CPF 2009 Legislative Wrap Up
Workers Comp predesignation ... crackdowns on insurance-company privateers ... protection of 4850 time. These are some of the significant CPF sponsored or co-sponsored measures that won the Legislature's approval and were signed into law by Gov. Schwarzenegger in 2009. Below, arranged by bill number, is a run-down of a handful of these bills:
AB 155/SB 88: Municipal Bankruptcy Proceedings
AB 1227: Expands "4850 time" to public safety personnel serving in jurisdictions not covered by CalPERS.
ACA 9/ SCA 12: Adjusts the approval threshold for voter approved bond measures.
AJR 10: Encourages Congress and the President to enact the Social Security Fairness Act.
SB 186: Eliminates the sunset date for the right of injured workers to predesignate their treating physician for workers compensation purposes.
SB 538: Clarifies LA County's mandatory retirement requirements.
In addition to bills signed, there were a handful of measures sponsored or co-sponsored by the CPF in 2009, which did not make it to the Governor's desk. However, they remained eligible for consideration during the 2010 legislative year. A list of those bills follows:
AB 128: Extends the existing statute of limitations for presumptive cancer.
SB 5: Directs the request of a feasibility study by POST to determine the appropriate classification of Fire based bomb squads.
AB 155/SB 88
On January 26th, Assembly Member Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia) introduced a CPF-supported bill, AB 155, that protects bankruptcy access for financially devastated cities and counties.
Click here to watch a video clip of Assembly Member Mendoza and Christy Bouma, CPF Governmental Advocate, explain what this bill does.
Joining Assembly Member Mendoza in introducing this important measure are:
- Principal Co-Authors - Assembly Majority Leader Alberto Torrico and Assembly Rules Committee Chair Ted Lieu;
- Co-Authors - Assembly Members Brownley, Coto, DeLeon, Fuentes, Furutani, Ma, Nava, J. Perez, V. M. Perez, Price, Yamada, and Senators DeSaulnier and Wiggins.
California is one of only 11 states that allow their cities and counties to file for bankruptcy without meeting any prior requirements or pre-conditions. Bankruptcy filings by cities devastate an already struggling community, including local businesses that were already feeling the adverse impact of a stagnant economy.
Local elected officials, in embracing their core mission to provide essential services to the communities they were elected to serve, must pursue any and all options or assistance available in the course of fulfilling that mission. Our state's taxpayers who rely on public safety, senior, parks and library services, as well as those who own and operate businesses in our communities deserve every effort a municipality can make to avoid the long term devastation of bankruptcy.
Given that the costs of default are borne by the state as a whole, and given the connection between state allocations and local budgets, the state government should have the opportunity to consider whether bankruptcy is the best approach to the problem. By retaining for municipalities the ultimate option of filing for bankruptcy protection, while protecting the state's compelling interest in oversight and the option to intervene to assist prior to municipal default and bankruptcy filing, AB 155 provides the state an opportunity to be able to discourage frivolous filings and preserve the process for those municipalities who truly are insolvent and face no other alternative to bankruptcy.
AB 155 was introduced on January 26th and has been amended several times It was referred to the Assembly Local Government Committee where it was considered on April 22nd and passed out of Committee with a 4 to 3 vote. The hearing lasted over an hour and included, at times, charged debates from both sides. We had several cities and counties appear in opposition, as well as the League of CA Cities and the State Association of Counties.
During the hearing the Vallejo bankruptcy was referenced by both sides of the argument. Vallejo Mayor Osby Davis was there to testify in opposition to the bill by way of defending the bankruptcy filing and childishly attempting to discredit the other side of the debate. Click here to see a video clip of his statement.
Although Mayor Davis pleaded for cities to be left alone, Christy called him on his inaccuracies and steered the argument away from Vallejo to discuss municipal bankruptcy as a whole. Click here to see a video clip of her response.
Assemblyman Paul Krekorian boldly defended AB 155 during the Assembly Local Government Committee Hearing. Click here to see a video clip of him making several unsolicited comments in our favor.
