CA Legislative Activity - Quarterly Summary

Saturday, March 15, 2003 | 0

A flurry of legislative action on workers' compensation issues has taken place since the beginning of the year. A search of "workers' compensation" on the Senate's website produced 101 pending bills as of 3/15/03. The following is a summary of the bills dealing most directly with work comp, and current status.

AB 87 which would add Section 4352.5 to the Labor Code making certain funds available to provide disaster service workers work comp benefits - referred to the Assembly Committee on Insurance and scheduled for hearing on 3/26.

AB 136 which would add Labor Code section 4850.2 and would provide that firefighters are entitled to a leave of absence without loss of salary for on the job injuries - referred to the Assembly Committee on Insurance and scheduled for hearing on 3/26.

AB 149 would amend Section 5406.5 of the Labor Code to provide coverage for firefighters who die from asbestosis - referred to the Assembly Committee on Insurance and scheduled for hearing on 3/26.

Status AB 431 which purports to end liberal interpretation by amending 3202 and 3208.1 - referred to the Assembly Committee on Insurance on 2/24 with no further action indicated.

AB 556 was introduced by Assembly Member Tony Strickland on 2/18/03 and would amend Section 11564.5 of, and to add Section 11564.7 to, the Government Code to provide that members of the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, among other Boards and Commissions, would receive no salary for 2003-04, 2004-05, and 2005-06 fiscal years, except that they may receive a per diem payment set pursuant to these provisions during that time - may be heard in committee March 21.

AB 595 was introduced by Assembly Member Dutton on 2/18/03 and would amend Section 5307 of the Labor Code to make technical changes to the Board's authority to promulgate hearing procedure regulations - may be heard in committee on 3/21. AB 596 was introduced by Assembly Member Dutton on 2/18/03 and would amend Section 4600.2 of the Labor Code to delete the word "any" from subparagraph (c) regarding pharmaceutical studies - may be heard in committee on 3/21.

AB 597 was introduced by Assembly Member Dutton on 2/18/03 and would repeal existing Labor Code Section 5307.21 and replace it with a new section 5307.21 to define the authority of the DWC to promulgate a medical fee schedule regulation out-patient surgical centers - referred to the Assembly Committee on Insurance on 2/24 with no further action indicated.

AB 606 was introduced by Assembly Member Liu on 2/19/03 to amend Section 75 of the Labor Code and would require that at least one employer member of the CHSWC be a representative of small business - referred to the Assembly Committee on Insurance on 2/24 with no further action indicated.

AB 770 was introduced by Assembly Member Wyland on 2/19/03 and would amend Section 3700 of the Labor Code by making non-substantive changes, replacing "his or her" with "the employer's" - may be heard in committee March 22. AB 778 was introduced by Assembly Member Matthews on 2/19/03 and would declare the intent of the Legislature "to enact legislation that would affect workers' compensation and the processing time of claims" - may be heard in committee March 22.

AB 779 was introduced by Assembly Member Matthews on 2/19/03 and would amend Section 3202 of the Labor Code to provide that liberal construction shall be "for" the purpose, rather than "with" the purpose, of extending work comp benefits to injured workers - may be heard in committee March 22.

AB 968 was introduced by Assembly Member Correa on 2/20/03 and would add Section 3600.7 to provide that any adverse reaction, injury, disability, or death incurred by an employee as a result of a vaccination or medication that is administered to prevent the transmission of, infection by, or exposure to, a biochemical substance, as defined, or blood-borne infectious disease, shall be deemed to have arisen out of and in the course of employment for the purposes of workers' compensation benefits - on an emergency basis has been referred to the Assembly Committee on Insurance and is set for hearing on 3/26.

AB 1029 was introduced 2/20/03 by Assembly Member McCarthy amend Section 4550 of the Labor Code by changing "such" to "this" - may be heard in committee March 25.

AB 1215 was introduced 2/21/03 by Assembly Member Vargasact to add Section 1871.15 to the Insurance Code and would authorize an insurer that provides workers' compensation insurance, and the insurer's authorized agents and representatives, to have access to quarterly wage and withholding reports filed by its insured employers with the Employment Development Department if, among other conditions, the information is used for the sole purpose of detecting workers' compensation insurance fraud on the part of employers and the employer consents in writing - referred to the Assembly Committee on Insurance.

