Committee Passes Debit Card Benefit Payment Bill

A California Assembly Committee passed a measure that would authorize employers to continue using prepaid debit cards to deliver indemnity benefits. The Assembly Appropriations Committee voted 14-0 on Wednesday to pass AB 2148, by Assemblywoman Lisa Calderon, D-Whittier. The bill would extend the authorization to pay indemnity benefits using a prepaid card account until Jan. 1, 2024. Lawmakers in 2018 proposed a pilot project that would have allowed State Compensation Insurance Fund to pay benefits using debit cards until Jan. 1, 2023. Senate Bill 880 was subsequently amended to allow all em...