BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1696
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1696 (Bill Berryhill)
As Amended May 11, 2010
Majority vote.
INSURANCE 11-0
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|Ayes:|Solorio, Blakeslee, | | |
| |Anderson, Caballero, | | |
| |Charles Calderon, Carter, | | |
| |Feuer, Hagman, Hayashi, | | |
| |Salas, Torres | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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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 :
1)Extends the payment of death benefits under the workers'
compensation system 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 any of the following public
safety officers killed in the performance of duty:
a) An active member of a sheriff's office;
b) An active member of a police or fire department of a city,
county, or other public or municipal corporation;
c) An individual who is primarily engaged in active law
enforcement activities and who has the power of arrest or the
power to serve warrants or to maintain the custody of prisoners
or inmates of county jails;
d) An active firefighting member of the Department of Forestry
and Fire Protection; and,
e) An active member of any county forestry or firefighting
department or unit.
1)Provides that the bill does not apply to a child of a person whose
principal duties are office work and do not clearly fall within
AB 1696
Page 2
the scope of active law enforcement or active firefighting
services.
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.
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. At the hearing of the Assembly
Insurance Committee on May 5, 2010, testimony was received that this
bill affects relatively few families.
COMMENTS :
1)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)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.
AB 1696
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3)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 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)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.
Analysis Prepared by : Manny Hernandez / INS. / (916) 319-2086
FN: 0004291