Insurance

Automobile Insurance
Health Insurance
Miscellaneous

Automobile Insurance

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SB 350 (Yee-D) Aftermarket crash parts
Prohibits an insurer from requiring the use of nonoriginal equipment manufacturer aftermarket crash parts in the repair of an automobile unless specified standards are met and specified disclosures are made.
(In Assembly Business and Professions Committee)

AB 601 (Garrick-R) Motor vehicle insurance: special assessments
Extends the sunset on a 30-cent per vehicle insured in California from 1/1/10 to 1/1/15 to support a variety of consumer protection functions of the Department of Insurance and to support public outreach concerning California's low-cost automobile insurance program.
Chapter 247, Statutes of 2009

AB 725 (Jones-D) Auto insurance: low-cost automobile insurance
Extends the sunset date for California's Low Cost Auto Insurance program from 1/1/11 to 1/1/16, and renames this insurance program the Martha Escutia and Jackie Speier low-cost automobile insurance program.
Vetoed

AB 1054 (Coto-D) Motor vehicle insurance: rates
Specifies that no retrospective adjustment of an approved rate may be ordered if the insurer has complied with the rate approval order of the Commissioner of the Department of Insurance, and provides that credit card expenses incurred by an insurer are not part of an "efficiency standard" adopted by the Commissioner for rate making purposes.
(In Assembly Judiciary Committee)

AB 1179 (Jones-D) Motor vehicle insurance: damage assessments
Modifies the required content of the Auto Body Repair Consumer Bill of Rights, which the Department of Insurance must then incorporate into future editions, to include information informing consumers that they have a right, including when pursuing an insurance claim for repair of that vehicle, to seek and obtain an independent repair estimate directly from a registered auto body repair shop.
Chapter 141, Statutes of 2009

AB 1200 (Hayashi-D) Motor vehicle insurance: direct repair programs
Revises and recasts California's auto repair anti-steering law duties, obligations and allowed conduct for insurance companies, relative to consumers and other parties in the claims settlement process.
Chapter 387, Statutes of 2009

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Health Insurance

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SB 1 (Steinberg-D) Health care coverage: children
Expands eligibility for the Medi-Cal program and the Healthy Families Program by modifying the income requirements applicable to those programs and by making coverage available regardless of citizenship or immigration status.
(In Senate Health Committee)

SB 56 (Alquist-D) California Health Benefits Service Program
Establishes the California Health Benefits Service program within the Department of Health Care Services to authorize and facilitate the creation of joint ventures among public health coverage programs to provide health care coverage to uninsured individuals and purchasers of health insurance.
(In Senate Appropriations Committee)

SB 57 (Aanestad-R) California Major Risk Medical Insurance Program
Reforms the Major Risk Medical Insurance Program (MRMIP), the state's program to insure those who cannot obtain insurance in the private market, by imposing a surcharge on health plans and insurers to support the program, increasing deductible and maximum out-of-pocket expenses for subscribers, requiring an option to purchase a health benefit plan with a health savings account, and requiring three declinations in the private market or proof of a qualified medically uninsurable condition, to be determined by the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board, which operates MRMIP.
(Failed passage in Senate Health Committee)

SB 72 (Senate Budget And Fiscal Review Committee) State employees: payroll: health care
Makes technical clarifying amendments to the provision authorizing the Public Employees' Retirement System to use reserves generated by one or more self-funded benefit plans to reduce premiums charged.
Chapter 340, Statutes of 2009

SB 92 (Aanestad-R) Health care reform
Allows out-of-state carriers to offer plans in California without being licensed in California, allows health plans and insurers to offer individual plans and policies that do not include all state mandated benefits, encourages the offering of high deductible health plans, allows health plans and insurers to offer healthy action incentives and rewards programs, modifies provisions pertaining to guaranteed association plans, and small employers, and allows health plans and insurers to offer a single policy that provides health care coverage and workers' compensation benefits.
(Failed passage in Senate Health Committee; reconsideration granted)

SB 119 (Wyland-R) Professional liability insurance: insurers
Revises the sunset date on law that provides immunity from liability for insurers who issue professional liability insurance to health care providers for any statement made in a notice of nonrenewal. The law, which sunsets on 1/1/11, provides that such immunity does not extend to statements shown to have been made in bad faith. Extends the sunset date to 1/1/13, with a specified exception.
Chapter 30, Statutes of 2009

