BILL NUMBER: AB 2188	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 28, 2010
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 13, 2010

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Bradford
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Caballero, Carter, Salas, and
Solorio)

                        FEBRUARY 18, 2010

   An act to amend Section 3075 of, and to add  Sections
1326.5, 1326.6, and   Section  2702.5 to, the
Unemployment Insurance Code, relating to unemployment insurance.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2188, as amended, Bradford. Unemployment compensation:
disability benefits: electronic payment.
   Existing law authorizes the Employment Development Department to
administer  the state unemployment insurance and 
the disability compensation  programs   program
 . Existing law requires the department, among other duties,
 to make unemployment compensation payments as prescribed by
the Director of Employment Development, and  to make
disability benefit payments by checks drawn on a specified bank, as
provided.
   The bill would  authorize   remove the
requirement to pay by check and thus allow  the director to make
these payments using electronic technology, and if using a vendor to
provide electronic payments, prescribe criteria for a contract
between the department and the vendor. 
   This bill would require the State Auditor to prepare and submit a
report to specified legislative committees, as provided, evaluating
the implementation of these electronic payments. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
   
  SECTION 1.    Section 1326.5 is added to the
Unemployment Insurance Code, to read:
   1326.5.  Any contract entered into between the department and a
vendor for the electronic payment of benefits shall include the
following criteria:
   (a) Provide claimants a process to resolve disputes with the
vendor in a timely manner.
   (b) Require that claimants have free and unlimited access to
customer service that meets or exceeds the services provided by the
department prior to the implementation of electronic payment of
benefits.
   (c) Prohibit the assessment of any fees to a claimant for
accessing the electronic payment of benefits under all of the
following circumstances:
   (1) A transaction with a teller at any bank, credit union, or
other similar financial institution.
   (2) A point of sale transaction where an electronic benefit card
is utilized to purchase goods or services.
   (3) A transaction at any automatic teller machine in the vendor's
financial network.
   (d) Allow for inquiries on account balances from automatic teller
machines.
   (e) Charge no fees wherever the vendor can exercise that option.
   (f) Require the vendor to meet or exceed all federal and state
laws for financial privacy and language access requirements.
   (g) Meet the requirements set forth in Section 19130 of the
Government Code.
   (h) Create a procedure to prevent overdraft fees.
   (i) Prohibit the deduction of any fees, charges, or debt from
future unemployment benefits.  
  SEC. 2.    Section 1326.6 is added to the
Unemployment Insurance Code, to read:
   1326.6.  The State Auditor shall complete an evaluation of the
implementation of electronic payment of unemployment insurance and
disability insurance benefits and report to the Joint Legislative
Budget Committee, the Assembly Insurance Committee, and the Senate
Labor and Industrial Relations Committee within 18 months of the
implementation of Section 1326.5. The requirement for submitting a
report is inoperative four years after the State Auditor submits the
report to those legislative committees, and as of that date is
repealed. 
   SEC. 3.   SECTION 1.   Section 2702.5 is
added to the Unemployment Insurance Code, to read:
   2702.5.  Any contract entered into between the department and a
vendor for the electronic payment of disability benefits shall
include the following criteria:
   (a) Provide claimants a process to resolve disputes with the
vendor in a timely manner.
   (b) Require that claimants have free and unlimited access to
customer service that meets or exceeds the services provided by the
department prior to the implementation of electronic payment of
disability benefits.
   (c) Prohibit the assessment of any fees to a claimant for
accessing the electronic payment of disability benefits under all of
the following circumstances:
   (1) A transaction with a teller at any bank, credit union, or
other similar financial institution.
   (2) A point of sale transaction where an electronic benefit card
is utilized to purchase goods or services.
   (3) A transaction at any automatic teller machine in the vendor's
financial network.
   (d) Allow for inquiries on account balances from automatic teller
machines.
   (e) Charge no fees wherever the vendor can exercise that option.
   (f) Require the vendor to meet or exceed all federal and state
laws for financial privacy and language access requirements.
   (g) Meet the requirements set forth in Section 19130 of the
Government Code.
   (h) Create a procedure to prevent overdraft fees.
   (i) Prohibit the deduction of any fees, charges, or debt from
future disability benefits.
   SEC. 4.   SEC. 2.   Section 3075 of the
Unemployment Insurance Code is amended to read:
   3075.  The director shall, without presenting vouchers and
itemized statements, withdraw from the Disability Fund any sums that
he or she deems necessary for the payment of disability benefits for
a reasonable future period. The Controller shall draw his or her
warrant for any claim presented by the director for the payment and
the Treasurer shall pay the warrant. Upon the withdrawal thereof,
those sums shall be deposited in a disability benefit payment account
in such bank or public depositary and under those conditions as the
director determines, with the approval of the Department of Finance.
The bank or public depositary shall be one in which general funds of
the state may be deposited, but no public deposit insurance charge or
premium shall be paid out of that account. Money in this account
shall be used solely to pay disability benefits by the department
pursuant to authorized regulations and no other disbursement shall be
made from that account, except that amounts erroneously and
illegally deposited in that account may be refunded. The procedure
prescribed by those regulations shall satisfy and be in lieu of any
and all statutory requirements of specific appropriation or other
form of release by state officers of money in their custody prior to
expenditure that might otherwise be applicable to withdrawals from
that account.