AB 1262 was introduced 2/21/03 by Assembly Member Matthews and would require the Insurance Commissioner to conduct a study examining the competitiveness of the workers' compensation insurance system and to submit a report to the Legislature and the Governor - referred to the Assembly Committee on Insurance.

AB 1324 was introduced 2/21/03 by Assembly Member Steinberg and would add Section 3212.86 to the Labor Code to provide that if a person who is a specified state or local firefighting, law enforcement, or patrol member sustains an injury that meets the definition of a blood-borne infectious disease, and a dependent of that person contracts the blood-borne infectious disease from that person, the dependent shall be awarded compensation, for the duration of the disease, for all medically necessary health care costs associated with the disease - referred to the Assembly Committee on Insurance.

AB 1357 was introduced by Assembly Member Matthews 2/21/03 and would add Section 11875 to the Insurance Code to require the Insurance Commissioner to conduct a study of the effectiveness and functioning of the State Compensation Insurance Fund and to report its findings, and recommendations based thereon, to the Governor and the Legislature - referred to the Assembly Committee on Insurance.

AB 1324 was introduced by Assembly Member Steinberg 2/21/03 and would add Section 3212.86 to the Labor Code to provide that if a person who is a specified state or local firefighting, law enforcement, or patrol member sustains an injury that meets the definition of a blood-borne infectious disease, and a dependent of that person contracts the blood-borne infectious disease from that person, the dependent shall be awarded compensation, for the duration of the disease, for all medically necessary health care costs associated with the disease - referred to the Assembly Committee on Insurance.

AB 1434 was introduced by Assembly Members Wyland and Richman 2/21/03 and would amend Sections 3201.5 and 3201.7 of, and to add Section 3201.6 to, the Labor Code to expand availability of alternative work comp dispute resolution programs and also expand the definition of the crime of perjury in work comp cases - referred to the Assembly Committee on Insurance.

AB 1480 was introduced by Assembly Member Richman on 2/21/03 and would amend Sections 4603.2 and 4650 of, to repeal Section 5814.5 of, and to repeal and add Section 5814 of, the Labor Code to would require physicians to submit additional reports to the employer on certain conditions, would change the payment timeframe for medical services from within 60 to within 45 calendar days, would provide that the employer would be liable only for interest and penalty on the contested portion of a medical bill, would limit the total amount paid to a medical provider exclusively to the Official Medical Fee Schedule, would make PD payable at the same weekly rate as TD, and would repeal 5814 penalty provisions and change it to 25% of the missed or delayed benefit up to $500, whichever is greater in addition to adding a time limit of one year from the date of alleged missed or delayed payment as well as further procedures before a claim can be made - referred to the Assembly Committee on Insurance.

AB 1481 was introduced by Assembly Member Richman on 2/21/03 and would add Sections 4062.7 and 5705.1 to the Labor Code to change the rules governing apportionment of permanent disability and limit the cumulative total of all PD awards to 100%, prohibit PD unless at least 10% was industrial caused, require physicians to use PD language from established guidelines and failure to do so would make the report inadmissible and the physician would not be paid - referred to the Assembly Committee on Insurance.

AB 1482 was introduced by Assembly Member Richman on 2/21/03 and would require all medical services to be subject to the official medical fee schedule, regardless whether the injury is accepted or not, would require outpatient surgical centers to be subject to the fee schedule, would require the AD to consult with the IMC before changes to the fee schedule, and would limit the total fees paid a provider to the OMFS - referred to the Assembly Committee on Insurance.

AB 1483 was introduced by Assembly Member Richman on 2/21/03 and would add Sections 139.7, 139.71, and 139.72 to the Labor Code to require every physician who treats and evaluates injured workers, on and after January 1, 2006, to be certified by the Industrial Medical Council as a Qualified Workers' Compensation Physician (QWCP), would require QWCP certification program be established by 1/1/05, and would also require the administrative director, on or before January 1, 2005, to contract with a public or private university or policy institute in the state to develop physician utilization management, quality of care, and outcome measurement data, and to publish a report, on or before July 1, 2006, and annually thereafter. Referred to the Assembly Committee on Insurance.

