdiction of the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board under this
section is limited to the sole issue of industrial causation and this
section does not authorize the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board
to award costs against the system.
(c) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, and except as
otherwise provided in subdivision (d), the state shall pay the
employer contribution required for enrollment under this part for the
uninsured surviving spouse of a deceased firefighter or peace
officer for life, and the other uninsured eligible family members of
a deceased firefighter or peace officer, provided the family member
meets the eligibility requirements of Section 22775 and regulations
pertinent thereto.
(2) The contribution payable by the state for each uninsured
surviving spouse and other uninsured eligible family members shall be
adjusted annually and be equal to the amount specified in Section
22871.
(3) The state's contribution under this section shall commence on
the effective date of enrollment of the uninsured surviving spouse or
other uninsured eligible family members. The contribution of each
surviving spouse and eligible family member shall be the total cost
per month of the benefit coverage afforded him or her under the plan
less the portion contributed by the state pursuant to this section.
(d) The cancellation of coverage by an annuitant, as defined in
this section, shall be final without option to reenroll, unless
coverage is canceled because of enrollment in an insurance plan from
another source.
(e) For purposes of this section, "surviving spouse" means a
husband or wife who was married to the deceased firefighter or peace
officer on the deceased's date of death and either for a continuous
period of at least one year prior to the date of death or prior to
the date the deceased firefighter or peace officer sustained the
injury or disease resulting in death.
(f) For purposes of this section, "uninsured" means that the
surviving spouse is not enrolled in an employer-sponsored health plan
under which the employer contribution covers 100 percent of the cost
of health care premiums.
(g) The board has no duty to identify, locate, or notify any
surviving spouse or eligible family member who may be or may become
eligible for benefits under this section.
SEC. 5. SEC. 4. It is the intent of
the Legislature that this act be construed as declaratory of existing
law.