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Senate committee hears unanimous support for updating housing rate in workers'comp rules
Summary
Senate Business, Labor and Economic Affairs heard proponents and limited opposition on SB 291, a bill to require annual updates to the administrative lodging rates used to calculate worker'comp benefits when housing is part of wages. Proponents said HUD county rates must reflect current rents; opponents sought narrower agricultural carve-outs.
Senate Business, Labor and Economic Affairs on Monday considered Senate Bill 291, a "fix-it" measure to require annual revisions to the lodging value used when an employer-provided residence is treated as part of wages for workers' compensation benefits.
Sponsor Senator Andrea Olsen of Missoula told the committee the bill simply codifies a practice the Employment Services Division can perform and that it ensures that the lodging allowance keeps pace with local housing costs. "This is a simple fix it bill, to annually revise what is provided under the rules," Olsen said in opening remarks.
Proponents described hardships when housing is lost after an injury. Jasmine Krotkov of Truth to Power said injured workers are "one major expense away from insolvency" and urged lawmakers to support SB 291 so benefits track today'year rents. Stacy Temple Saint John, a Great Falls workers' compensation attorney, explained that the Employment Services Division currently adopts HUD county housing rates but that the particular statutory lodging rate had not been updated in more than a decade prior to a 2024 correction; SB 291 would require the department to adopt the most recent HUD figures each year.
Peter Strauss of the Montana Self Insurers Association opposed the bill as broadly written and suggested a compromise: limit the automatic annual update to agricultural housing situations, where employer-provided lodging is most common. Strauss warned annual updates across all employment sectors could add administrative variability and complexity for insurers.
Quinlan O'Connor, chief legal counsel for the Department of Labor and Industry, testified as an informational witness that the department adopted the rule (24-29-721) in 2018, incorporated the 2023 HUD county rates in 2024, and already performs annual rulemaking for several workers' compensation areas. O'Connor said the department could adopt HUD rates on any schedule but that the bill would require an annual incorporation during its routine July 1 rule updates.
Committee members asked whether the change would affect seasonal workers, traveling nurses, and hospitality and resort employees who receive lodging as part of compensation. Olsen and Temple Saint John said the bill does not change when a benefit applies; it only aligns the dollar value to current HUD-established county rates and preserves an agricultural carve-out (half rate) already present in rule.
Senator Olsen closed by reiterating that SB 291 preserves an existing benefit and makes annual updating automatic so lodging values track changes in county housing costs. The committee concluded the hearing on SB 291; any further action will be scheduled at the committee's discretion.