AB 1579 was introduced by Assembly Member Cogdill on 2/21/03 and would add Section 3821 to the Labor Code to require upon application for employment a declaration of whether work comp fraud has ever been committed and to increase civil penalties for workers' compensation fraud - no pending status.

AB 1580 was introduced by Assembly Member Cogdill on 2/21/03 and would amend Section 3351 of, and repeal Sections 3370 and 3371 of, the Labor Code to eliminate provisions entitling inmates to work comp benefits - no pending status.

AB 1581 was introduced by Assembly Member Cogdill on 2/21/03 and would amend Section 11736 of the Insurance Code to add merit credits that decrease a policyholder's rates based upon its record of job safety - no pending status.

AB 1660 was introduced by Assembly Member Pacheco on 2/21/03 and would limit the liberal interpretation of work comp laws by amending Section 3202, changing "with" to "for" - no pending status.

SB 125 was introduced by Senator Chesbro on 2/05/03 and would extend the present leave of absence without loss of salary benefit enjoyed by emergency workers in lieu of work comp disability to county welfare fraud investigators and inspectors by amending Labor Code section 4850 - sits in the Senate Committee on Labor And Industrial Relations.

SB 176 was introduced by Senator Johnson on 2/12/03 and would add Section 11752.9 to the Insurance Code to require a rating organization to notify a policyholder if it imposes a change in the classification assignment of the policyholder, and would provide that a rating organization may satisfy this requirement by furnishing the policyholder with a copy of the notice that it provides to the insurer regarding the change in classification assignment - sits in the Senate Committee on Labor And Industrial Relations.

SB 223 was introduced by Senator Margett on 2/13/03 and would amend Section 4600.1 of the Labor Code to add hospital, clinic, or physician to the entities required to provide generic medicine and medical supplies - sits in the Senate Committee on Labor And Industrial Relations.

SB 228 was introduced by Senator Alarcon on 2/13/03 and as originally authored would a technical, nonsubstantive change to Labor Code section 5307.1 requiring health care facilities to incorporate the OMFS, though it is anticipated that this bill will ultimately carry the Senator's plans to make sweeping changes to require the creation of fee schedules for medical services and providers not currently covered, require annual automatic updating of the schedules, make the DWC 100% employer funded, create a medical billing fraud unit, and improve the Division's technology budget to bring it into the modern computing era - amendments that were to be introduced 3/13/03 were pending as of 3/16/03.

SB 229 was introduced by Senator Alarcon and would amend Section 3202 of the Labor Code to read that the work comp laws "shall be liberally construed by the courts for [rather than "with"] the purpose of extending their benefits for the protection of persons injured in the course of their employment" - no pending status.

SB 264 was introduced by Senator Denham on 2/18/03, and would amend Section 4456 of the Labor Code with nonsubstantive changes - sits in the Senate Committee on Labor And Industrial Relations.

SB 354 was introduced by Senator Speier on 2/19/03 and amend Sections 1871.4, 11760, and 11880 of, and to add Section 11661.8 to, the Insurance Code to preclude an insurer from insuring an employer against liability for more than 15 one-hour visits to a chiropractor by an employee in connection with any claim made under the policy, unless the employee has obtained the approval of a doctor for additional visits - scheduled for hearing before the Senate Insurance Committee on 4/2/03.

SB 365 was introduced by Senators Johnson, Aanestad, Ackerman, Ashburn, Battin, Brulte, Denham, Hollingsworth, Knight, Margett, McClintock, McPherson, Morrow, Oller, and Poochigian on 2/19/03 and would amend Section 3600 of the Labor Code such that an employer would not be liable for workers' compensation benefits unless the employment is the predominant cause of the injury compared to all other causes combined, and where the injury is not caused by the commission of a criminal act by the injured employee for which he or she has been convicted - sits in the Senate Committee on Labor And Industrial Relations.

