California Governor Jerry Brown has formallysigned a bill limiting professional athletes from receivingworkers' compensation benefits in California if they live and playpredominantly outside the state.
The bill, AB1309, which received bipartisan support as well asthat of sports organizations such as the National Football League,was proposed in 2012 by Assemblyman Henry T. Perea (D-Fresno) toprevent out-of-state athletes from “unfairly targeting”California's WC system.
|“This new law sets reasonable standards to close an expensiveloophole unique to California and to professional sports,” saysDennis Kuhl, chairman of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. “Thischange isn't just good for California baseball teams—it's good forall California businesses and their workers and ensures that ourworkers' compensation system is there for in-state players.”
|Supporters of AB1309 say out-of-state athletes are takingadvantage of a “loophole” in California's WC system that allowsthem to file claims, long after retirement, in their home state andin California, where they may have played as little as a portion ofone game.
|The bill's detractors, including players' representatives, say it is a ploy by thestate and by professional sports teams to get out of the enormousfinancial burden of paying for injured and mentally decliningformer athletes.
|A study by the NFL showed that up to 4,000 WC claims remain openin California with a cost that could come to $1 billion. New claimsare accumulating at a rate of about 30 per month, according to thestudy. The California Insurance Guarantee Association has paid morethan $41.7 million in losses on professional-athlete claims since2002.
|The bill is retroactive to Sept. 15.
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