SB 158 (Wiggins-D) Health care coverage: cervical cancer screening
Requires health care service plan contracts and health insurance policies that provide coverage for cervical cancer treatment or surgery to also provide coverage for a human papillomavirus vaccine beginning on, or after 1/1/10.
Vetoed

SB 161 (Wright-D) Health care coverage: cancer treatment
Requires a health care service plan contract or health insurance policy issued, amended, or renewed after 1/1/10, which provides coverage for cancer chemotherapy treatment to provide coverage for an orally administered cancer medication no less favorably than intravenously administered or injected cancer medications covered under the contract or policy.
Vetoed

SB 227 (Alquist-D) Health care coverage
Makes significant changes to the funding and administration of California's high risk insurance pool, the Major Risk Medical Insurance Program for medically uninsurable individuals.
(In Assembly Appropriations Committee)

SB 296 (Lowenthal-D) Health insurance: mental health services
Requires health care service plans and health insurers that provide professional mental health services to issue identification cards to all enrollees and insured containing specified information by 7/1/11, and provide specified information relating to their policies and procedures on their Internet Web sites by 1/1/12.
Chapter 575, Statutes of 2009

SB 311 (Alquist-D) Healthy Families Program: prospective payment system
Requires the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board to provide dental-only coverage to children eligible for the Healthy Families Program, California's version of the federal Children's Health Insurance Program, but who are currently covered by private health insurance that does not cover dental care.
(In Senate Appropriations Committee)

SB 316 (Alquist-D) Health care coverage: benefits
Requires full service health plans and health insurers to spend on average at least 85% of premiums on health care benefits, a requirement known as a "medical loss ratio" or "minimum loss ratio", beginning 1/1/13, and requires reporting of "minimum loss ration" information by plan contract or policy to regulators and specified individuals and small groups by 1/1/13.
(On Senate Inactive File)

SB 347* (Harman-R) Income and corporation taxes: credit: health savings account
Authorizes a credit against the Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law for each taxable year beginning on or after 1/1/09, and before 1/1/15, in an amount equal to 15% of the amount paid or incurred by a qualified taxpayer during the taxable year for qualified health insurance, for employees of the taxpayer. Requires the Legislative Analyst to report to the Legislature on or before 3/1/14, on the effectiveness of the credit, as specified.
(In Senate Health Committee)

SB 353* (Dutton-R) Health savings account: income tax
Allows a deduction in connection with health savings accounts in conformity with federal law for each tax year beginning on or after 1/1/09. In general, the deduction would be an amount equal to the aggregate amount paid in cash during the taxable year by, or on behalf of, an eligible individual, to a health savings account of that individual, as provided.
(In Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee)

SB 529 (Wyland-R) Health care coverage: FDA approved treatments
Requires a health care service plan contract or a health insurance policy that provides coverage of a health condition to also provide coverage for any federal Food and Drug administration approved treatment of that condition.
(In Senate Health Committee)

SB 594* (Ashburn-R) Taxation: cafeteria plans: credits
Establishes a credit against income or franchise tax in the amount of 15% of administrative costs incurred by a qualified taxpayer in connection with establishing or administering a cafeteria plan that provides for the payment of health insurance premiums of the taxpayer's employees. Defines the term "qualified taxpayer" as an employer, meaning any individual or entity that is doing business in California, that is deriving income from California sources or is subject to the laws of California.
(In Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee)

SB 630 (Steinberg-D) Health care coverage: cleft palate reconstructive surgery
Defines reconstructive surgery, as of 7/1/10, to include medically necessary dental or orthodontic services that are an integral part of reconstructive surgery for cleft palate procedures, except as specified.
Chapter 604, Statutes of 2009

SB 727* (Cox-R) Cal-COBRA
Requires that health care service plans and health insurers offer continuation health coverage to employees whose employer terminated a group benefit plan and did not provide a successor plan. Applies to employees of small businesses with two to 19 employees.
(In Senate Appropriations Committee)

SB 771 (Alquist-D) Health care coverage: patient-centered medical home
Requires a health care service plan or a health insurer, or a medical group that contracts with a plan, that uses a pay-for-performance system for the payment of providers to provide a differential payment to providers who provide patients with a patient-centered medical home.
(In Senate Health Committee)

