BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1246
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Date of Hearing: January 17, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON RULES
Richard S. Gordon, Chair
AB 1246 (Nestande) - As Amended: January 9, 2014
SUBJECT : Legislature: Health Benefits Coverage
SUMMARY : Limits Members of the Legislature to health benefit
plans available through the California Health Benefit Exchange.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires that the only health benefit plans available to
Members of the Legislature shall be health benefit plans
offered through the California Health Benefit Exchange.
2)Requires the state to reimburse a Member for the cost of
coverage in an amount not to exceed the amount of the state
employer's contribution.
EXISTING LAW: Proposition 112 establishes the Citizens
Compensation Commission to set the salaries and medical, dental,
insurance and other similar benefits of Members of the
Legislature and the state's other elected officials. It also
directs the Commission to consider specified criteria in
establishing salaries and benefits.
FISCAL EFFECT : Indeterminable, should this bill pass the Rules
Committee it will be referred to the Appropriations Committee
for fiscal analysis.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "the legislature is
responsible for passing the laws that govern how Covered
California operates and as such, how Californian's will receive
their benefits within the parameters of the ACA. There is no
better way to understand how the Exchange is working than for
Legislators themselves to share in the same benefits program
that Californian's are required to participate in.
Additionally, this could lower health care costs for Legislators
depending on which plan they chose to enroll in, thereby saving
the state money in both real and administrative costs."
The annual salaries and medical, dental, insurance, and other
similar benefits of Members of the Legislature are determined by
the California Citizens Compensation Commission pursuant to
AB 1246
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Article 3, Section 8 of the California Constitution.
Consequently, changing that authority would require a
constitutional amendment.
The bill would require the state to reimburse the Member for the
cost of coverage in an amount not to exceed the state employer's
contribution as of December 31, 2014. This provision is
problematic because it does not take into account future changes
to premiums or policy. This bill would lock-in contribution
rates as of December 31, 2014 regardless of premium increases.
Also, further clarification on the reimbursement may be
necessary; it is not clear how the reimbursement process would
impact administrating entities.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Individual letter
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Mukhtar Ali / RLS. / (916) 319-2800