AB 155 was then referred to the Assembly Appropriations Committee where is was briefly placed on suspense. It was released from the Assembly Suspense file and sent to the full Assembly where it was approved by a vote of 47-25 on June 3rd.
When the bill was heard on the Assembly Floor, Assembly Majority Leader Torrico and Assemblymembers Calderon, Nava, Ruskin, Dr. Ed, De la Torre, Swanson, Caballero and Krekorian all rose and spoke in favor of the bill. AB 155 has been assigned to the Senate Local Government Committee where testimony was heard on July 8th, but no vote was taken.
On Septemebr 4th, SB 88, a bill by Senator Mark Desaulnier, was amended with provisions similar to those contained in AB 155. Assembly Member Torrico has once again signed on as a principal co-author, and Assembly Member Mendoza remains involved as a principal co-author as well.
These amendments authorize a local public entity, with the approval of the California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission, to file a petition and exercise powers applicable under federal bankruptcy law.
These amendments also include changes to AB 155 that were made by the Senate to ensure an expedited review process of a local agency’s bankruptcy request by the Commission. Further, if the Commission denies bankruptcy access to a local agency, these amendments empower that agency to override the Commission’s decision and proceed to bankruptcy.
SB 88 passed out of the Assembly on September 8th with a 47-28 vote. This bill has been sent to the Senate Rules Committee and has become a 2 year bill, which means it will be eligible for consideration by the Legislature when they return from the interim break in January.
AB 1227
Assembly Member Mike Feuer (D - Beverly Hills) has introduced CPF's co-sponsorship bill, AB 1227. This measure repeals the restriction in Labor Code Section 4850 that limits the public safety disability safeguard known as "4850 time" to only those safety officers who are members of the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS), the Los Angeles' City Employees Retirement System, or a county retirement system operating pursuant to the County Employees Retirement Law of 1937 (a.k.a. '37 Act).
By eliminating the reference to membership in a specific retirement system, AB 1227 protects public safety personnel, including 
firefighters, who are employed by local public agencies, such as the cities of San Jose or San Diego, that maintain independent retirement systems.
Current state law provides that specified safety officers who are members of CalPERS, the Los Angeles City Employees' Retirement System or '37 Act county retirement system are entitled to receive, in lieu of temporary disability benefits, a leave of absence without loss of salary, for up to one year following an on-the-job injury.
An unintended inequity exists wherein certain public agency law enforcement officers and firefighters are not being equally afforded this very important safeguard. This occurs in instances where public safety personnel are employed by an agency, such as San Jose or San Diego that has established and independent retirement system, and he or she does not participate in a '37 Act retirement system, CalPERS or the Los Angeles City Employees' Retirement System.
A firefighter is a firefighter regardless of who issues the uniform. As such, there is a need to remedy this inequity by preventing the inappropriate application of different disability safeguards when our state's firefighters are injured in the course of performing their job-related duties.
AB 1227 was introduced on February 21 and was referred to the Assembly Public Employees, Retirement & Social Security Committee, where it passed out of committee on May 6th with a 7-3 vote. This bill was then referred to the Assembly floor where it was passed with a 48-28 vote on May 18th. This bill was heard in the Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Comittee on June 25th where it passed with a 5-1 vote. On September 9th AB 1227 passed of the Senate Floor with a 26-8 vote and was then returned to the Assembly for concureence, where is passed on Septemebr 10 where is passed with a 51-21 vote. AB 1227 then went to the Governor's Desk for his final approval. Governor Schwarzenegger signed the bill into law on October 11, 2009 (Chapter 389, Statutes of 2009).
ACA 9/SCA 12
Senator Christine Kehoe and Assembly Member Jared Huffman have introduced bills in their respective houses to address the issue of 
voter approved bonded indebtedness.
SCA 12 and ACA 9 exempt local governments from specified property taxes or special assessments on any bonded indebtedness that is incurred by that local jurisdiction when it is done so for the purpose of funding the 
construction, recontruction, rehabilitation or replacement of facilities, buildings or equipment used directly and exclusively to provide emergency services to the public or to fund the acquisition or lease of real property for those facilities or buildings.
These measures restore local control by giving local governments the ability to make their case to voters for the equipment and facilities critically needed to maintain and enhace vital public safety services.