SB 796 (Alquist-D) Health care coverage: continuation coverage
Deletes the requirement that a person must elect and exhaust Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) or Cal-COBRA coverage in order to qualify for access to individual health care coverage as a federally eligible defined individual under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.
(In Senate Health Committee)

SB 810 (Leno-D) Single-payer health care coverage
Establishes the California Healthcare System (CHS), to be administered by the California Healthcare Agency under the control of a Healthcare Commissioner appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. The CHS will provide specified health care benefits for which all Californians would be eligible. The CHS will, on a single-payer basis, negotiate for or set fees for health care services and will pay claims for those services.
(In Senate Appropriations Committee)

SB 25XXX* (Cox-R) California Children and Families Program: funding
Abolishes the California Children and Families Commission and the county children and families commissions, effective 90 days after the bill is approved by the voters, and repeals related obsolete provisions.
(Died in Senate Rules Committee)

SB 26XXX (Alquist-D) Healthy Families Program: dental-only coverage
Requires, contingent on the receipt and appropriation of funds, the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board to provide dental-only coverage consistent with the federal Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009, as specified, and authorizes the Board to adopt regulations to implement that requirement.
(Died in Senate Rules Committee)

SR 24 (Price-D) Health care coverage for children
Urges the Congress of the United States to promptly pass, and President Obama to sign, bipartisan health care legislation that includes health care coverage for all children.
Adopted by the Senate

AB 2 (De La Torre-D) Individual health care coverage
Imposes specific requirements and standards on health care service plans licensed by the Department of Managed Health Care and health insurers subject to regulation by the Department of Insurance, (collectively carriers) related to the application forms, medical underwriting, and notice and disclosure of rights and responsibilities for individual, non-group health plan contracts, and health insurance policies, including the establishment of an independent external review system related to carrier decisions to cancel or rescind an individual's health care coverage.
Vetoed

AB 23* (Jones-D) Cal-COBRA: premium assistance
Establishes, for purposes of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (Cal-COBRA) program, specific notice requirements and enrollment opportunities for persons eligible for premium assistance under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Chapter 3, Statutes of 2009

AB 29 (Price-D) Health care coverage
Prohibits the limiting age of dependent health plan and insurance coverage from being less than 27 years of age. The limiting age determines when children are no longer considered dependents for the purposes of health coverage.
(In Assembly Appropriations Committee)

AB 56 (Portantino-D) Health care coverage: mammographies
Requires health insurers to provide coverage for mammography upon provider referral by 7/1/10, and requires health plans and health insurers to notify subscribers or policyholders of recommended timelines for testing.
Vetoed

AB 98 (De La Torre-D) Health insurance: maternity services
Requires individual or group health insurance policies on file with the Department of Insurance (DOI) as of 1/1/10, to cover maternity services, as defined, by 3/1/10, and requires new policies submitted to DOI after 1/1/10, to cover maternity services.
Vetoed

AB 108 (Hayashi-D) Individual health care coverage
Prohibits health plans and health insurers, after 18 months from the issuance of an individual health plan contract or health insurance policy, from rescinding the individual coverage for any reason, and prohibits canceling, limiting, or raising premiums in a contract or policy due to any omissions, misrepresentations, or inaccuracies in the application form, whether willful or not.
Chapter 406, Statutes of 2009

AB 115 (Beall-D) Adult Health Coverage Expansion Program
Revises the Adult Health Coverage Expansion Program (AHCEP) in Santa Clara County to allow AHCEP to provide health care coverage products to employees not currently eligible for the program and to the spouses, domestic partners, and eligible children of program enrollees.
Vetoed

AB 119 (Jones-D) Health care coverage: pricing
Prohibits health plans and health insurers from charging a premium, price, or charge differential for health care coverage because of the sex of the prospective subscriber, enrollee, policyholder, or insured.
Chapter 365, Statutes of 2009

AB 163 (Emmerson-R) Amino acid-based elemental formulas
Requires health plans and health insurers to provide coverage for amino acid-based elemental formulas for the diagnosis and treatment of eosinophilic disorders.
(In Assembly Appropriations Committee)

