BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1696
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 5, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON INSURANCE
Jose Solorio, Chair
AB 1696 (Bill Berryhill) - As Amended: April 6, 2010
SUBJECT : Workers' compensation: death benefits to dependent
children
SUMMARY : Extends workers' compensation death benefits until
the youngest child reaches age 19 if the parent served in a
specified public position and was killed on duty. Specifically,
this bill provides that notwithstanding existing law, the
payment of death benefits shall continue until the youngest
child attains 19 years of age if the child is still attending
high school and is receiving the death benefits as a child of
one of the following persons who was killed in the performance
of duty:
a) a member of a sheriff's office,
b) member of a police or fire department of a city, county,
or other public or municipal corporation,
c) a peace officer,
d) an individual who is not a peace officer but has the
power of arrest or the power to serve warrants or to
maintain the custody of prisoners or inmates of county
jails,
e) an active firefighting member of the Department of
Forestry and Fire Protection, or
f) a member of any county forestry or firefighting
department or unit.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides that in the case of one or more totally dependent
minor children, the death benefits under workers' compensation
shall continue until the youngest child attains the age of 18,
or until the death of a child physically or mentally
incapacitated from earning.
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2)Specifies that in this instance, the death benefits shall be
paid in the same manner and amount as temporary total
disability indemnity would have been paid to the deceased
parent. The minimum payment of this benefit is $224 per week.
FISCAL EFFECT : Undetermined.
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose . The purpose of this bill is to extend workers'
compensation benefits payable to the totally dependent minor
children of a deceased firefighter or law enforcement officer
until the youngest child reaches 19 years of age, provided he
or she is still attending high school.
2)Background . Existing law provides for the payment of workers'
compensation death benefits to the families of deceased
workers. Monthly death benefits are paid until the youngest
dependent child reaches the age of 18.
The author states that in 2005, Sgt. Howie Stevenson became the
first officer in the history of the Ceres Police Department to
die in the line of duty, leaving behind a wife and two
children. After his tragic death, Sgt. Stevenson's family
began receiving workers' compensation survivor benefits.
However, when the youngest child turned 18 years of age the
benefits ceased to be paid to the family, placing an immediate
and considerable burden on the household when the child still
lived at home and was attending high school. In that
instance, half of the family's income was eliminated.
3)Arguments in Support . The author states that this bill is
similar to provisions of federal law. The Social Security
Administration allows a dependent child receiving Social
Security benefits to do so until he or she reaches age 19,
graduates from high school, or ceases to attend high school on
a full-time basis.
The author and the California Professional Firefighters also
state that public safety officials put their lives on the line
everyday to protect the health and safety of Californians. In
the rare and tragic case of an officer's or firefighter's
death, the surviving family suffers considerable burdens that
state and local government can only begin to address. The
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California State Firefighters' Association states that this
bill is in keeping with the spirit and intent of existing law
to provide these families with as much assistance as possible
in their time of greatest need.
4)Arguments in Opposition . The CSAC Excess Insurance Authority
states that one provision of the bill goes too far. For
example, a child who is still attending high school at age 19
due to poor performance in prior years would be eligible for
additional benefits at the employer's expense. This authority
states that a fair compromise would be to provide death
benefits until the end of the school year during which the
dependent minor turns 18. Absent the inclusion of such an
amendment, this authority opposes the bill.
The California Coalition on Workers' Compensation (CCWC) opposes
an extension of death benefits past the point where children
legally become adults. Death benefits for minor children are
specifically designed to carry the last minor child of a
deceased employee into adulthood. There is no demonstrated
reason to expand the benefit only to the children of public
safety officers, and CCWC has not identified any factor that
makes children of public safety officers more deserving of
additional survivor benefits than the children of any other
deceased employee.
5)Scope of the bill . This bill is intended to cover active
firefighters' and peace officers' dependents who are receiving
death benefits. However, the qualifier "active" for
firefighters appears only once, and the language addressing
peace officers does not have limitations for clerical or other
employees that are not engaged in active law enforcement. The
author should consider clarifying the bill so that it applies
only to the active firefighters and peace officers to whom
these special workers' compensation benefits have historically
been provided.
6)Technical amendment . The bill contains the phrase
"notwithstanding subdivision (a)", apparently to make the
exception from the age limitation in subdivision (a).
However, there are other provisions of subdivision (a) that
ought to continue to apply, such as the "manner and amount"
that benefits are paid. Thus, it is suggested that the bill
be amended by adding the phrase "the age limitation in" after
the word "Notwithstanding" on page 2, line 14.
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Association of Highway Patrolmen (CAHP)
California Professional Firefighters
California State Firefighters' Association
CDF Firefighters Local 1281
Peace Officers Research Association of California
Opposition
California Coalition on Workers' Compensation
CSAC Excess Insurance Authority
Analysis Prepared by : Manny Hernandez / INS. / (916) 319-2086