BILL NUMBER: AB 1565 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 10, 2008
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 10, 2007
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Lieber
FEBRUARY 23, 2007
An act to to repeal and add Section 4062.2 of the Labor
Code, relating to workers' compensation. An act to
amend Section 676.10 of the Insurance C ode, relating to
insurance policies.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1565, as amended, Lieber. Workers' compensation:
medical evaluations. Insurance policies: nonprofit
organizations.
Under existing law, an insurer that issues policies to certain
nonprofit organizations is prohibited from canceling or refusing to
renew the policy, or from imposing an excessive or discriminatory
premium solely on the basis that one or more claims has been made
against the policy for a loss that is the result of a hate crime or
antireproductive-rights crime, as defined.
This bill would add a crime against a place of religious
observance or practice, as defined, to those crimes. It would also
redefine the term "hate crime" for these purposes.
Existing law establishes a workers' compensation system,
administered by the Administrative Director of the Division of
Workers' Compensation, to compensate an employee for injuries
sustained in the course of his or her employment. Existing law
provides that whenever a comprehensive medical evaluation is required
to resolve any dispute arising out of an injury or a claimed injury
occurring on or after January 1, 2005, and the employee is
represented by an attorney, the evaluation shall be obtained only in
accordance with prescribed requirements for the conduct of the
evaluation. Existing law authorizes either of the parties to a
dispute arising out of an injury or a claimed injury, if no agreement
is reached regarding the selection of a physician to be a qualified
medical evaluator to conduct a comprehensive medical evaluation, to
request assignment of a 3-member panel of qualified medical
evaluators. Existing law provides that if the parties have not agreed
on a medical evaluator from the panel by the 10th day after
assignment of the panel, each party may then strike one name from the
panel, and the remaining qualified medical evaluator shall serve as
the medical evaluator. Existing law further specifies that if a party
fails to exercise the right to strike a name from the panel within 3
working days of gaining the right to do so, the other party may
select any physician who remains on the panel to serve as the medical
evaluator.
This bill would authorize, if a party fails to exercise the right
to strike a name from the panel within 3 working days of gaining the
right to do so, the other party, in addition to selecting any
physician who remains on the panel to serve as the medical evaluator,
to also obtain a medical evaluation in a manner agreed upon by the
parties.
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 676.10 of the
Insurance Code is amended to read:
676.10. (a) This section applies to policies covered by Section
675, 675.5, or 676.5 if the insured is a religious organization
described in clause (i) of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of
subsection (b) of Section 170 of Title 26 of the United States Code,
an educational organization described in clause (ii) of subparagraph
(A) of paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of Section 170 of Title 26 of
the United States Code, or other nonprofit organization described in
clause (vi) of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of
Section 170 of Title 26 of the United States Code that is organized
and operated for religious, charitable, or educational purposes, or a
reproductive health services facility, as defined in subdivision (h)
of Section 423.1 of the Penal Code, or its administrative offices.
(b) No insurer issuing policies subject to this section shall
cancel or refuse to renew the policy, nor shall any premium be
excessive or unfairly discriminatory solely on the basis that one or
more claims has been made against the policy during the preceding 60
months for a loss that is has been determined
by a law enforcement agency to be the result of a hate
crime committed against the person or property of the insured, or an
anti-reproductive-rights crime. any of the following:
(c) As it relates to this section, if determined by a law
enforcement agency, a "hate crime" may include any of the following:
(1) By force or threat of force, willfully injure, intimidate,
interfere with, oppress, or threaten any other person in the free
exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him or her
by the Constitution or laws of this state or by the Constitution or
laws of the United States because of the other person's race, color,
religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, gender, or sexual
orientation, or because he or she perceives that the other person has
one or more of those characteristics. However, the foregoing offense
does not include speech alone, except upon a showing that the speech
itself threatened violence against a specific person or group of
persons and that the defendant had the apparent ability to carry out
the threat.
(2) Knowingly deface, damage, or destroy the real or personal
property of any other person for the purpose of intimidating or
interfering with the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or
privilege secured to the other person by the Constitution or laws of
this state or by the Constitution or laws of the United States,
because of the other person's race, color, religion, ancestry,
national origin, disability, gender, or sexual orientation, or
because he or she perceives that the other person has one or more of
those characteristics.
