2005 California Government Code Sections 53200-53210 Article 1. Group Insurance

53200.  As used in this article:
   (a) "Local agency" means a county, city, school district,
district, municipal corporation, political subdivision, public
corporation, or other public agency of the state.
   (b) "Group life insurance" and "group policies of life insurance"
includes "group annuities", and "group annuity contracts."
   (c) "Legislative body" means the board of supervisors of a county
or city, or the governing board, by whatever name called, of a school
district, district, municipal corporation, political subdivision,
public corporation, or other public agency of the state.
   (d) "Health and welfare benefit" means any one or more of the
following:  hospital, medical, surgical, disability, legal expense or
related benefits including, but not limited to, medical, dental,
life, legal expense, and income protection insurance or benefits,
whether provided on an insurance or a service basis, and includes
group life insurance as defined in subdivision (b) of this section.
   (e) "Employees" or "officers and employees" mean all employees and
officers, including members of the legislative body, who are
eligible under the terms of any plan of health and welfare benefits
adopted by a local agency pursuant to this article.
53200.1.  For the purposes of this article, employees employed by
the county superintendent of schools and whose salaries are paid from
the county school service fund are county employees.  The employer's
contribution for such employees is a proper charge against the
county school service fund.
53200.2.  For the purposes of this article, school district
employees whose salaries are paid through the county school service
fund, pursuant to the provisions of Section 13843 of the Education
Code, are county employees.  The employer's contribution for such
employees shall be paid through the county school service fund in the
same manner as the salaries of such employees.
53200.3.  For the limited purpose of the application of this
article, judges of the superior and municipal courts and the officers
and attaches of said courts whose salaries are paid either in whole
or in part from the salary fund of the county are county employees
and shall be subject to the same or similar obligations and be
granted the same or similar employee benefits as are now required or
granted to employees of the county in which the court of said judge,
officer, or attache is located.
53200.4.  Employees of a district may be treated as county employees
for purposes of this article subject to approval of the district's
governing board and the county board of supervisors.
   The board of supervisors may impose as a condition to that
approval a charge to cover the added costs to the county of
administering the inclusion of the district's employees in the county
program.
53200.5.  Employees of an agency or entity created for the joint
exercise of powers pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 5
(commencing with Section 6500) of Division 7 of Title 1, are county
employees for purposes of this article when the county is a party to
the joint exercise of powers agreement, subject to the approval of
the board of supervisors and the governing body of the joint powers
agency or entity.
53201.  (a) The legislative body of a local agency, subject to
conditions as may be established by it, may provide for any health
and welfare benefits for the benefit of its officers, employees,
retired employees, and retired members of the legislative body, as
provided in subdivision (b), who elect to accept the benefits and who
authorize the local agency to deduct the premiums, dues, or other
charges from their compensation, to the extent that the charges are
not covered by payments from funds under the jurisdiction of the
local agency as permitted by Section 53205.
   (b) The legislative body of a local agency may also provide for
the continuation of any health and welfare benefits for the benefit
of former elective members of the legislative body who (1) served in
office after January 1, 1981, and whose total service at the time of
termination is not less than 12 years, or (2) have completed one or
more terms of office, but less than 12 years, and who agree to and do
pay the full costs of the health and welfare benefits.
   (c) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a legislative
body of a local agency that provided benefits pursuant to subdivision
(b) to former elective members of the legislative body January 1,
1995, shall not provide those benefits to any person first elected to
a term of office that begins on or after January 1, 1995, unless the
recipient participates on a self-pay basis, as provided in
subdivision (b).
   (2) A legislative body of a local agency that did not provide
benefits pursuant to subdivision (b) to former elective members of
the legislative body before January 1, 1994, shall not provide those
benefits to former elective members of the legislative body after
January 1, 1994, unless the recipients participate on a self-pay
basis.
   (3) A legislative body of a local agency that provided benefits
pursuant to subdivision (b) to former elective members of the
legislative body before January 1, 1994, may continue to provide
those benefits to those members who received those benefits before
January 1, 1994.
   (d) The legislative body of a local agency that is a local
hospital district may provide for any health and welfare benefits for
the benefit of (1) members of its medical staff, employees of the
medical staff members, and the dependents of both groups on a
self-pay basis; and (2) employees of any entity owned, managed,
controlled, or similarly affiliated with, the legislative body of the
local hospital district, and their dependents, on a self-pay basis.
   (e) The provisions of this section are severable.  If any
provision of this section or its application is held invalid, that
invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can
be given effect without the invalid provision or application.