AB 214 (Chesbro-D) Health care coverage: durable medical equipment
Requires durable medical equipment benefits to be provided at levels no less than the greatest annual and lifetime benefit maximums applicable to other health services, and requires copayments, coinsurance, deductibles, and maximum out-of-pocket costs to be no more than the most common amounts applied to basic health services.
(In Assembly Appropriations Committee)

AB 244 (Beall-D) Health care coverage: mental health services
Requires health plans and insurers to cover the diagnosis and medically necessary treatment of a mental illness of a person of any age under the same terms and conditions applied to other medical conditions.
Vetoed

AB 259 (Skinner-D) Health care coverage: certified nurse-midwives
Requires a health care service plan contract or health insurance policy to allow an enrollee or policyholder the option to seek obstetrical and gynecological services from a certified nurse-midwife, as specified.
(In Assembly Health Committee)

AB 326* (Garrick-R) Income tax: health savings accounts
Conforms to federal tax law with respect to health savings accounts for taxable years beginning on or after 1/1/10.
(In Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee)

AB 389 (Saldana-D) Long-term care insurance
Modifies California long-term care insurance rate oversight law to allow the Department of Insurance (DOI) to monitor the rate increases of older long-term care policies and to assure that adequate premium dollars are going to benefits rather than the insurance company. Provides flexibility to DOI to use its own qualified actuaries in addition to contracted outside professionals to review long-term care rates.
Chapter 101, Statutes of 2009

AB 513 (De Leon-D) Health care coverage: breast-feeding.
Requires health plans and those health insurers that provide maternity benefits to provide coverage for lactation consultation with an international board certified lactation consultant and the provision of, or the rental of, a breast pump, as specified.
Vetoed

AB 542 (Feuer-D) Hospital acquired conditions
Requires the Department of Managed Health Care to adopt regulations establishing uniform policies and practices governing the nonpayment of hospitals for substantiated adverse events by public and private payers, consistent with those developed by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and revises and expands the existing requirements for hospitals to report specified hospital acquired conditions.
(In Senate Health Committee)

AB 562 (Cook-R) Health care coverage: report of claim information
Requires a health insurance issuer to, upon request, provide specified aggregate and individual health care claims information, for employers with more than 50 employees, to an employee welfare benefit plan (maintained by an employer(s) or employee organization(s)), joint employer-employee plan, a governmental entity, or plan administrator, as specified.
(Failed passage in Assembly Health Committee, reconsideration granted)

AB 591 (De La Torre-D) Insurance: referral fees: health plans and insurance: filing
Requires health care service plans and health insurers to file a copy of each of its plan contracts issued and a list of health insurance policies with more than 50,000 insureds issued to their respective regulating agencies annually. Requires health care service plans and health insurers, if they issue identification cards, to identify their respective state regulating agencies and provide a phone number where the departments may be reached.
(In Senate Appropriations Committee)

AB 684 (Ma-D) Claim reimbursement: late payments: dental services
Increases the interest rate health plans and health insurers (collectively, carriers) covering dental services must pay for uncontested claims and claims that the carrier determines to be payable that are not reimbursed within 60 working days, as specified, and requires the interest that accrues to be paid to the carriers' respective regulators for enforcement of specified laws, upon appropriation. Requires carriers offering dental coverage to follow a specified process for requesting additional information related to a claim.
(In Senate Health Committee)

AB 718 (Emmerson-R) Health care coverage: federally eligible defined individuals
Defines the "average premium paid" as an amount calculated on an annual basis by the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board using a weighted average based on each plan or insurer's enrollment in Major Risk Medical Insurance Program, as specified, and requires plans and insurers to include a statement regarding those maximum premium rates in certain solicitation and sales materials.
(In Senate Rules Committee)

AB 722 (Bonnie Lowenthal-D) Preexisting conditions
Prohibits an individual health care service plan contract or health insurance policy from denying coverage to, or excluding coverage for, an enrollee or insured due to a preexisting condition provision or otherwise, as specified, due to a mental or physical condition that is not life threatening nor chronic or severe, that is not considered to be a present condition at the time of enrollment, and for which the enrollee or insured has not received treatment for the past 12 months.
(In Assembly Health Committee)

AB 730 (De La Torre-D) Health insurance: unlawful postclaims underwriting
Increases the maximum civil penalty for health insurance post-claims underwriting from $118 per violation to $5,000 per violation, and increases that amount to $10,000 for each act of post-claims underwriting that the insurer knew was unlawful.
Vetoed

