Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Workers Compensation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
House passes amended workers' compensation reform bill after contested amendments and close final vote
Summary
House Bill 175, addressing the State Workers' Compensation Fund's authority, auditing and a study of privatization, cleared the House after members adopted multiple amendments including independent financial-analysis requirements and limits on out-of-state sales; the amended measure passed the final floor vote narrowly (55-50).
Representative Jeff Alexander introduced HB 175, a broad bill responding to interim work on workers' compensation that would extend a moratorium on the fund selling non-workers' compensation insurance, permit establishment of subsidiaries to serve out-of-state markets, revise auditing rules, and create a blue-ribbon commission to study privatization and related issues.
Members debated multiple amendments on the floor. One set of amendments (on a "pink sheet") requires the commission, not the fund, to provide an independent financial analysis addressing potential claims on the fund's surplus and any potential ownership or compensation claims arising from privatization. Another amendment sought to limit or condition the fund's ability to sell policies out of state (arguing to protect state liability). Supporters of the bill cautioned that restricting the fund's ability to diversify could increase risk for the fund and thereby increase state exposure.
Floor votes on amendments were closely contested; the record shows a motion to amend passed by division (43 yes, 27 no). After extended debate on liability, diversification and the role of the proposed study commission, the House passed the amended HB 175 in a final vote recorded as 55 yes and 50 no; the bill will be forwarded to the Senate.
