Existing law authorizes, to the extent permitted by federal law, members of the United States Military Reserve and National Guard who are called to active duty as a result of the Iraq or Afghanistan conflicts, to defer payments on mortgages, credit cards, retail installment accounts and contracts, real property taxes and assessments, and vehicle leases for the period of active duty, plus 60 calendar days, or 180 days, whichever is the lesser, as specified. Existing law also requires any entity that was providing any type of health care coverage to a member of the United States Military Reserve or National Guard who is called to active duty as a result of the Iraq or Afghanistan conflicts to reinstate the health care coverage without waiting periods or exclusion of coverage for preexisting conditions, and makes a violation of this requirement subject to enforcement under the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, a willful violation of which is a crime. Existing law also provides that a spouse or legal dependent, or both, of a member is entitled to the benefits accorded to a member, if the member is eligible for those benefits.
California AB 526 (20132014) — Military service: benefits.
Existing law authorizes, to the extent permitted by federal law, members of the United States Military Reserve and National Guard who are called to active duty as a result of the Iraq or Afghanistan conflicts, to defer payments on mortgages, credit cards, retail installment accounts and contracts, real property taxes and assessments, and vehicle leases for the period of active duty, plus 60 calendar days, or 180 days, whichever is the lesser, as specified. Existing law also requires any entity that was providing any type of health care coverage to a member of the United States Military Reserve or National Guard who is called to active duty as a result of the Iraq or Afghanistan conflicts to reinstate the health care coverage without waiting periods or exclusion of coverage for preexisting conditions, and makes a violation of this requirement subject to enforcement under the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, a willful violation of which is a crime. Existing law also provides that a spouse or legal dependent, or both, of a member is entitled to the benefits accorded to a member, if the member is eligible for those benefits.
Version chain
The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.
AB 526 MELENDEZ Consent Calendar Second Day — 76–0 (pass) · lower
Do pass, but re-refer to the Committee on Appropriations Recommend Consent. — 7–0 (pass) · upper
Do pass, but re-refer to the Committee on Judiciary. — 7–0 (pass) · upper
Consent Calendar 2nd — 38–0 (pass) · upper
Do pass, to Consent Calendar. — 17–0 (pass) · lower
Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on Health. — 9–0 (pass) · lower
AB 526 MELENDEZ Concurrence in Senate Amendments — 77–0 (pass) · lower
Sponsors
Melendez — primary (person)
Beth Gaines — coauthor (person)
Bigelow — coauthor (person)
Garcia — coauthor (person)
Gray — coauthor (person)
Grove — coauthor (person)
Hagman — coauthor (person)
Harkey — coauthor (person)
Knight — coauthor (person)
Maienschein — coauthor (person)
Morrell — coauthor (person)
Nielsen — coauthor (person)
Wagner — coauthor (person)
Wilk — coauthor (person)
Timeline
The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.
2013-02-20 Read first time. To print. reading-1
2013-02-21 From printer. May be heard in committee March 23.
2013-03-04 Referred to Coms. on V.A. and HEALTH. referral-committee
2013-04-01 From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on V.A. Read second time and amended. amendment-introduction, amendment-passage, reading-2, reading-1
2013-04-02 Re-referred to Com. on V.A. referral-committee
2013-04-04 From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on HEALTH. (Ayes 9. Noes 0.) (April 2). Re-referred to Com. on HEALTH. committee-passage-favorable, referral-committee, committee-passage
2013-04-04 Re-referred to Com. on APPR. pursuant to Assembly Rule 96. referral-committee
2013-04-17 From committee: Do pass. To consent calendar. (Ayes 17. Noes 0.) (April 17). committee-passage-favorable, committee-passage
2013-04-18 Read second time. Ordered to consent calendar. reading-2, reading-1
2013-04-25 Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 76. Noes 0. Page 1121.) reading-3, reading-1, passage
2013-04-25 In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. reading-1
2013-05-09 Referred to Coms. on V.A. and JUD. referral-committee
2013-06-11 From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on JUD. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (June 11). Re-referred to Com. on JUD. committee-passage-favorable, referral-committee, committee-passage
2013-06-14 From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on JUD. amendment-introduction, amendment-passage, reading-2, reading-1, referral-committee
2013-06-25 From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: to consent calendar. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (June 25). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. committee-passage-favorable, referral-committee, committee-passage
2013-08-12 From committee: Be placed on second reading file pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8 and ordered to consent calendar. committee-passage
2013-08-13 Read second time. Ordered to consent calendar. reading-2, reading-1
2013-08-15 Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 38. Noes 0. Page 1844.). reading-3, reading-1, passage
2013-08-15 In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending. May be considered on or after August 17 pursuant to Assembly Rule 77.
2013-08-19 Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 77. Noes 0. Page 2580.). committee-passage-favorable, amendment-passage
2013-08-26 Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4:15 p.m.
2013-09-06 Approved by the Governor. executive-signature
2013-09-06 Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 236, Statutes of 2013.
Source
OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot 2026-07-01; origin ocd-bill/c61b1876-8d45-4a2d-a9c2-404e2c6cb732. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official California legislature records).