BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1551|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1551
Author: Torres (D), et al.
Amended: 7/5/12 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE INSURANCE COMMITTEE : 9-0, 6/28/12
AYES: Calderon, Gaines, Anderson, Corbett, Correa, Lieu,
Lowenthal, Price, Wyland
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 8/16/12
AYES: Kehoe, Walters, Alquist, Dutton, Lieu, Price,
Steinberg
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 69-3, 5/31/12 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Insurance: public safety employees
SOURCE : California Professional Firefighters
DIGEST : This bill prohibits an insurer from increasing
auto insurance premiums for a peace officer, member of the
California Highway Patrol (CHP) or firefighter if that
individual was involved in an accident while operating
his/her private motor vehicle while in the performance of
his/her duty, and provides that the employer will assume
all liability that results from such an accident.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
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1. Provides that no insurer shall, in issuing or renewing a
private automobile insurance policy to a peace officer,
member of the CHP, or firefighter, with respect to
his/her operation of a private motor vehicle, increase
the premium on that policy for the reason that the
insured or applicant for insurance has been involved in
an accident while operating an authorized emergency
vehicle, as defined, in the performance of his/her duty
during the hours of his/her employment;
2. Provides that a peace officer, member of the CHP, or
firefighter shall not be required to report any accident
in which he/she is involved while operating any
employer-leased or employer-rented vehicle, in the
performance of his/her duty during the hours of his/her
employment, to any person who has issued that peace
officer, member of the CHP, or firefighter a private
automobile insurance policy.
This bill:
1. Expands the exemption from mandatory reporting of
traffic accidents to a private insurer for public safety
professionals when accidents occur while using a
personal vehicle at the direction of an employer.
2. Prohibits insurers from increasing auto insurance
premiums for public safety professionals when accidents
occur when using a personal vehicle at the direction of
an employer.
3. Provides that if an accident and loss occurs while a
public safety professional is operating a personal
vehicle at the direction of an employer, the employer
will be considered the owner of the vehicle for the
purpose of any liability and defense of claim, and
requires any losses to be borne solely by the employer.
4. Provides that the employer shall assume liability for
and defense of a claim in which a dispute exists as to
whether the employer directed or requested the employee
to use the private passenger motor vehicle when the loss
occurred.
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5. Excludes the time period during which a public safety
professional is commuting to and from a regularly
assigned work location.
Existing law protects peace officers, members of the CHP,
and firefighters who are involved in vehicular accidents,
while on the job. These public safety personnel are not
required to report accidents in which they are involved
while on the job to their private automobile insurance
carriers, nor are their private automobile insurance
carriers allowed to increase their rates, or refuse to
renew their policies, as a result of an on-the-job
accident. However, existing law limits this protection to
situations in which the peace officer, member of the CHP,
or firefighter is operating an authorized emergency vehicle
or an employer-leased or employer-rented vehicle at the
direction of his/her employer. The operation of a private
vehicle at the direction of his/her employer is not
protected.
1. Department of Insurance (CDI) regulations . According to
regulations adopted by CDI, a driver may not be
determined to be principally at fault in an accident if
the "driver was responding to a call of duty as a paid
or volunteer member of any police or fire department,
first aid squad, or of any law enforcement agency, while
performing any other governmental function in a public
emergency." (10 California Code of Regulations Section
2632.13)
2. Preexisting reimbursement for insurance costs . Public
employees using their personal vehicles for work
purposes are commonly provided reimbursement based on
the number of miles driven. The standard business rate
of reimbursement per mile is established each year by
the Internal Revenue Service. The current reimbursement
rate is $0.555 per mile. This rate includes items such
as depreciation or lease payments, maintenance and
repairs, tires, gasoline (including taxes), oil,
insurance, and license and registration fees when
calculating the reimbursement rate.
3. Related statutory protections already in place
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A. Government Code (GOV) Section 820.2 for injuries
resulting from an act or omission where the act or
omission was the result of the exercise of the
discretion vested in employee, whether or not such
discretion be abused.
