Inventory of the California State Senate Insurance Committee Records

Processed by Melissa Larson

California State Archives

1020 "O" Street

Sacramento, California 95814

Phone: (916) 653-2246

Fax: (916) 653-7363

Email: ArchivesWeb@sos.ca.gov

URL: http://www.sos.ca.gov/archives/

Inventory of the California State Senate Insurance Committee Records

Collection number: See series description.

California State Archives

Office of the Secretary of State

Sacramento, California

Processed by:: Melissa Larson
Date Completed:: 1 March 2008
Encoded by:: Jessica Knox

Descriptive Summary

Title: California State Senate Insurance Committee Records

Dates: 1981-2004

Collection number: See series description.

Creator: Senate Insurance Committee

Creator/Collector: Senate Insurance, Claims and Corporations Committee

Creator/Collector: Senate Subcommittee on Earthquake Insurance

Creator/Collector: Senate Insurance and Indemnity Committee

Collection Size: 54.5 cubic feet

Repository: California State Archives

Sacramento, California

Abstract: The present Senate Insurance Committee was created with Senate Resolution 58 on August 30, 1994, and charged to hear bills relating to insurance, indemnity, surety, warranty agreements, liens, claims, unclaimed property, collections and franchises. The Senate Insurance Committee Records consist of 54.5 cubic feet of Senate Insurance Committee files, including the Senate Insurance and Indemnity Committee (1981-1982), Senate Insurance Claims and Corporations Committee (1983-1994), the Subcommittee on Earthquake Insurance (1987-1992), and the Senate Insurance Committee (1995-2004).

Physical location: California State Archives

Languages: Languages represented in the collection: English

Administrative Information

Access

The Quackenbush Investigative Files series is restricted under the Legislative Open Records Act Government Code Section 9075 (c) and (k).

Publication Rights

For permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the California State Archives. Permission for reproduction or publication is given on behalf of the California State Archives as the owner of the physical items. The researcher assumes all responsibility for possible infringement which may arise from reproduction or publication of materials from the California State Archives collections.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Senate Insurance Committee Records, LP[number]:[folder number], California State Archives, Office of the Secretary of State, Sacramento, California.

Acquisition History

The California State Archives acquired the Senate Insurance Committee records according to state law.

Committee History

The Insurance and Indemnity Committee was created by Senate Resolution 8 on January 5, 1981, existing only in the 1981-1982 session. The committee's focus then was on bills relating to insurance and indemnity. The committee's scope was broadened in the 1983-1984 session when Senate Resolution 11 passed on March 17, 1983, establishing the Senate Insurance, Claims and Corporation Committee. The committee heard bills relating to insurance, indemnity, surety, warranty, agreements, liens, claims, including retail credit, unclaimed property, collections, corporations, and franchises. The name and responsibilities would remain as such until the 1995-1996 legislative session when the present Senate Insurance Committee was created with Senate Resolution 58 on August 30, 1994. With the change in name, the committee would no longer hear bills concerning corporations and retail credit claims. The Senate Insurance Committee was charged with hearing bills relating to insurance, indemnity, surety, warranty agreements, liens, claims, unclaimed property, collections and franchises.

In 1981 the Insurance and Indemnity Committee consisted of 5 members with Senator Alan Robbins as Chair. Although the committee's name changed in 1983, Robbins continued as chair and the number of committee members stayed the same until 1987 when it increased to nine members. In November of 1991, Robbins, who was convicted of extorting money from special interests, engaging in obstruction of justice, and filing a false tax return, resigned leaving the chair spot vacant for the remainder of the session. It would not be until the 1993-1994 session that Senator Art Torres would become chair and increase the committee to eleven members. The 1995-1996 session brought Senator Herschel Rosenthal to chair the newly named Senate Insurance Committee with nine members. Rosenthal remained chair for two sessions until 1999 when Jackie Speier took over and increased the number to ten members in the committee. She would continue for three sessions as chair, changing the number of members to seven in the 2001-2002 session, and again to nine in 2003-2004.

