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House Bill 2032 clears Commerce Committee to preserve assigned-risk eligibility rules for workers' compensation
Summary
HB 2032, a workers' compensation technical bill to clarify eligibility for the assigned-risk pool, passed the House Commerce Committee 10-0. Supporters said the measure aligns statute with current administrative practice and protects affordability for employers legitimately in the pool.
The House Commerce Committee voted 10-0 to give House Bill 2032 a due-pass recommendation after a short presentation and questions from members.
HB 2032, introduced to clarify which employers are placed in the state’s workers’ compensation assigned-risk plan, would preserve certain administrative eligibility criteria used by the plan administrator. Committee staff explained the statute currently ties placement to being refused coverage by two insurers; the bill would add conditional exemptions and clarify the method to select servicing carriers so that administrative practices and statute align.
Ari Draveed, research intern for the committee, summarized the bill’s purpose as providing "a conditional exemption for employers from being placed in the assigned risk plan." Sponsor Representative Jeff Livingston described the change as a technical cleanup to ensure "who gets into the risk pool and who doesn't and the proper steps to get there." Mark Kendall of CopperPoint Insurance, the state's largest workers' compensation carrier, testified in favor and said the bill seeks to "preserve the status quo" of criteria used by administrators and the Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions to keep inappropriate actors out of the fund while keeping rates affordable.
After public testimony and brief discussion, Vice Chair Representative Michael Way moved the due-pass recommendation and the committee recorded a roll-call vote of 10 ayes, 0 nays. The committee clerk announced that HB 2032 received a due-pass recommendation and will advance per the House process.
