Senate Committee Passes One COVID Presumption Bill, Votes Down Another​

A Senate committee last week passed a bill that its author said would be “the largest and most expansive presumption in the history of the state of California.” The Senate Labor, Public Employment and Retirement Committee on Thursday approved Senate Bill 1159, which would create a rebuttable presumption for “critical” public and private sector employees who contract COVID-19 while employed to combat the virus’s spread. The bill’s author, Democratic Sen. Jerry Hill, from San Mateo, said SB 1159 appears similar to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recent executi...