BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2151
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 2151 (Torres)
As Amended August 20, 2010
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |72-0 |(May 20, 2010) |SENATE: |31-0 |(August 24, 2010) |
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|COMMITTEE VOTE: |11-0 |(August 26, 2010) |RECOMMENDATION: |concur |
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Original Committee Reference: INS.
SUMMARY : Provides an exemption from the duty to report automobile
accidents to a private insurer, and limits premium increases, if
the accident occurs while a public safety officer is driving his or
her personal vehicle at the request or direction of the employer,
in the course of the officer's duties.
The Senate amendments :
1)Prohibit a private passenger automobile insurer from increasing
the premium on a public safety officer's insurance policy if the
accident occurred while the vehicle was being driven at the
request or direction of the employer.
2)Specify that the private passenger automobile insurer does not
have a duty to defend if the accident occurred while the vehicle
was being driven at the request or direction of the employer.
3)Specify that the employer shall assume responsibility for a claim
if there is a dispute about whether the public safety officer was
driving the private passenger vehicle at the request or direction
of the employer, but allows recovery from the insurer if it is
later determined that the employer did not direct or request the
officer to use the vehicle.
4)Provide that an insurer cannot penalize the public safety officer
for a late report of the accident if the late report was due to a
AB 2151
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dispute over whether the employer requested or directed use of
the private vehicle.
5)Clarify that the rules protecting public safety officers when
they are driving their employer's vehicles apply if the
employer's vehicles are leased.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill provided an exemption for
public safety officers to report accidents to their private
passenger automobile insurers in cases where the employer requested
or directed the officer to use his or her own vehicle.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee,
the Senate amendments pose potentially major costs to state and
local governments depending on the number of accidents that occur
that are covered by the bill, and depending on the severity (such
as a freeway pile-up) of the accidents.
COMMENTS : While the Senate amendments have added a substantial new
content to the bill, all of the amendments are germane to the
primary thrust of the bill as passed by the Assembly -protecting
public safety employees if the public employer directs or requests
use of the officer's personal vehicles on the job.
Analysis Prepared by : Mark Rakich / INS. / (916) 319-2086
FN: 0006788