BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 826
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SENATE THIRD READING
SB 826 (Leno)
As Amended May 3, 2011
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :31-8
INSURANCE 11-0 APPROPRIATIONS 12-5
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|Ayes:|Solorio, Hagman, Carter, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Blumenfield, |
| |Feuer, Grove, Hayashi, | |Bradford, Charles |
| |Miller, Olsen, Skinner, | |Calderon, Campos, Davis, |
| |Torres, Wieckowski | |Gatto, Hall, Hill, Lara, |
| | | |Mitchell, Solorio |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | |Nays:|Harkey, Donnelly, |
| | | |Nielsen, Norby, Wagner |
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SUMMARY : Establishes penalties for the failure of an employer
to report claim information to the Workers' Compensation
Information System (WCIS). Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the Administrative Director (AD) of the Division of
Workers' Compensation (DWC) to assess administrative penalties
for WCIS data reporting violations.
2)Requires the AD to promulgate a schedule of penalties capped
at $5,000 against a claims administrator in any given year,
that provides for no more than $100 per violation for
violations where a report is not submitted or not accepted,
and no more than $50 per violation for violations involving
errors or late filings.
3)Provides that no penalty shall be imposed pursuant to other
specified provisions of law relating to claims audits if the
violations are subject to sanctions pursuant to the bill's
provisions.
4)Requires the schedule that the AD promulgates to exclude
violations below specified thresholds, as established by the
AD, to be not less than 3% of the reports filed, and
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authorizes to AD to establish higher thresholds for data
elements that are not reasonably available.
5)Requires the AD to publish an annual report on the compliance
of claims administrators, and authorizes the administrators to
be named in the report.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides for a comprehensive system of workers' compensation
benefits for workers injured on the job, paid by employers, or
insurers on behalf of employers.
2)Establishes the WCIS.
3)Requires claims administrators to submit a range of claims
related information to the WCIS for purposes of research into
claims and claims costs.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)Costs associated with this legislation should be minor and
absorbable within existing DWC resources.
2)Additional revenue from the penalties assessed under this
legislation could exceed $200,000 per year. �Workers
Compensation Administration Revolving Fund]
COMMENTS : According to the sponsor of this bill, Small Business
California, the bill is designed to address the lack of
enforcement authority to ensure that appropriate data is
submitted to the WCIS. A recent Commission on Health and Safety
and Workers' Compensation (CHSWC) study concluded that
compliance issues have rendered the quality of data collected by
WCIS of limited value. The bill is structured so that minor
errors on marginally relevant data fields (the thresholds the AD
is authorized to adopt) do not result in penalties, while at the
same time establishing an incentive to accurately provide
substantive data.
Analysis Prepared by : Mark Rakich / INS. / (916) 319-2086
SB 826
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FN: 0002078