State Compensation Insurance Fund: out-of-state risks.

Existing law creates the State Compensation Insurance Fund administered by a board of directors for the purpose of transacting workers' compensation insurance, insurance against the expense of defending any suit for serious and willful misconduct against an employer or his or her agent, and insurance for employees and other persons for the compensation fixed by the workers' compensation laws for employees and their dependents. Existing law authorizes the fund to insure a California employer against the employer's liability for workers' compensation benefits, under the law of any other state, for California employees temporarily working outside of California on a specific assignment if the fund insures the employer's other employees who work within California. This bill would expand that authorization so that the fund would be authorized to insure a qualified employer whose principal place of business is in California against the employer's liability for workers' compensation benefits, under the law of any other state, if the fund insured the employees who work within California, as specified. The bill would require the Department of Insurance, on or before March 1, 2015, to report to the Secretary of the Senate and the Chief Clerk of the Assembly regarding the experience of the fund in engaging in these transactions and make recommendations, as provided, and to post the report on the department's Internet Web site. The bill would prohibit the fund from initiating paid advertising or soliciting sponsorship of advertising campaigns to market or promote to prospective insureds the ability to insure qualified employers under the law of any other state and would make specified provisions inoperative on December 31, 2016.