BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    




                                                                  AB 857
                                                                  Page A
          Date of Hearing:   May 6, 2009

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Kevin De Leon, Chair

                   AB 857 (Galgiani) - As Amended:  April 14, 2009 

          Policy Committee:                              Labor and  
          Employment   Vote:                            6-1

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:   
          No     Reimbursable:              

           SUMMARY  

          This bill requires the Employment Development Department (EDD)  
          to provide in-person unemployment benefit assistance at all  
          state one-stop career centers. Specifically, the bill requires  
          that:

          1)Customer service personnel at one-stop centers be fully  
            trained regarding the policy, laws, and regulations governing  
            eligibility, claims processing, and procedures for the payment  
            of UI benefits.

          2)Printed information regarding eligibility and the process for  
            filing claims for unemployment compensation benefits be  
            available at the one-stop centers.
           
          FISCAL EFFECT
           
          1)EDD indicates it would require about 900 to 1,000 trained  
            staff to provide in-person UI benefit assistance at all state  
            one-stop career centers, resulting in annual costs of $75  
            million (UI Fund).

          2) Additional one time costs, potentially in the millions of  
            dollars, to provide training and space in one-stop centers to  
            accommodate added services.
           
          COMMENTS   

           1)Background  . Federal and state law provides for the payment of  
            unemployment compensation benefits to eligible unemployed  
            persons. The program is administered in California by the  









                                                                 AB 857
                                                                  Page B
            Employment Development Department (EDD). The California  
            Workforce Investment Act requires the California Workforce  
            Investment Board to develop, implement, and promote various  
            workforce development activities. These activities are  
            provided through a system of one-stop career centers, which  
            provide job outreach, job search and placement assistance, and  
            other related services through a single location.

           2)Purpose  . The bill is intended to improve access to  
            California's unemployment insurance benefits. The author cites  
            the problems that EDD's call centers have had in handling the  
            volume of applications through its call centers, and asserts  
            that one way to improve access is to require that the workers  
            in the one-stop centers have the training and direction to  
            provide assistance to persons seeking unemployment benefits.


           3)Issues  . Given the high costs of this bill, would a more  
            cost-efficient way of improving access be to expand the  
            capacity of the call centers?

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Brad Williams / APPR. / (916) 319-2081