AB 745 (Coto-D) Self-funded dental benefit plans: administrators
Requires the third party administrator of a self-funded dental benefit plan to include a disclosure in the explanation of benefits document and benefit claim forms which provides the contact information for the federal Department of Labor, which regulates self-funded plans, in the event the consumer has a payment dispute with the plan.
Vetoed

AB 786 (Jones-D) Individual health care coverage
Requires the Department of Managed Health Care and the Department of Insurance to jointly promulgate regulations to develop standard definitions and terminology for covered health benefits and cost-sharing provisions applicable to individual health care contracts and individual health insurance policies and to develop a system to categorize all contracts and policies to be offered and sold to individuals on and after 9/1/12.
(On Senate Inactive File)

AB 812 (De La Torre-D) Health care coverage: medical loss ratio
Requires health plans and health insurers to report to the Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) and the Department of Insurance (DOI) the medical loss ratio for each policy issued amended or renewed in California each year. The medical loss ratio refers to the proportion of premium spending attributable to patient care, rather than profit or administration. Requires DMHC and DOI to adopt joint regulations to ensure the uniformity of information submitted.
(In Assembly Appropriations Committee)

AB 1144 (Price-D) Health care coverage: prescriptions
Requires health plans and health insurers that provide prescription drug benefits to submit written reports about step therapy each year to the Department of Managed Health Care and the Department of Insurance. Step therapy refers to the practice whereby beneficiaries are required to follow a certain sequence of pain medication to reduce risks or control costs.
(In Assembly Appropriations Committee)

AB 1201 (V. Manuel Perez-D) Immunizations for children: reimbursement of physicians
Expands provisions established by SB 168 (Speier-D), Chapter 845, Statutes of 2000, and requires health plans and insurers (carriers) to reimburse physicians for childhood vaccinations according to specified conditions.
(In Assembly Appropriations Committee)

AB 1218 (Jones-D) Health care coverage: rate approval
Requires health care service plans licensed by the Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) and health insurers certificated by the Department of Insurance (DOI), effective 7/1/09, to annually submit for prior approval to the respective regulator any increase in the rate charged to a subscriber or insured, as specified, and imposes on DMHC and DOI specific rate review criteria, timelines, and hearing requirements.
(Failed passage in Assembly Health Committee; reconsideration granted)

AB 1422* (Bass-D) California Children and Families Act of 1998
Provides funding for, and makes program changes to the Healthy Families Program, administered by the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board, which provides health care coverage for eligible low- and moderate-income children. Extends the gross premium tax of 2.35% to Medi-Cal managed care plans. Authorizes the California Children and Families Commission to make specified transfers of program revenues.
Chapter 157, Statutes of 2009

AB 1449 (De Leon-D) Health care coverage: solicitation
Revises and make specific to individual health care coverage the duty established for agents, brokers, solicitors, or sales representatives, who assist an applicant in completing applications for individual health care coverage to help an applicant provide answers to health questions accurately and completely.
(In Senate Appropriations Committee)

AB 1521 (Jones-D) Health care coverage: solicitation
Prohibits the variation of compensation a health care service plan or a health insurer pays to a solicitor for the sale or offer of, or application for, an individual health plan contract or insurance policy that would depend on the health status, claims experience, industry, or occupation of the individual.
(In Senate Appropriations Committee)

AB 1541 (Assembly Health Committee) Health care coverage
Extends from 30 days to 60 days the time period an individual or dependent, who has lost or will lose Healthy Families Program coverage, as specified, the Access for Infants and Mothers Program, or Medi-Cal program coverage, has to request enrollment in group coverage without being considered a late enrollee.
Chapter 542, Statutes of 2009

AB 1543* (Jones-D) Medicare supplement coverage
Makes conforming changes to the requirements and standards that apply to Medicare supplement contracts and policies (collectively Medigap policies), for the purpose of complying with recent federal law changes affecting the benefits, the issuance and the pricing of Medigap policies.
Chapter 10, Statutes of 2009

