BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1426|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1426
Author: Solorio (D)
Amended: 9/1/11 in Senate
Vote: 27 - Urgency
PRIOR VOTES NOT RELEVANT
SENATE LABOR & INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMM. : 7-0, 9/6/11
pursuant to 29.10
AYES: Lieu, Wyland, DeSaulnier, Leno, Padilla, Runner, Yee
SUBJECT : Workers compensation: court administrator
SOURCE : California Department of Industrial Relations
DIGEST : This bill removes the position of court
administrator and distributes the duties to the Workers
Compensation Appeals Board and the Administrative Director
of the Division of Workers Compensation, as specified. The
bill makes other technical and conforming changes.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/29/11 (1) strike the contents
of the bill which repeal an obsolete reporting requirement
by the Insurance commissioner regarding credit insurance
agents and instead abolishes the position of court
administrator in the Division of Workers' Compensation and
delegate those responsibilities to the administrative
director and Workers Compensation Appeals Board; (2) make
legislative findings and declarations on how the court
administrator has failed to achieve its intended goals and
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inhibits the functioning of the Division of Workers'
Compensation; and (3) change the author from the Assembly
Insurance Committee to Assembly Member Solorio.
ANALYSIS : Existing law establishes a workers'
compensation system that provides benefits to an employee
who suffers from an injury or illness that arises out of
and in the course of employment, irrespective of fault.
This system requires all employers to secure payment of
benefits by either securing the consent of the Department
of Industrial Relations (DIR) to self-insure or by securing
insurance against liability from an insurance company duly
authorized by the state.
Existing law creates the Division of Workers' Compensation
(DWC), which is charged with authority and jurisdiction
vested by law to ensure the appropriate functioning of the
Workers' Compensation system. The DWC is headed by the
administrative director and includes the Workers'
Compensation Appeals Board (WCWB), which is charged with
all judicial power functions.
Existing law creates the position of court administrator
with respect to the workers' compensation adjudicatory
process at the trial level. The court administrator is
appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of
the Senate and has specified powers and duties relating to
the workers' compensation trial process, including
supervision of administrative law judges and prescribing
certain forms and calendars.
This bill abolishes the position of court administrator and
delegates the duties of the position to the administrative
director of the Division of Workers' Compensation (DWC) and
the WCAB.
This bill:
1. Delegates the WCAB district office procedures and rules
from the court administrator to the WCAB.
2. Requires the WCAB to establish uniform WCAB district
office procedures and forms.
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3. Requires the administrative director establishes a
priority calendar for issues requiring an expedited
hearing and decision.
4. Requires the administrative director establishes a
priority conference calendar for issues where an
employee has an attorney and the dispute is on the
nature of the injury.
Currently, these duties are carried out by the court
administrator.
This bill also makes technical changes conforming existing
law to the removal of the position of court administrator
and provides that any regulations created by the court
administrator remain in effect unless repealed by either
the administrative director or the WCAB.
This bill also makes findings and declarations on how the
court administrator has failed to achieve its intended
goals and inhibits the functioning of the Division of
Workers' Compensation.
This bill also provides that this act is an urgency statute
necessary for the immediate preservation of the public
peace, health, or safety within the meaning of California
Constitution due to the absence of a court administrator
and the need to streamline the adjudicatory functions of
the workers' compensation system.
Comments
AB 749 (Calderon), Chapter 6, Statutes of 2002, created the
position of court administrator, which was wide-ranging and
far-reaching reform of the workers' compensation benefit
delivery system. The major thrust of the legislation was
to promote cost-saving efficiencies in the workers'
compensation system, and the idea of a court administrator
fits into this vein. At the time, there was an expectation
that creating an independent, appointed position within the
Division of Workers' Compensation, independent of the
administrative director and the WCAB, could yield
efficiencies by ensuring uniformity among the WCAB district
offices and focusing on certain judicial functions.
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Unfortunately, according to the DIR, the position of the
court administrator has not accomplished the hoped-for
efficiencies. Rather, DIR reports that the position of
court administrator has resulted "in blurred and
conflicting lines of authority and accountability and poor
coordination among the Court Administrator, the WCAB, and
the Administrative Director of the Division of Workers'
Compensation." DIR also notes that:
"There can be uncertainty over whether the rules of
the Appeals Board, the rules of the Administrative
Director, or the rules of the Court Administrator
govern any given situation. There is duplication of
authority and there are logical inconsistencies in
authority. The position adds undue complication to
the administration of the workers' compensation
system."
In short, DIR reports that the creation of the court
administrator has exacerbated, rather than alleviated, the
problems that the court administrator was created to solve.
Therefore, DIR has sponsored this bill to remove the
position of court administrator from the Division of
Workers' Compensation and return to the statutory framework
that existed in 2002. As this position is currently
unfilled, such a move now would allow the DWC to adjust
their operations without significant consequence, which may
not be the case later.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 9/7/11)
California Department of Industrial Relations (source)
Allied Managed Care
California Applicants' Attorneys Association
California Coalition on Workers' Compensation
Small Business California
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The sponsor of this bill, DIR
notes that the position of court administrator has failed
to achieve the goals the position was created to do -create
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and maintain consistency and uniformity in the practices
and policies of the district offices of the WCAB. DIR
further notes that the position has confused lines of
authority and undermined the efficient administration of
the workers' compensation system. Therefore, DIR has
sponsored this bill with the hope of abolishing the
position of court administrator and return to the pre-2002
statutory structure.
PQ:do 9/7/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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