53202.  In providing health and welfare benefits the local agency
may approve plans of their officers and employees or may contract
with one or more admitted insurers, health service organizations, or
legal service organizations for such plan or plans of health and
welfare benefits as the local agency shall determine to be in the
best interests of the local agency and the officers and employees
electing to accept the benefits.  Approval of or application for such
benefits may be made by the local agency upon its own motion or with
the consent of the legislative body after considering the preference
of the employees of the agency, and two or more alternative plans of
health and welfare benefits may be offered to the employees if the
local agency determines that such action is desirable.
53202.1.  In approving a plan or plans of health and welfare
benefits, the local agency may approve policies of life, health,
legal expense, and accident insurance, or any of them, from an
admitted insurer or from a nonprofit membership corporation, as
defined in Section 1157, wherein a bona fide association, as defined
in Section 1157.1, is the policyholder or contractholder, for the
benefit of the agency and the officers and employees authorizing the
purchase.
53202.2.  When a policy is approved or adopted and carried into
effect the local agency may prescribe such rules, regulations and
procedures as may properly implement the system, to provide for its
administration and to advise its officers and employees of the terms
and provisions of the system or systems as approved or adopted and
carried into effect.
53202.25.  When in the possession of the local agency, applications,
claims and all individual records of persons entitled to benefits
from any policies or plans established pursuant to this article shall
be confidential and shall not be disclosed to anyone except to the
extent expressly authorized in such application, claims, policies or
plans or insofar as it may be necessary for the administration of
this article, the policy or plan, or other policies or plans
affecting a person covered under the policy or plan, or upon order of
a court of competent jurisdiction.
53202.3.  All plans, policies or other documents used to effectuate
the purposes of this article shall provide benefits for large numbers
of employees.  No plan or policy may be approved pursuant to this
article unless its issuance or the payment of benefits thereunder is
otherwise lawful in this State.  This article does not authorize the
issuance of any group policy or the representation of any insurance
benefits as group insurance unless the policy concerning which the
representation is made is designated as a group policy by the
applicable provisions of the Insurance Code.
53205.  From funds under its jurisdiction, the legislative body may
authorize  payment of all, or such portion as it may elect, of the
premiums, dues, or other charges for health and welfare benefits of
officers, employees, retired employees, former elective members
specified in subdivision (b) of Section 53201, and retired members of
the legislative body subject to its jurisdiction.
   Those expenditures are charges against the funds.  If the employer
pays any portion of the premiums, dues, or other charges for the
health and welfare benefits, any dividends paid or premiums refunded
or other rebates or refunds under any of those health and welfare
benefits up to the aggregate expenditures of the employer for the
benefits are the employer's property.  The excess, if any, shall be
applied by the employer for the benefit of the employees or their
dependents generally.
53205.1.  (a) From funds under its jurisdiction, the legislative
body may authorize payment of all or any portion as it may elect of
the premiums, dues, or other charges for health and welfare benefits
on the spouse and dependent children under the age of 21, dependent
children under the age of 25 who are full-time students at a college
or university, and dependent children regardless of age who are
physically or mentally incapacitated, of those officers and
employees, including retired officers and employees, subject to the
jurisdiction and for whom those health and welfare benefits have been
provided.
   (b) Those expenditures are charges against the funds.  If the
employer pays any portion of the premiums for that insurance, any
dividend paid or premiums refunded under any such insurance up to the
aggregate expenditures of the employer for that insurance are the
employer's property.  The excess, if any, shall be applied by the
employer for the benefit of insured employees or their dependents
generally.
53205.16.  It is the intention of the Legislature to allow
legislative bodies to validate or approve any prior, existing, or
future payments or claims resulting from insurance or health benefits
or health and welfare given their officers and employees and their
dependents.
   The purpose of the amendments to Sections 53200 and 53205.1
enacted at the 1972 Regular Session and the 1973-74 Regular Session
of the Legislature is to make it clear that the Legislature intended
that legislative bodies be able to pay for insurance or health
benefits or health and welfare benefits including, but not limited
to, medical, dental, life, legal expense, and income protection
insurance or benefits, for their officers and employees and their
dependents under the provisions of Sections 53205 and 53205.1.
53205.2.  In granting the approval specified in Sections 53202 and
53202.1 the local agency or governing board shall give preference to
such health benefit plans as do not terminate upon retirement of the
employees affected, and which provide the same benefits for retired
personnel as for active personnel at no increase in costs to the
retired person, provided that the local agency or governing board
makes a contribution of at least five dollars ($5) per month toward
the cost of providing a health benefits plan for the employee or the
employee and the dependent members of his family.  In the case of
retired personnel who receive retirement benefits under the State
Employees' Retirement System, the health benefits coverage provided
for annuitants by a health benefits plan under the Meyers-Geddes
State Employees' Medical and Hospital Care Act shall satisfy the
requirements of this section.