AB 1568 (Salas-D) Children's Health and Human Services Special Fund
Establishes the Children's Health and Human Services Special Fund in the State Treasury, into which shall be deposited revenues derived from the imposition of tax on Medi-Cal managed care plans under Revenue and Taxation Code Section 12201 et seq. Monies in the Fund shall be used exclusively for the purposes set forth in AB 1422 (Bass-D), Chapter 157, Statutes of 2009.
Chapter 299, Statutes of 2009

AB 9XXXX* (Evans-D) Developmental services
Contains necessary changes to enact modifications to the 2009 Budget Act. These changes result in savings of over $200 million General Fund. All of the proposed changes would occur, unless otherwise specified, at the time of the development, scheduled review or modification of a client's Individual Program Plan for Individual Family Service Plan.
Chapter 9, Statutes of 2009-10, Fourth Extraordinary Session

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Miscellaneous

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SB 98 (Calderon-D) Life insurance: contracts and viatical settlements
Requires the licensing of persons who transact life settlement contracts, makes it unlawful to issue or market the purchase of a new life insurance policy for the purpose of settling the policy, generally prohibits individuals from entering into a life settlement during the initial two years of a policy, requires specified disclosures to consumers including a notice of possible alternatives to life settlements, and prohibits predatory practices such as false and misleading statements.
Chapter 343, Statutes of 2009

SB 291 (Calderon-D) Insurance reserves
Authorizes a mortgage guaranty insurer to request for a waiver of a statutory formula that requires the insurer to cease writing new business if a bright-line statutory ratio is crossed.
Chapter 574, Statutes of 2009

SB 396 (Calderon-D) Insurance Commissioner: reports
Requires an existing report on agent licensure activity (within the Department of Insurance's Annual Report) to include information on the number of first-time examinees who passed the exam, their overall pass rate by category of license, and the total number of examinations and mean examination score for all examinees by license category. If the overall pass rate is less than 65% for a specific license category then the Commissioner of the Department of Insurance shall calculate the pass rate of examinees by demographic information including ethnicity/race, gender, and level of education.
Vetoed

SB 397 (Calderon-D) Life insurance
Exempts the sale of certain life insurance policies for funeral and burial expenses from the requirement that the agent provide the senior with a notice of at least 24 hours prior to their initial meeting when certain disclosures are made.
Vetoed

SB 510 (Corbett-D) Structured settlements: payment transfers
Strengthens and refines the provisions of California's Transfers of Structured Settlement Payment Rights Act in order to better protect consumers who wish to transfer to a financial entity their structured settlement payment rights, i.e., periodic payment rights, for a lump sum payment.
Chapter 593, Statutes of 2009

AB 41 (Coto-D) Insurance: community development investments
Requires certain insurers to develop, and file with the Commissioner of the Department of Insurance, no later than 7/1/09, and every two years thereafter, a "Community Development Investment" policy that expresses the insurer's goals for community development investments during the following two-year period. Requires the commissioner to establish a link on its Internet Web site providing public access to each insurer's Community Development Investment information, as specified.
(In Assembly Insurance Committee)

AB 76 (Yamada-D) Life and Annuity Consumer Protection Fund
Extends the sunset date on a special fund and the $1 assessment on each life insurance and annuity contract sold in the state, and requires that the Commissioner of the Department of Insurance post specified information on the Department of Insurance's Internet Web site.
Chapter 75, Statutes of 2009

AB 299 (Assembly Insurance Committee) Insurance
Makes a series of changes to technical and noncontroversial laws governing the authority and duties of the Commissioner of the Department of Insurance and insurance companies to clarify and update existing law.
Chapter 234, Statutes of 2009

AB 328 (Charles Calderon-D) Electronic transactions: exceptions
Authorizes insurance companies to send various notices required by the Insurance Code, electronically by agreement with the recipient using procedures that conform to the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act and applicable substantive law, and authorizes insurance companies to pay claims by electronic funds transfers.
Chapter 433, Statutes of 2009

AB 409 (Garrick-R) California Insurance Guarantee Association
Revises the California Insurance Guarantee Association law to clarify that assessments to pay claims of insolvent insurers shall be based upon a uniform percentage applied to the share of direct written premium of participating insurers for the base year, as that share is initially determined from the insurers' first Annual Financial Statement filing following the base year, and then as updated yearly from subsequent annual Financial Statement filings. This method conforms to that used since the program's 1982 inception.
Chapter 105, Statutes of 2009

