Freddie Rodriguez
- Democratic
Author
Existing law, until 2023, defines "injury" for purposes of workers' compensation insurance to include illness or death resulting from the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) under specified circumstances, and creates a disputable presumption, as specified, that the injury arose out of the course of employment and is compensable. This presumption is applicable to specified public safety, firefighter, and medical occupation, among others, as specified. Existing law prescribes various requirements for the organization and administration of public retirement systems, which typically provide pension, disability, and death benefits to their members. These systems are governed by their boards of administration, to which the California Constitution grants the sole and exclusive responsibility to administer the system in a manner that will ensure prompt delivery of benefits and related services. Existing law provides that participants in certain membership categories may be entitled to special benefits if death or disability arises in the course of employment. The California Public Employees' Pension Reform Act of 2013 (PEPRA) generally requires a public retirement system, as defined, to modify its plan or plans to comply with that act and establishes, among other things, limits on defined benefit formulas and caps on pensionable compensation. This bill, until January 1, 2023, would create a presumption, applicable to the retirement systems that PEPRA regulates and to specified members in those systems, that would be applied to disability retirements on the basis, in whole or in part, of a COVID-19-related illness. In this circumstance, the bill would require that it be presumed the disability arose out of, or in the course of, the member's employment. The bill would authorize the presumption to be rebutted by evidence to the contrary, but unless controverted, the applicable governing board of a public retirement system would be required to find in accordance with the presumption. The bill would apply this presumption to members employed in specified firefighter, public safety officer, and health care job classifications, or their functional equivalents, and to members in other job classifications who test positive for COVID-19 during an outbreak of the disease at their places of employment, as defined.
Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 122, Statutes of 2021.
Approved by the Governor.
Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3:30 p.m.
In Assembly. Ordered to Engrossing and Enrolling.
Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 39. Noes 0. Page 1905.).
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
From committee: Be ordered to second reading pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8.
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 5. Noes 0.) (June 7). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 74. Noes 0. Page 1330.)
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 14. Noes 0.) (April 28).
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 6. Noes 1.) (April 15). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on P.E. & R. Read second time and amended.
From printer. May be heard in committee March 20.
Read first time. To print.
| Bill Text Versions | Format |
|---|---|
| AB845 | HTML |
| 02/17/21 - Introduced | |
| 03/30/21 - Amended Assembly | |
| 07/13/21 - Enrolled | |
| 07/23/21 - Chaptered |
| Document | Format |
|---|---|
| 04/14/21- Assembly Committee on Public Employment and Retirement | |
| 04/26/21- Assembly Appropriations | |
| 04/30/21- ASSEMBLY FLOOR ANALYSIS | |
| 06/04/21- Senate Committee on Labor, Public Employment and Retirement | |
| 06/23/21- Sen. Floor Analyses |
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