Banking & Consumer Affairs subcommittee approves House Bill 128 to amend workers' compensation rules

The Banking & Consumer Affairs Subcommittee approved House Bill 128, a measure that would change provisions of the state workers' compensation statute, after a brief presentation and a recorded vote of six ayes, the committee clerk said.

A presenter who introduced the bill told the subcommittee that the measure, submitted by the Bureau of Workers' Compensation, would remove a sunset for the Next Step program, modify provisions related to workers' compensation judges, raise a minimum age in the statute and extend the number of terms judges may serve. The presenter also said the bill extends a sunset related to judicial authority to award attorney's fees in some cases.

The bill's description to the committee did not include specific statutory citations, dollar amounts or implementation dates. No formal amendments were offered during the committee discussion recorded in the transcript. Representative Lynn made a brief, non-substantive remark during consideration; no other committee members are recorded offering substantive questions or requesting changes.

After the presenter concluded, the clerk called the roll and reported six ayes; no recorded nays, abstentions or individual roll-call votes were provided in the transcript. The clerk announced that the ayes would prevail and the committee moved the bill to the next committee on the calendar.

The action in this subcommittee is one step in the legislative process; approval in committee does not by itself change state law. Further committee consideration, floor action and any required concurrence would be needed before the bill becomes law.