SCA 12 was introduced on February 25 and was referred to the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee where it passed on May 13th with a 5-2 vote. It was then sent to the Senate Elections, Reapportionment, and Constitutional Amendments Committee where it passed with a 3-1 vote on June 11th. This bill is now awaiting a vote on the Senate Floor.
ACA 9 was introduced on February 6 and was referred to the Assembly Local Government Committee where it passed with a 5-2 vote on May 6th. It was then referred to the Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee where it passed with a 6-3 vote on June 22nd. It was then referred to the Assembly Appropriations Committee where it was placed on suspense.
Historically, bills that would cost the state's General Fund more than $150,000 are placed on what is referred to as a Committee's "suspense file." This year, however, in light of the current local, state and national economic crisis, it is not unlikely that bills with even a minimal fiscal impact will be placed on suspense. Suspense bills are heard at a special, future hearing where, depending on spending priorities, Committee members will vote to release or keep such bills on suspense. Bills that are held on suspense after that hearing will not move forward this year, absent the approval of a special rule waiver.
AJR 10
Assembly Member Tom Torlakson (D-Antioch) has introduced AJR 10, a bill supported by the CPF that encourages Congress and the 
President to enact the Social Security Fairness Act of 2009. This federal legislation will eliminate two provisions known as the WEP and the GPO, which unfairly prevent public employees from receiving a portion of earned retirement benefits.
In 1983, the "Windfall Elimination Provision" (WEP) as part of a large reform package designed to shore up the financing of the Social Security system. Its purpose was to remove a "windfall" for persons who may have spent some time in a job not covered by Social Security, such as a firefighter, but also had worked other jobs in their life where they did pay into Social Security for a period long enough to enable them to qualify for Social Security benefits. In other words, as a public safety member (active or retired) and at some point in your career you may have contributed to Social Security, thereby becoming eligible to receive Social Security benefits at age 62 or 65. Under current federal law, your earned Social Security benefits can be reduced up to 60 percent as a result of the WEP.
Like the "Windfall Elimination Provision," the "Government Pension Offset" (GPO) was also adopted in 1983 to shore up the finances of the Social Security trust fund. The GPO reduces a public employee spouse's or widow(er)'s benefit from Social Security by two-thirds of the monthly government pension amount received. This "offset" law was aimed at cutting the benefits of spouses and widow(er)s who were also collecting a government pension.
Ultimately, if the Social Security Fairness Act is passed at the federal level it would allow many classes of rank and file public employees, including peace officers and firefighters, to receive 100 percent of their earned Social Security benefits.
AJR 10 was introduced on March 9 and has been referred to the Assembly Public Employees, Retirement & Social Security Committee where it passed unanimously on May 6th. This bill was heard on the Assembly floor on May 18th where it passed with a 62-13 vote. The bill was heard in the Senate Public Employment and Retirement Committee on June 22nd where it passed unanimously. The bill was amended on August 24th for minor non-substantive changes. On September 1st AJR 10 passed off the Senate Floor with a 26-8 vote and was returned to the Assembly for concurrence, where is passed 64-13. On September 16th the bill was chaptered into law.
Click here to see Assembly Member Torlakson's press release on the bill.
SB 186
Senator Mark DeSaulnier (D -Concord) has introduced CPF co-sponsored legislation to maintain the right of some injured workers, including firefighters, to see their own doctors if they get injured on the job. The bill, SB 186, would eliminate the current December 2009 date on which the right to predesignate is sche
duled to sunset.
In 2006, AB 2068 (Nava - Chapter Number 819, Statutes of 2006) was signed into law, securing the right of injured workers to see the doctor of their choice if they were injured on the job. However, pursuant to AB 2068, this right is only afforded until 2009. Last year the CPF co-sponsored similar legislation, SB 1338, that was vetoed by the Governor.
The CPF believes that this basic employee protection should not have a time stamp or ending date. Indeed, the predesignation of a treating physician for workers' compensation purposes is an important protection against the forced use of an employer-chosen doctor following a work place injury. Studies show that satisfaction levels are much higher when employees see their own doctor, facilitating a better environment in which the employee can heal more quickly.
