Assembly Committee Rejects Rate Regulation Bill

Sacramento, CA — An Assembly committee has rejected a bill that would regulate workers´ compensation insurance rates paid by California employers.

The measure failed to draw any support in the Insurance Committee even though its supporters said many small businesses haven´t seen rate cuts despite a series of new laws designed to reduce the cost of treating workers´ job-related injuries.

Four lawmakers voted against the bill and six others didn´t vote. The bill´s author, Senator Richard Alarcon of Van Nuys, says most small businesses have seen rate reductions and those that have gotten cuts have seen reductions that averaged only 10 percent.

He says his bill would avoid what he refers to as outlandish profit-taking by insurers. But bill opponents say rates are dropping after skyrocketing in recent years and that Alarcon´s bill would discourage insurance companies from coming into the California market.