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Senate approves Bureau of Workers' Compensation budget with premium cuts and expanded safety grants
Summary
The Ohio Senate unanimously passed amended House Bill 81 on June 17, the biennial Bureau of Workers’ Compensation budget. The bill includes employer premium rate cuts, a change to coverage for prosthetic device claims after five years, and an expansion of the safety grant program.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Senate on June 17 unanimously approved amended House Bill 81, the biennial budget for the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC), sending the measure forward with a 32-0 recorded vote.
Senator Wilson, speaking for the measure, said the budget is funded entirely by employer premiums and represents a 2% decrease over the biennium compared with the current fiscal year. She noted that the BWC board earlier approved a 7% rate cut and this year approved another 6% cut, which the sponsor estimated would yield more than $60 million in savings to Ohio employers and place Ohio among the states with the lowest premiums.
The bill also changes the statutory treatment of certain catastrophic-injury claims. Current practice requires that some prosthetic-device claims be closed after five years; the budget’s language allows the Bureau to cover claims after five years if issues arise with the device or if the injured worker’s body changes so the device no longer fits.
The Senate adopted three committee amendments the floor summary described: an allocation of an additional $7 million per fiscal year for the BWC safety grant program, a technical amendment to correct a transfer oversight so both state agencies and employers can apply equitably for safety grants, and removal of language that would have renamed the ombuds office to "chief customer advocate" (the committee restored the existing ombuds office title after stakeholders expressed concern that the new name implied advocacy for one side in claims).
Senator Craig spoke in support of the bill, calling the investments critical to worker safety and the economic vitality of the state. Senator Wilson thanked BWC Administrator McLeod and staff who worked on the measure.
After the roll call the presiding officer announced, "With 32 yeas and 0 nays, the bill is passed and entitled." The Senate agreed to the bill’s title on the floor.