The hazards of firefighting and law enforcement do not know jurisdictional boundaries, so when injured on the front lines, our state's first responders value their option to designate a physician that is familiar with the demands of their unique job descriptions. This is a key component to enabling an injured public safety officer to return to work in a healthy and timely manner.
SB 186 was introduced on February 17. The Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee heard the bill on March 25, 2009 where it was unanimously approved. Senator Mark Wyland (R-Carlsbad), a member of the Committee, spoke fervently in favor of the bill during the hearing, citing personal experiences as proof that "predesignation does work." SB 186 was heard on the Senate Floor on April 27 where it was approved by a 29 to 10 vote. This bill then went to the Assembly where it was assinged to the Assembly Insurance Committee and passed with a 9-1 vote on July 8th. SB 186 passed off of the Assembly floor on September 3rd with a 69-2 vote. The bill was then sent to the Governor where he signed it into law on October 11. 2009 (Chapter 565, Statutes of 2009).
SB 538
Senator Mark DeSaulnier (D -Concord) has introduced CPF co-sponsored legislation to maintain the right of some injured workers, including firefighters, to see their own doctors if they get injured on the job. The bill, SB 186, would eliminate the current December 2009 date on which the right to predesignate is scheduled to sunset.
In 2006, AB 2068 (Nava - Chapter Number 819, Statutes of 2006) was signed into law, securing the right of injured workers to see the doctor of their choice if they were injured on the job. However, pursuant to AB 2068, this right is only afforded until 2009. Last year the CPF co-sponsored similar legislation, SB 1338, that was vetoed by the Governor.
The CPF believes that this basic employee protection should not have a time stamp or ending date. Indeed, the predesignation of a treating physician for workers' compensation purposes is an important protection against the forced use of an employer-chosen doctor following a work place injury. Studies show that satisfaction levels are much higher when employees see their own doctor, facilitating a better environment in which the employee can heal more quickly.
The hazards of firefighting and law enforcement do not know jurisdictional boundaries, so when injured on the front lines, our state's first responders value their option to designate a physician that is familiar with the demands of their unique job descriptions. This is a key component to enabling an injured public safety officer to return to work in a healthy and timely manner.
SB 186 was introduced on February 17. The Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee heard the bill on March 25, 2009 where it was unanimously approved. Senator Mark Wyland (R-Carlsbad), a member of the Committee, spoke fervently in favor of the bill during the hearing, citing personal experiences as proof that "predesignation does work." SB 186 was heard on the Senate Floor on April 27 where it was approved by a 29 to 10 vote. This bill then went to the Assembly where it was assinged to the Assembly Insurance Committee and passed with a 9-1 vote on July 8th. SB 186 passed off of the Assembly floor on September 3rd with a 69-2 vote. The bill was then sent to the Governor where he signed it into law on October 11. 2009 (Chapter 565, Statutes of 2009).
Two Year Bills:
AB 128
Assemblyman Joe Coto (D-San Jose) has introduced AB 128 on behalf of the California Professional Firefighters. (Note: On February 18, 2010, Assemblyman Coto introduced a similar version of this bill for action in 2010 -- please see AB 2253)
Please take a moment to send a letter to Assemblyman Coto expressing your local's support for AB 128. Click here to download a sample letter and send by email to assemblymember.coto@asm.ca.gov or by fax to (916) 319-2123.
AB 128 enacts the "William Dallas Jones Cancer Presumption Act of 2009." The bill seeks to eliminate the existing statute of limitations in favor of expanding it in a manner that more accurately reflects the increased risk to firefighters and other public safety personnel by those types of job-related cancers.
Joining Assembly Member Coto in introducing this measure are:
- Co-Authors: Assembly Members T. Berryhill, Blumenfield, Cook, Davis, Fuentes, Galgiani, Jeffries, Lieu, J Perez, Portantino, Price, Mendoza, Miller, Nava, Salas, Solorio and Senators DeSaulnier and Oropeza.
