BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1426
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1426 (Solorio)
As Amended September 1, 2011
2/3 vote. Urgency
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|ASSEMBLY: | |(May 12, 2011) |SENATE: |34-0 |(September 9, |
| | | | | |2011) |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
(vote not relevant)
Original Committee Reference: INS.
SUMMARY : Eliminates the appointed position of Court
Administrator (CA) within the Division of Workers' Compensation
(DWC), and reassigns the CA's duties to the Workers'
Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) or Administrative Director
(AD) of the DWC, as appropriate.
The Senate amendments delete the Assembly version of the bill,
and instead:
1)Abolish the position of CA and delegate the duties of the
position to the AD and WCAB, as follows:
a) Delegate the WCAB district office procedures and rules
from the CA to the WCAB;
b) Require the WCAB to establish uniform WCAB district
office procedures and forms;
c) Require the AD to establish a priority calendar for
issues requiring an expedited hearing and decision; and,
d) Require the AD to establish a priority conference
calendar for issues where an employee has an attorney and
the dispute is on the nature of the injury.
2)Make technical changes conforming existing law to the removal
of the position of CA and provide that any regulations created
by the CA remain in effect unless repealed by either the AD or
the WCAB.
3)Contain findings and declarations on how the court
administrator has failed to achieve its intended goals and
AB 1426
Page 2
inhibits the functioning of the Division of Workers'
Compensation.
4)Provide 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.
EXISTING LAW :
1)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.
2)Creates the DWC within the Department of Industrial Relations
(DIR), 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 AD and includes
the WCAB, which is charged with all judicial power functions.
3)Creates the position of Court Administrator, a gubernatorial
appointment with a 5-year term, within the DWC. The CA is
primarily concerned with, among other things, furthering the
uniformity and expedition of proceedings before workers'
compensation administrative law judges, and assures that
workers' compensation administrative law judges are qualified
and adhere to law and regulation.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill made minor, technical
corrections to several provisions of the Insurance Code.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Department of Finance, Special
Fund savings of approximately $300,000 due to the elimination of
the CA position.
COMMENTS : The CA position was created in 2002 by AB 749
(Calderon), Chapter 6, Statutes 2002, which was a wide-ranging
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 CA was
one of the cost-saving elements. At the time, there was an
AB 1426
Page 3
expectation that creating an independent, appointed position
within the DWC, independent of the AD and WCAB, could yield
efficiencies by ensuring uniformity among the WCAB district
offices and focusing on certain judicial functions.
Unfortunately, according to the DIR, the position of the CA 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 Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, 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, the DIR reports that the creation of the CA has
exacerbated, rather than alleviated, the problems that the CA
was created to solve.
Analysis Prepared by : Mark Rakich / INS. / (916) 319-2086
FN: 0002880