The Galen Institute has posted some information regarding the California legislation mandating that employers provide health insurance coverage for their employees (which was passed by the Senate and Assembly, but is awaiting the Governor’s signature) which you can access at this link. Included in the information is a short article expressing the view that the legislation does not have a chance of surviving an ERISA challenge. Quote of Note: “In a nutshell, California is allowed to regulate insurance companies until it is blue in the face, but it is not allowed to pass “any law relating to” how employers provide benefits. It could require insurance companies to sell policies for $10 a year, and it could require residents to buy them. But it cannot require employers to provide or pay for those benefits.”
You can access a copy of the legislation (SB 2) here.
More on the bill in a previous post at ERISAblog here.