53205.3.  School districts and community college districts may join
with other school districts or community college districts, or any
combination of those districts, in providing for the payment  of
health and welfare benefits by entering into a pooling arrangement
under a joint exercise of powers agreement or on a self-insured or
self-funded basis or partly by means of self-insurance or
self-funding and partly by means of insurance or service agreements
as herein described.  Any such arrangement, otherwise valid under
this section, as amended by the Statutes of 1982, which was entered
into prior to, and is in effect on the effective date of such
amendments to this section, is hereby validated and confirmed.
53205.5.  Subject to any applicable limitations of Section 53205 the
legislative body may authorize payments to the trustees of a fund
established to procure insurance pursuant to Insurance Code Sections
10202.8 or 10270.5 (a)(4) and may deduct from the employees'
compensation amounts for payment to such trustees; provided, that
such payments and such deductions must be the same as payments made
by other employers for their employees and payments made by the
employees of such other employers, respectively to the trustees of
said trust fund.  Subject to the trust agreement, the local agency
may receive from the trustees a return of payments up to the
aggregate expenditures of the local agency.  The excess, if any,
shall remain in the fund for the benefit of all of the beneficiaries
of the trust or their dependents generally.
53206.  Any law prohibiting, restricting, or limiting the assignment
of or order for wages or salary does not prohibit, restrict, or
limit the powers conferred in this article nor the power of officers
or employees to authorize and approve payment of charges for health
and welfare benefits.
   The local agency may pay amounts derived from pay roll deductions
permitted by Section 53202 of the Government Code and amounts derived
from employer contributions pursuant to Section 53205 of the
Government Code directly to the contracting insurers or service
organizations, or to the trustees of a fund established to procure
health and welfare benefits, or to such other recipients as the
contracting insurers, service organizations, and the local agency may
designate.
53207.  This article does not require an officer or employee of a
local agency to accept or join in any plan of health and welfare
benefits or to authorize deductions from their wages or salaries for
any portion of the costs thereof.
53208.  Notwithstanding any statutory limitation upon compensation
or statutory restriction relating to interest in contracts entered
into by any local agency, any member of a legislative body may
participate in any plan of health and welfare benefits permitted by
this article.
53208.5.  (a) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this
section, to provide a uniform limit on the health and welfare
benefits for the members of the legislative bodies of all political
subdivisions of the state, including charter cities and charter
counties.  The Legislature finds and declares that uneven,
conflicting, and inconsistent health and welfare benefits for
legislative bodies distort the statewide system of intergovernmental
finance.  The Legislature further finds and declares that the
inequities caused by these problems extend beyond the boundaries of
individual public agencies.
   Therefore, the Legislature finds and declares that these problems
are not merely municipal affairs or matters of local interest and
that they are truly matters of statewide concern that require the
direct attention of the state government.  In providing a uniform
limit on the health and welfare benefits for the legislative bodies
of all political subdivisions of the state, the Legislature has
provided a solution to a statewide problem that is greater than local
in its effect.
   (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the health and
welfare benefits of any member of a legislative body of any city,
including a charter city, county, including a charter county, city
and county, special district, school district, or any other political
subdivision of the state shall be no greater than that received by
nonsafety employees of that public agency.  In the case of agencies
with different benefit structures, the benefits of members of the
legislative body shall not be greater than the most generous schedule
of benefits being received by any category of nonsafety employees.
   (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, members of the
legislative body of a city, including a charter city, county,
including a charter county, city and county, special district, school
district, or any other political subdivision of the state shall not
be eligible to accrue multiple health and welfare benefits greater
than the most generous schedule of benefits being received by any
category of nonsafety employees from two or more public agencies for
concurrent service except in the case of a member who serves as a
regular full-time employee in a separate public agency.
   (d) This section shall be applicable to any member of a
legislative body whose first service commences on and after January
1, 1995.
53209.  Amendments made in this article by the Legislature at the
1957 Regular Session, including, but not limited to, the repeal of
Government Code Sections 53203 and 53204, are intended to enlarge the
classification of service-type organizations eligible for pay roll
deductions and employer contributions hereunder, to liberalize
restrictions on the extent of employer contributions permitted, and
to broaden the classes of employees eligible for benefits hereunder,
and no change effected in this article by the Legislature at the 1957
Regular Session shall be construed to alter or affect the legal
status or eligibility of any organization heretofore eligible for pay
roll deductions or employer contributions hereunder.
53210.  The legislative body of a county may authorize payment from
funds under its jurisdiction of all or such portion as it may elect
of the premiums or other charges for hospital, medical, surgical,
disability, death benefits, or related benefits whether provided on
an insurance or a service basis for persons who on a voluntary basis
and without compensation perform services on behalf of any county
department or district of which the board of supervisors is the
governing body.
   Any dividends paid, premiums refunded or other rebates or refunds
received under insurance or other benefits provided pursuant to this
section shall be the property of the county.