(d) As it relates to this section, if determined by a law
enforcement agency, "anti-reproductive-rights crime" shall have the
meaning set forth in subdivision (a) of Section 13776 of the Penal
Code, and shall also include a violation of subdivision (e) of
Section 423.2 of the Penal Code, if the crime results in a covered
loss under a policy subject to this section.
(e)
(1) A hate crime, as defined in Section 422.55 of the Penal Code,
committed against the person or property of the insured.
(2) An antireproductive-rights crime, as defined in Section 13776
of the Penal Code, or a violation of subdivision (e) of Section 423.2
of the Penal Code, if the crime results in a covered loss under a
policy subject to this section.
(3) A crime against a place of religious observance or practice,
defined as either of the following:
(A) A church, gurdwara, mandir, mosque, synagogue, temple, or
other place of religious observance or practice that is owned or
lawfully controlled by a religious group or entity, or member of a
religious group or entity, that meets for religious purposes at that
place.
(B) A place primarily used as a place of religious observance or
practice where religious observances or practices are regularly
conducted with the express consent of the person or entity that owns
or lawfully controls the place.
(c) As used in subdivision (b), "religious" is the adjectival form
of "religion," as used in Section 422.56 of the Penal Code.
(d) Upon cancellation of or refusal to renew a policy
subject to this section after an insured has submitted a claim to the
insurer that is the result of a hate crime committed
against the person or property of the insured, or an
anti-reproductive-rights crime crime described in
subdivision (b) , the insurer shall report the cancellation or
nonrenewal to the commissioner.
(f)
(e) A violation of this section shall be an unfair
practice subject to Article 6.5 (commencing with Section 790) of
Chapter 1 of Division 2.
(g)
(f) Nothing in this section shall prevent an insurer
subject to this section from taking any of the actions set forth in
subdivision (b) on the basis of criteria not otherwise made invalid
by this section or any other act, regulation, or law.
SECTION 1. Section 4062.2 of the Labor Code is
repealed.
SEC. 2. Section 4062.2 is added to the Labor Code, to read:
4062.2. (a) Whenever a comprehensive medical evaluation is
required to resolve any dispute arising out of an injury or a claimed
injury occurring on or after January 1, 2005, and the employee is
represented by an attorney, the evaluation shall be obtained only as
provided in this section.
(b) If either party requests a medical evaluation pursuant to
Section 4060, 4061, or 4062, either party may commence the selection
process for an agreed medical evaluator by making a written request
naming at least one proposed physician to be the evaluator. The
parties shall seek agreement with the other party on the physician,
who need not be a qualified medical evaluator, to prepare a report
resolving the disputed issue. If no agreement is reached within 10
days of the first written proposal that names a proposed agreed
medical evaluator, or any additional time not to exceed 20 days
agreed to by the parties, either party may request the assignment of
a three-member panel of qualified medical evaluators to conduct a
comprehensive medical evaluation. The party submitting the request
shall designate the specialty of the medical evaluator, the specialty
of the medical evaluator requested by the other party if it has been
made known to the party submitting the request, and the specialty of
the treating physician. The party submitting the request form shall
serve a copy of the request form on the other party.
(c) Within 10 days of assignment of the panel by the
administrative director, the parties shall confer and attempt to
agree upon an agreed medical evaluator selected from the panel. If
the parties have not agreed on a medical evaluator from the panel by
the 10th day after assignment of the panel, each party may then
strike one name from the panel. The remaining qualified medical
evaluator shall serve as the medical evaluator. If a party fails to
exercise the right to strike a name from the panel within three
working days of gaining the right to do so, the other party may
select any physician who remains on the panel to serve as the medical
evaluator, or a medical evaluation may be obtained in a manner
agreed upon by the parties. The administrative director may prescribe
the form, the manner, or both, by which the parties shall conduct
the selection process.
(d) The represented employee shall be responsible for arranging
the appointment for the examination, but upon his or her failure to
inform the employer of the appointment within 10 days after the
medical evaluator has been selected, the employer may arrange the
appointment and notify the employee of the arrangements.
(e) If an employee has received a comprehensive medical-legal
evaluation under this section, and he or she later ceases to be
represented, he or she shall not be entitled to an additional
evaluation.