Scope and Content

This record group consists of 54.5 cubic feet of Senate Insurance Committee files, including the Senate Insurance and Indemnity Committee (1981-1982), Senate Insurance Claims and Corporations Committee (1983-1994), the Subcommittee on Earthquake Insurance (1987-1992), and the Senate Insurance Committee (1995-2004). The records are organized into five series: bill files, hearing files, subject files, correspondence, and Quackenbush Investigative Files. The Subcommittee on Earthquake Insurance files are organized in a subgroup consisting of bill files and hearing files.

The records cover a wide range of issues dealing with various types of insurance, including but not limited to: health, automobile, earthquake, homeowners, and life insurance. The committee also saw legislation on regulations imposed on the Department of Insurance and the Insurance Commissioner. Topics such as insurance fraud, investments, liability, Proposition 103 insurance reform, regulations on health care service plans, Health Maintenance Organizations, the Healthy Families Program, the Knox-Keene Program, small business insurance, unclaimed property, and surplus line brokers yield significant information for research.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

California. Legislature. Senate. Committee on Insurance

Disaster insurance Law and legislation

Homeowner's insurance

Health insurance

Related Collections at the California State Archives

Alan Robbins Papers

Herschel Rosenthal Papers

Jackie Speier Papers (partially restricted)

Oral History

Art Torres Oral History Interview, conducted by Lawrence B. de Graaf, Center for Oral and Public History, California State University, Fullerton for the State Government Oral History Program, California State Archives.

Related Material

Researchers interested in this committee are advised to check the papers of its Chairs. Committee Chairs often kept materials relating to committee operations among their personal files. For Chair papers available at the California State Archives or other repositories, this information can be found in the committee history.

See LP numbers below.

Series 1 Bill Files 1981-2004

Physical Description: 687 file folders

Arrangement

Bill files are arranged chronologically by legislative session then numerically by bill number within legislative house.

Scope and Content Note

Most bill files include all or some of the following items: bill analyses, amendments and resolutions, author's statements, testimony, press releases, newspaper clippings, correspondence, roll calls, records of votes, and committee statements. Of particular interest are those bills relating to insurance fraud, investments, liability, Proposition 103 insurance reform, health care service plans, Health Maintenance Organizations, the Healthy Families Program, the Knox-Keene Program, small business insurance, unclaimed property, and surplus line brokers.

Senate Insurance and Indemnity Committee:

1981-1982: SB74-SB2050 (5ff) LP223:72-76

1981-1982: AB15-AB3750 (6ff) LP223:77-82

Senate Insurance Claims and Corporations Committee:

1983-1984: SB25-SB2179 (14ff) LP255:69-82

1983-1984: AB30-AB4056 (17ff) LP255:83-99

1985-1986: SB3-SB2613; SJR9 (14ff) LP284:41-54

1985-1986: AB68-AB4406; AJR9-AJR86 (20ff) LP284:55-74

1987-1988: SB6-SB2865; SCA29-SCA38; SCR31-SCR97 (19ff) LP284:75-93

1987-1988: AB97-AB4659; ACR83; AJR21 (18ff) LP284:94-111

1989-1990: SB3-SB2902; SCA48-SCA49; SCR13-SCR40; SJR41-SJR70 (20ff) LP284:112-131

1989-1990: AB60-AB4284; AJR64; AB23X (26ff) LP284:132-157

1991-1992: SB6-SB2038; SCR30 (20ff) LP284:232-245F

1991-1992: AB14-AB3740; ACR84; AJR43 (23ff) LP248:245G-256F

1993-1994: SB38-SB2065; SCA23; SJR36-SJR37 (27ff) LP382:1-27

1993-1994: AB16-AB3823; AJR9 (22ff) LP382:28-49

Senate Insurance Committee:

1995-1996: SB17-SB2127; SB5X-SB7X (67ff) LP382:50-116

1995-1996: AB8-AB3313 (35ff) LP382:117-151

1997-1998: SB17-SB2209 (72ff) LP382:152-223

1997-1998: AB7-AB2733 (36ff) LP382:224-259

1999-2000: SB5-SB2199; SJR1 (59ff) LP382:260-318

1999-2000: AB12-AB2905 (55ff) LP382:317-371

2001-2002: SB37-SB2093 (35ff) LP382:372-406

2001-2002: AB5-AB3048 (21ff) LP382:407-427

2003-2004: SB64-SB1918 (26ff) LP382:428-453

2003-2004: AB30-AB3088; ACR74; AJR44 (31ff) LP382:454-485

See Appendix A for LP Numbers.