SB 366 was introduced by Senators Johnson, Aanestad, Ackerman, Ashburn, Battin, Brulte, Denham, Knight, Margett, McClintock, McPherson, Morrow, Oller, and Poochigian on 2/19/03 and amend Section 3208.3 of the Labor Code changing the burden of proof in psychiatric claims to clear and convincing evidence that the mental disorder arose out of and in the course of employment - sits in the Senate Committee on Labor And Industrial Relations.

SB 375 was introduced by Senator Margett to amend Section 3501 of the Labor Code, changing "any trier of fact" to "a trier of fact" - sits in the Senate Committee on Labor And Industrial Relations.

SB 414 was introduced by Senators McClintock and Poochigian and would amend Section 3208 of the Labor Code to change the definition of injury to one that is certified by a physician using medical evidence based on objective medical findings - sits in the Senate Committee on Labor And Industrial Relations.

SB 457 was introduced on 2/20/03 by Senators McPherson and Margett to repeal the existing Labor Code section 5814 and replace it with a new 5814 to provide that the amount of the benefit that is unreasonably delayed or refused may be increased up to 25 percent or up to five hundred dollars ($500), whichever is greater, provide that the appeals board shall use its discretion in order to accomplish a fair balance and substantial justice between the parties, as well as establish procedures that must be followed prior to the imposition of a penalty, and would repeal section 5814.5 entirely - sits in the Senate Committee on Labor And Industrial Relations.

SB 714 was introduced by Senator Battin on 2/21/03 and would add Section 5705.1 to the Labor Code to provide that in denying apportionment, the appeals board may not, in determining permanent disability, rely on any medical report that fails to fully address the issue of apportionment and fails to set forth the basis for the medical opinion, would also provide that if an applicant has received a prior award of permanent disability, it shall be conclusively presumed that the prior permanent disability exists at the time of any subsequent industrial injury, would also prohibit the payment of permanent disability and death benefits unless the industrial injury has contributed at least 10% to the cause of the death or disability when compared to all causes of injury in total and would put the burden of proof of apportionment on the defendant - sits in the Senate Committee on Labor And Industrial Relations.

SB 715 was introduced by Senator Battin on 2/21/03 and would amend Section 3207 of the Labor Code make technical nonsubstantive changes to the definition of "compensation" by adding "or her" - sits in the Senate Rules Committee.

SB 731 was introduced by Senator Ackerman on 2/21/03 and would amend Section 3208 of the Labor Code with technical nonsubstantive changes - sits in the Senate Rules Committee.

SB 757 was introduced by Senator Poochigian on 2/21/03 and would amend Section 6130 of the Labor Code with technical nonsubstantive changes - sits in the Senate Rules Committee.

SB 757 was introduced by Senator Poochigian on 2/21/03 and would amend Section 4060 of the Labor Code with technical nonsubstantive changes - sits in the Senate Rules Committee.

SB 758 was introduced by Senator Poochigian on 2/21/03 and would amend Section 4551 of the Labor Code with technical nonsubstantive changes - sits in the Senate Rules Committee.

SB 867 was introduced by Senator Burton on 2/21/03 and would amend Sections 139.2 and 3209.3 of the Labor Code to would authorize the IMC to appoint an acupuncturist as a qualified medical evaluator subject to certain standards and would permit an acupuncturist to make disability evaluations - sits in the Senate Committee on Labor And Industrial Relations.

SB 893 was introduced by Senator Morrow and would amend Section 4660 of the Labor Code to provide that when applying the PD rating schedule no injury rating shall be based on a medical report that is not in accordance with certain medical publications relating to injuries and impairments, and would require that objective medical findings be used when considering the nature of the physical injury or disfigurement for purposes of determining the percentages of permanent disability - sits in the Senate Committee on Labor And Industrial Relations.

SB 899 was introduced by Senator Poochigian on 2/21/03 and would amend Section 139.3 of the Labor Code with technical nonsubstantive changes - sits in the Senate Rules Committee.

SB 913 was introduced by Senator Margett on 2/21/03 and would amend Section 4456 of the Labor Code with technical nonsubstantive changes - sits in the Senate Rules Committee.

SB 1007 was introduced by Senator Speier on 2/21/03 and would amend Section 11656.6 of the Insurance Code expand the definition of "common trade or business" to include specified types of manufacturing facilities - sits in the Senate Committee on Labor And Industrial Relations.