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Committee advances Calderon bill to create catastrophe savings accounts for homeowners
Summary
The Assembly Banking and Finance Committee voted to refer AB 232, sponsored by the Department of Insurance, to the Committee on Revenue and Taxation. The bill would authorize tax-advantaged catastrophe savings accounts for Californians to pay qualified disaster-related expenses, including insurance deductibles and uninsured losses.
The Assembly Banking and Finance Committee on an administrative day voted to do pass AB 232 (Calderon) and referred the bill to the Committee on Revenue and Taxation, with an 8-0 recorded vote.
AB 232 would authorize Californians to establish tax-preferred “catastrophe savings accounts” to pay qualified catastrophe expenses such as insurance deductibles and uninsured property losses. The bill is sponsored by the California Department of Insurance and was presented to the committee by department staff.
Miguel Bastidas, Chief Deputy Legislative Director at the Department of Insurance, told the committee that AB 232 "will empower Californians to protect their homes and accelerate the recovery process." Bastidas said the accounts would function similarly to health savings accounts by encouraging dedicated savings for disaster recovery and by imposing penalties for misuse.
Mark Segment of the American Property Casualty Insurance Association testified in support and said the idea was recommended by the bipartisan Federal Wildfire Commission and has precedents in other states. Chris Schultz of the California Bankers Association said his members have supported similar accounts and that the banking industry is working with the author on operational details.
Assemblymember Blanca Rubio moved the bill; Assemblymember Dixon seconded. The committee clerk recorded the final roll call as: Valencia — aye; Chen — aye; Dixon — aye; Fong — aye; Krell — aye; Michelle Rodriguez — aye; Blanca Rubio — aye; Soria — aye. The committee left the roll open earlier for absent members and later recorded eight yes votes.
AB 232’s next stop is the Assembly Committee on Revenue and Taxation, where the department and author expect to discuss tax implementation and account rules.