Series 2 Hearing Files 1991-2004

Physical Description: 249 file folders

Arrangement

Hearing Files are arranged chronologically by date of hearing.

Scope and Content Note

Hearing Files contain agendas, testimony, transcripts, reports, audio/visual tapes and background material. Audiocassettes and videotapes have been separated from the files and are stored separately for preservation purposes. A separation sheet is placed in the folders to alert researchers to the existence of such material. Hearing types include bill hearings, informational hearings, government oversight hearings, and round tables. Many hearings are on topics relating to the implementation of Proposition 103 regarding insurance reform, the right to privacy in insurance, and Oversight Hearings on agencies such as the California Correctional System, California Department of Transportation, and the Department of Motor Vehicles. See Appendix A in Master Finding Aid at the California State Archives for a complete listing of hearing file dates and subjects.

LP382:702-725

Series 3 Subject Files 1994-2004

Physical Description: 23 file folders

Arrangement

Subject Files are arranged alphabetically by subject heading.

Scope and Content Note

Subject Files include correspondence, studies, newspaper and journal articles and background information concerning such topics as managed care complaints and legislation, organ donor studies, Proposition 103, privacy in financial institutions, prescription drug safety, title insurance, predictive modeling, bad faith files from the Insurance Reform Act of 1997, and legislative summaries for the 1995-1996 and 2003-2004 legislative sessions. See Appendix B in Master Finding Aid at the California State Archives for a complete listing of subject file titles and dates.

LP382:726-728

Series 4 Correspondence 1995-1998

Physical Description: 3 file folders

Arrangement

Correspondence is arranged chronologically.

Scope and Content Note

Correspondence to and from committee members, the Department of Insurance, the Insurance Commissioner, and the general public. Topics of the correspondence include legislation affecting insurance matters, disputes on the budget, insurance reports, court briefings, and similar topics.

LP382:729-765

Series 5 Quackenbush Investigative Files 2000

Physical Description: 36 file folders

Arrangement

Quackenbush Investigative Files are arranged by subseries (Hearing Files, Filings, Press Files, General Files and Subject Files).

Access Information

Much of this series is restricted under the Legislative Open Records Act, California Government Code Section 9075 (c) and (k). See Reference Archivist to obtain access to files that may not be confidential (i.e. Hearing Transcripts and Press Files).

Scope and Content Note

The Quackenbush Investigative Files are related to the committee's investigation of Insurance Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush and his involvement with alleged fraud involving funds from insurance companies marked for "educational funds" that allowed the companies to under compensate 1994 Northridge earthquake clients. The allegations that he used these funds for self-promotion lead to his eventual resignation. The Hearing Files include transcripts and background information for hearings held by the Senate Insurance Committee on May 10, May 23, and June 5, 2000. Also included are hearings held by the Assembly Committee on Insurance on April 27 and June 26, 2000. Filings contain documents filed or presented before the Sacramento County Superior Court and Department of Insurance. These filings relate to the Attorney General's complaint against the California Research and Assistance Fund, Ronald Weekley, and George Grays. The Department of Insurance case involved complaints against individual insurance companies failure to make payments after the Northridge Earthquake. Press Files are newspaper and journal articles regarding the Quackenbush Investigation. General Files include memoranda, notes, correspondence, reports, and additional information regarding the individual claims against insurance companies, records used in preparation for the hearings, and similar background information. Subject Files include additional information on the Northridge earthquake, hearing information and notes, Quackenbush staff summaries, the original Subpoena notices, background information and correspondence regarding the Department of Insurances activities relating to title insurance companies, an audit of the Department of Insurance, and a report on the transition status given July 25, 2000 by J. Clark Kelso who was appointed Acting Commissioner following Quackenbush's resignation.