Vehicle insurance: vehicle classification.

Assembly Member Ortega's insurance classification measure addresses how personal vehicles are categorized when public social services employees transport clients with special needs, preventing automatic reclassification as commercial or for-hire vehicles solely due to this work-related use.

The bill establishes specific protections for vehicles insured under personal automobile liability policies when the named insured provides transportation support as part of their public social services employment. This transportation support encompasses both travel by employees to fulfill client care needs and occasional direct transportation of individuals with physical, mental, or behavioral conditions. The measure defines public social services as activities overseen by California's Departments of Rehabilitation, Developmental Services, Health Care Services, or Social Services that provide support to residents requiring assistance.

This addition to existing insurance law parallels current protections for volunteer drivers serving nonprofit organizations and government agencies. Under the proposed language, insurance companies cannot classify personal vehicles as common carriers, commercial vehicles, for-hire vehicles, permissive use vehicles, or livery based exclusively on their use in providing social services transportation through public employment.