B. GOV Section 820.4 . A public employee is not
liable for his act or omission, exercising due care,
in the execution or enforcement of any law.
C. GOV Section 821.4 . A public employee is not
liable for injury caused by his failure to make an
inspection, or by reason of making an inadequate or
negligent inspection, of any property, other than the
property of the public entity employing the public
employee, for the purpose of determining whether the
property complies with or violates any enactment or
contains or constitutes a hazard to health or safety.
D. GOV Section 822.2 . A public employee acting in
the scope of his employment is not liable for an
injury caused by his misrepresentation, whether or
not such misrepresentation be negligent or
intentional, unless he is guilty of actual fraud,
corruption or actual malice.
E. Health and Safety Code Section 1799.107 . Neither
a public entity nor emergency rescue personnel
�officer, employee, or member of a fire department or
fire protection or firefighting agency] shall be
liable for any injury caused by an action taken by
the emergency rescue personnel acting within the
scope of their employment to provide emergency
services, unless the action taken was performed in
bad faith or in a grossly negligent manner.
F. Labor Code Section 2802 . An employer shall
indemnify his/her employee for all necessary
expenditures or losses incurred by the employee in
direct consequence of the discharge of his/her
duties, or of his/her obedience to the directions of
the employer, even though unlawful, unless the
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employee, at the time of obeying the directions,
believed them to be unlawful.
G. Vehicle Code (VEH) Section 17004 . A public
employee is not liable for civil damages on account
of personal injury to or death of any person or
damage to property resulting from the operation, in
the line of duty, of an authorized emergency vehicle
while responding to an emergency call or when in the
immediate pursuit of an actual or suspected violator
of the law, or when responding to but not upon
returning from a fire alarm or other emergency call.
H. VEH Section 17004.5 . Any private firm or
corporation, or employee thereof, which maintains a
fire department and has entered into a mutual aid
agreement pursuant to Section 13855, 14095, or
14455.5 of the Health and Safety Code shall have the
same immunity from liability for civil damages on
account of personal injury to or death of any person
or damage to property resulting from the operation of
an authorized emergency vehicle while responding to,
but not upon returning from, a fire alarm or other
emergency call as is provided by law for the district
and its employees with which the firm or corporation
has entered into a mutual aid agreement, except when
the act or omission causing the personal injury to or
death of any person or damage to property occurs on
property under the control of such firm or
corporation.
I. VEH Section 17157 . If a motor vehicle is
gratuitously loaned to a school district, the bailee
(the school) and not the bailor (the lender) shall be
deemed to be the owner within the provisions of this
chapter notwithstanding the terms of any contract,
until the bailor retakes possession of the motor
vehicle.
4. Indemnification of public employees . GOV Section 825
provides indemnification to public employees under
qualified circumstances, including a requirement that
the employee cooperate in his/her defense in good faith.
The sponsor has confirmed that it is the intent of this
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bill to grant only those protections already in place to
employees driving public vehicles and does not intend to
modify any of the employees preexisting duties, such as
the duty to cooperate with the defense.
Under this bill, indemnity could extend to include
injuries caused by accidents related to poor vehicle
maintenance and other causes that are not related to the
employment. It was for this reason, in part, that
Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed AB 2151 (Torres, 2010).
5. Reimbursement of public entities by private insurers .
Procedural difficulties related to litigation arise
because this bill requires the private automobile
insurer to reimburse the employer if it is subsequently
determined that the employer did not direct or request
the employee to use the private passenger motor vehicle
when the loss occurred that gave rise to the claim.
Prior Legislation
SB 629 (Correa), Chapter 211, Statutes of 2007, repealed
the requirement that peace officers and firefighters
involved in a vehicular accident submit a written
statement, under penalty of perjury, or a copy of the
incident report filed with their employer, to their private
automobile insurer.
