CALIFORNIA LEGISLATIVE & POLITICAL UPDATE. Paul Yoder CCWC Managing Director Jason Schmelzer CCWC Lobbyist

Transcription

1 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATIVE & POLITICAL UPDATE Paul Yoder CCWC Managing Director Jason Schmelzer CCWC Lobbyist

2 CCWC EDUCATION Annual Conference Workers Compensation Education Day Media Engagement POLITICAL CCWC PAC: Contributes to candidates for elected office that support a balanced WC system Appointment of regulators & judges LEGISLATIVE / REGULATORY Coalition leadership Advancement of reform Defeat of costly new mandates and procedural roadblocks Regulatory implementation and reform

3 MOOD OF THE VOTERS

4

5 2014 Voter Turnout 2014 Primary 2014 General (Projection) Voting Not Voting Voting Not Voting

6 Turnout Comparison 2010 General Election Voted Not Voting IMPACT Republicans over-perform because electorate will be more heavily weighted toward absentee ballots

7 Oh Yeah

8 2014 ELECTION

9 Statewide Elected Officials Governor Lt. Governor Secretary of State Controller Treasurer Attorney General Insurance Commissioner Superintendent of Public Instruction

10 Statewide Races Governor Brown v. Kashkari June Field Poll has Brown winning Lt. Governor Newsom v. Nehring Secretary of State Padilla v. Peterson Controller Swearingen v. Yee / Perez Recount pending / Perez down 481 votes Treasurer Chiang v. Conlon Attorney General Harris v. Gold Insurance Commissioner Jones v. Gaines Superintendent of Public Instruction Torlakson v. Tuck Statewide races will be again dominated by democrats

11 Statewide Ballot Measures Prop. 43 Water Bond May or may not move forward. August 15 th deadline to replace or defer Prop. 44 Budget Reserve Rainy Day Fund initiative Prop. 45 Health Insurance Rate Regulation Health plan rate changes approved by the Insurance Commissioner. Health plans will spend millions to defeat

12 Statewide Ballot Measures Prop. 46 MICRA Cap Increase Increases $250,000 cap on non-medical damages for medical malpractice lawsuits Millions will be spent on both sides of this issue Prop. 47 Criminal Sentences Reduced criminal penalties for some crimes shoplifting, theft, forgery, fraud, and drugs Designed to fee up space in California s overcrowded prison system Prop. 48 Overturn Indian Gaming Compacts Referendum on Indian gaming compact in Madera County Both compacts already ratified by the legislature

13 California State Senate 25 // 12 // 2 // 1 2/3 Supermajority Two Competitive Seats SD 14: Fresno Vidak v. Chavez SD 34: Orange County Solorio v. Nguyen

14 California Assembly 55 // 24 // 1 Leadership Changes Contested Seats AD 8 // Cooley AD 32 // Salas AD 36 // Fox AD 65 // Quirk-Silva AD 66 // Muratsuchi

15 Election Implications Brulte brilliance or Brulte bust? If reelected, Brown will be 80 when he leaves office Legacy - High Speed Rail, Twin Tunnels, Balanced Budget, Pension Reform? Freedom s Just Another Word for Nothing Left to Lose? Jockeying for 2018 Newsom, Harris, Villariagosa, Clooney

16 Looking Ahead

17 WORKERS COMPENSATION SYSTEM PERFORMANCE

18 California Cost Comparison

19 Ranking

20 Claim Frequency

21 Claim Frequency Change

22 Frequency Change Comparison

23 SB 863 Reforms Focus: Augment PD and improve the quality and timing of medical care Simplify the delivery of benefits and increase predictability Reduce litigation-related costs and delays Eliminate uncertainty and conflict associated with medical bills Improve RTW for injured workers Improve speed to closure 2:1 ratio of savings to costs

24 SB 863 Performance Permanent Disability RTW Fund SJDV RBRVS IMR IBR Liens Fee Schedules

25 2014 LEGISLATION

26 Environmental Considerations SB 863 Election Year 2012 Freshman Class Large incoming class in 2014 Leadership / Chair Changes No Dean of Workers Comp AB 1035 (J. Perez) Extends the statute of limitations on death benefits for some public safety officers Sponsor: CA Labor Fed & CPF Opposition: CCWC, CSAC, League, CAJPA, etc.

27 2014 Legislation AB 1746 (Alejo) Provides for calendar priority to injured workers seeking benefits from the UEBTF Supported by CCWC, CalChamber, Labor Fed, etc. Passed to Governor AB 1897 (Hernandez) Blurs lines of liability for independent contractors and clients; has WC implications Supported: Labor coalition Oppose: CCWC, CalChamber, large coalition

28 2014 Legislation AB 2052 (Gonzalez) Expands eligibility for heart, cancer, and other presumptions to all peace officers Sponsor: PORAC Opposition: CCWC, CSAC, League, CAJPA, etc. AB 2378 (Perea) Provides that LC 4850 wage replacement time is paid outside of the 104 week cap on TD Sponsor: PORAC, CPF, Labor Federation Opposition: CCWC, CSAC, League, CAJPA, etc.

29 2014 Legislation AB 2604 (Brown) Imposed massive increase in LC 5814 penalties in some circumstances Sponsor: VIAW Opposition: CCWC, CalChamber, ACIC, CSAC, etc. AB 2616 (Skinner) Establishes a presumption for acute care hospital workers with MRSA Sponsor: CNA Opposition: CCWC, CalChamber, CHA, CSAC, etc.

30 2014 Legislation SB 1234 (Block) Expands LC 4850 to cover all peace officers in the penal code Sponsor: PORAC, Labor Federation, CPF Opposition: CCWC, CSAC, League, CAJPA, etc. SB 1373 (Walters) Repeals provisions in SB 863 that prohibit selfinsurance for PEO s, temp agencies, and others Never saw a hearing Strong sense that SB 863 must be honored

31 Issues on the Horizon Judicial intervention in SB 863 Savings at risk Evaluation of SB 863 Savings / Efficacy Was the benefits v. savings balance reached? Evaluation of presumption policy / Fiscal Impact Rebuttable? Reasonable fiscally? Cumulative Trauma Claims Is California an outlier and are consensus reforms possible? System Penalties needed elsewhere? Who other than claims administrators have a vital role that needs monitoring Cap on temporary disability benefits 104 week cap will be a target Underground economy / Independent Contractor Focus

32 Participate CCWCWORKCOMP.ORG CCWC PAC WC EDUCATION DAY MEMBERS: Committee Participation OTHER ORGANIZATIONS: WCAN, CalChamber, CompSense