AB 470 (Niello-R) Insurance information: confidentiality
Authorizes an insurance institution, agent, or insurance-support organization to disclose information to an insureds lawyer from an accident report, supplemental report, investigative report or the actual report from a governmental agency or which is a copy of an accident or other report which the insured is entitled to obtain under specified provisions of the Vehicle Code or Government Code.
Chapter 112, Statutes of 2009

AB 679 (Garrick-R) Insurance: adverse underwriting decisions
States that if an insurance company or agent chooses to give an oral advisement, the advisement must be that the applicant or policyholder will receive the reasons in writing if he/she requests.
(In Assembly Insurance Committee)

AB 784 (Gaines-R) Insurance transactions: nonadmitted insurers
Provides that a nonadmitted insurer that is affiliated with a California domestic insurer shall not be deemed to be transacting insurance in California as long as all California business written by the nonadmitted insurer is transacted by and through a surplus lines broker licensed in California.
(In Assembly Insurance Committee)

AB 800 (Duvall-R) Insurance omnibus
Eliminates the option to conduct several significant classes of transactions with the Department of Insurance by paper in favor of electronic transactions and makes numerous other changes, including changes needed to increase the conformity of the Department of Insurance law with the Producer Licensing Model Act of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
Chapter 254, Statutes of 2009

AB 802 (Duvall-R) Insurance fraud: release of information
Requires insurers to release to specified government agencies any unlawful activity uncovered in the course of an insurance fraud investigation, when requested.
(In Senate Banking, Finance and Insurance Committee)

AB 866 (Niello-R) California Earthquake Authority
Revises the due date of the California Earthquake Authority (CEA) Annual Report from May 1st of each year to August 1st of each year and provides for its publication on the CEA Internet Web site.
Chapter 480, Statutes of 2009

AB 954 (Jones-D) Insurance commissioner: regulations
Requires the Department of Insurance to use the Administrative Procedures Act when adopting rules, regulations, or insurance standards recommended by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, with specified exceptions.
(In Assembly Appropriations Committee)

AB 982 (Tran-R) Structured settlements: transfers
Clarifies several aspects of the sale or transfer of a structured settlement. A structured settlement relates to tort settlements that are converted to an annuity-like product, with periodic payments that may have tax advantages, for example. Modifies the definition of "interest parties" and clarifies that certain prohibitions apply if the payee is located in California.
(In Senate Judiciary Committee)

AB 985 (De La Torre-D) Real property: discriminatory restrictions
Requires a county recorder, title insurance company or other entity transferring of a deed or other written instrument relating to title in real property to provide the recipient with a document that will allow the recipient to remove the unlawful restrictive covenants and to create a public record which does not contain the restrictive covenant.
Vetoed

AB 989 (Block-D) Senior insurance: actions against insurers
Authorizes any person who is harmed as a result of a violation of the senior insurance laws to bring a civil action for compensatory damages and any other remedies otherwise provided by law.
(In Assembly Insurance Committee)

AB 1011 (Jones-D) Insurance: green incentives
Requires the Commissioner of the Department of Insurance to hold public hearings, collect certain information, and study the effects of environmentally friendly practices on insurance products, requires property insurers to offer green replacement coverage, as defined, to an insured after a loss, requires property insurers to offer coverage for solar and wind distributed generation, and authorizes insurers to claim a 20% credit for investments in environmental financial institutions against the amount of gross premiums tax owed by the insurer.
(In Senate Rules Committee)

AB 1214 (Nava-D) Fire insurance: underwriters' corps: liability
Requires any privately owned or operated resources hired by an insurer to protect structures threatened by fire or to perform firefighting duties to report to and follow the direction of the Incident Commander as that term is used in the California's Standardized Emergency Management System.
Chapter 517, Statutes of 2009

AB 1413 (Coto-D) Fire insurance: coverage
Provides that if an insured purchased a fire insurance policy that provides extended or guaranteed replacement cost coverage, then the full scope of that coverage is available whether the insured rebuilds at the original or a new location, and provides that if the insured actually builds or replaces at a new location, the maximum amount to which the insured is entitled is determined by the replacement cost of the damaged property for equivalent construction materials of like kind and quality at the original location, up to the limits stated in the policy.
(In Senate Banking, Finance and Insurance Committee)

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