Committee Passes Uninsured Employer, Death Benefit Bills

The California Assembly Appropriations Committee unanimously passed bills to bolster the ability of the Department of Industrial Relations to recover money from illegally uninsured employers and align death benefits for first responders with changes made by the Affordable Care Act. The committee on Wednesday voted 15-0 to pass SB 447 and SB 847. Analyses of both measures project costs that would be "negligible" or "minor and absorbable." SB 447, by Sen. Tom Umberg, D-Santa Ana, would extend how long minor dependents of deceased first responders can receive health benefits...