Legislation to Establish an Unemployment Insurance Advisory Committee

On February 18, Assemblyman Tom Lackey (R-Palmdale) amended his Assembly Bill 42, which would establish an advisory committee on  insurance. The bill would add Article 2 (commencing with Section 370) to Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 1 to the Unemployment Insurance Code. Section One of the bill provides several legislative findings and declarations such as noting the impacts of the economic shutdowns due to the pandemic and the significant expenditures for unemployment insurance.

Section Two of the bill would add Article 2, which would be titled “Advisory Committee.” It would require the Employment Development Department to establish and convene an advisory committee to advise the EDD on matters within the EDD’s jurisdiction, including, but not limited to, unemployment insurance. It would also require the advisory committee members to be made up of organizations representing a diverse spectrum of private and public employers and employees impacted by programs overseen by the EDD.

These advisory committee members would serve terms of up to two years and the committee would be required to meet at least once per quarter. These meetings would be open and public in compliance with existing state law. The advisory committee would be called upon to make recommendations to the EDD as necessary.

AB 42 would make the creation and operation of the advisory committee contingent upon a legislative appropriation of funding. A first hearing on the bill is expected in March.