AB 1115 (S. Runner), Chapter 85, Statutes of 2008, expanded
the definition of an authorized emergency vehicle used in
the performance of duty by a peace officer, member of the
CHP, or firefighter to include vehicles that are rented or
leased by the employer for official purposes.
AB 2151 (Torres, 2010), was identical to this bill that was
vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger because he felt that
granting indemnification in all situations regardless of
the driver's fault was unwarranted.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, there
will be an unknown increase in employer liability/insurance
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costs potentially in excess of $150,000.
(General/Special/Local)
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/16/12)
California Professional Firefighters (source)
AFSCME, AFL-CIO
Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs
Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs
California Association of Highway Patrolmen
California Fraternal Order of Police
California State Sheriffs' Association
CDF Firefighters Local 2881
Long Beach Police Officers Association
Los Angeles County Probation Officers' Union, AFSCME, Local
685
Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers Association
Los Angeles Police Protective League
Orange County Professional Firefighters' Association
Peace Officers Research Association of California
Riverside Sheriffs' Association
Sacramento County Deputy Sheriffs Association
San Diego Schools Police Officers Association
Santa Ana Police Officers Association
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/16/12)
California State Association of Counties
California Association of Joint Powers Authorities
California Joint Powers Insurance Authority
CSAC Excess Insurance Authority
Counties of Amador and Madera
League of California Cities
League of California Cities, Los Angeles Division
Northern California Cities Self Insurance Fund
Regional Council of Rural Counties
Small Cities Organized Risk Effort
Cities of Antioch, Beverly Hills, Blythe, Camarillo, Canyon
Lake, Cathedral City, Claremont, Cloverdale, Corning,
Costa Mesa, Crescent City, Cypress, Duarte, Encinitas,
Fountain Valley, Folsom, Fresno, Glendora, Gridley,
Huntington Beach, La Habra, Livermore, Lynwood, Menlo
Park, Moorpark, Pismo Beach, Redwood City, San Luis
Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Maria, Santa Rosa, South San
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Francisco, Sunnyvale, and Thousand Oaks
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : This bill's sponsor, the
California Professional Firefighters, states:
Currently, the number of daily details for California
public safety officers, in particular firefighters, is
on the rise - from training exercises to providing
relief and transportation of crews and equipment on
major incidents. With more "detailing out" of
firefighters comes an increased demand on fire
departments to provide transportation and in certain
cases, greater pressure on firefighters to use their
privately-owned vehicles for such activities when
department-provided transportation is not authorized or
made available.
In a few instances, where a firefighter has been ordered
or pressured to use his or her personal vehicle when on
detail and is involved in an accident while conducting
fire department business, an employer has refused to
indemnify that firefighter from liabilities that may
follow.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : California Association of Joint
Powers Authorities writes that making local agencies
primarily liable for liabilities that the peace officer or
firefighters create in the use of their own vehicle, even
if used while in the performance of their duties, creates
an additional cost on local agencies that they cannot
afford in these times of economic stress. Further, forcing
the local agency to assume the liability of the peace
officer or firefighter until such time as it is determined
that the person was not acting in the performance of
his/her duties at the time of the claim will cause
additional costs of defense if the issue of acting within
the course and scope of his or duties cannot be litigated
along with the liabilities of the peace officer or
firefighter.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 69-3, 5/31/12
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
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Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Campos, Carter, Cedillo,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson, Eng, Feuer,
Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Beth Gaines, Galgiani,
Gatto, Gorell, Hagman, Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi,
Roger Hern�ndez, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries,
Jones, Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Miller,
Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Olsen,
Pan, Perea, V. Manuel P�rez, Portantino, Skinner, Smyth,
Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada,
John A. P�rez
NOES: Donnelly, Grove, Wagner
NO VOTE RECORDED: Charles Calderon, Garrick, Gordon,
Mansoor, Mendoza, Norby, Silva, Valadao
JJA:k 8/20/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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