Current law provides a rebuttable presumption, which states that cancer that develops or manifests itself while the firefighter is on active duty shall be deemed job-related for the purposes of workers' compensation. This presumption is extended to a public safety officer for a period of three calendar months for each full year of service they worked, not to exceed 60 months beyond their last day of service.
Since the original cancer presumption statute was enacted over two decades ago, research and anecdotal evidence show:
- Some industrially-caused cancers actually manifest themselves well-beyond the existing 60 month statute of limitations.
- The US Department of Health and Human Services reports that the time from genetic cellular change to the development of cancer is called the latency period. Such a latency period can be 10 years or as long as 30 years or more, which means that some cancers diagnosed today may be due to genetic changes that occurred in the cells some time ago.
- Several of the cancers most closely associated with the firefighters and their profession (multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, prostate, and testicular cancer) have a latency period longer than 60 months and likely closer to three to four decades.
Consequently, there is a critical need to strike the current law cap in favor of providing one year for each year of requisite service worked.
William "Dallas" Jones was a dedicated firefighter and labor leader in Los Angeles County for nearly 35 years. The passion and professionalism with which he conducted his duties as President for Los Angeles County Firefighters Local 1014 and later as Secretary/Treasurer for California Professional Firefighters made him an excellent choice when he was tapped by Governor Gray Davis to lead the state Office of Emergency Services as Director from 1999-2004. During his time at OES, Dallas responded to and was on the ground during a myriad of emergencies, including the devastating fire storms in 2003 that engulfed southern California. After leaving that post, he continued his work in the fire service labor movement by returning as Secretary-Treasurer for the California Professional Firefighters, even after he was diagnosed with cancer in 2007 and ultimately succumbed to the insidious disease when it claimed his life in 2008.
AB 128 was introduced on January 16th. It was referred to the Assembly Committee on Insurance where it passed with a 7 to 1 vote on April 22nd. The was referred to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, where it has been held on suspense.
Historically, bills that would cost the state's General Fund more than $150,000 are placed on what is referred to as the Appropriation Committee's "suspense file." This year, however, in light of the current local, state and national economic crisis, it is not unlikely that bills with even a minimal fiscal impact will be placed on suspense. Suspense bills were heard on May 28th where Committee members voted to either release or keep such bills on suspense. AB 128 fell victim to the woes of the state budget and was held by the committee. Bills that are held on suspense will not move forward this year, absent the approval of a special rule waiver.
SB 5
Senator Abel Maldonado (R - Santa Maria) is authoring SB 5 to direct the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training to 
conduct a feasibility study, as required under current law, regarding the classification of fire department-based certified bomb technicians as peace officers.
This CPF co-sponsorship bill is the first step to ensure equitable safeguards for California's bomb squad technicians. An oversight in the classification of a handful of fire department-based bomb squad technicians who work in a capacity to detect, render-safe and investigate explosives and apprehend individuals who have violated explosive laws currently exists in law.
Unlike their law enforcement counterparts, as well as fire department-based bomb squad technicians in other states, in California, some fire-based bomb techs are not classified as peace officers. As a result, these few technicians are often placed at a critical disadvantage when they are required to testify in court regarding an emergency incident they may have diffused and their credentials are questioned simply because of a technicality in their classification.
Also unlike their law enforcement counterparts and fire department-based technicians in other states, California's fire department-based bomb squad technicians do not carry firearms because of the aforementioned classification oversight. This can pose a significant safety threat to squad members when they are called on to respond to a high risk incident that may involve individual perpetrators who specifically are looking to do these public safety personnel harm.
SB 5 was amended on April 13 to address the need for the study. It was approved unanimously in the Senate Public Safety Committee on April 21st. It then went to the Senate Floor where it passed with no "no" votes on May 18th. The bill passed out of the Assembly Public Safety Committee on June 16th unanimously. It then went to the Assembly Appropriations Committee where it was also passed unanimously on July 1st.
Below is a recording of SB 5’s Public Safety Hearing where Local 145 Secretary/Treasurer John Wood of San Diego shared his personal experiences as a bomb technician in a fire department-based bomb squad.
For questions, please contact CPF Legislative Director Amy Howard at ahoward@cpf.org.
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