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Senate moves forward on bill to standardize workers'comp coverage for self'employed and small firms
Summary
Senate Bill 135 would require business owners and self'employed persons without employees to carry workers'compensation policies while allowing them to exclude themselves from coverage; backers say it brings consistency and protects workers, and the chamber advanced the bill by roll call (27 ayes).
Senators debated Senate Bill 135, a proposal to require persons who operate businesses without employees to maintain workers'compensation policies while permitting them to exclude themselves from coverage. The sponsor said the change addresses an inconsistency: currently, officers or partners in entities with employees may exempt themselves, while truly self'employed individuals who purchase no policy remain uncovered.
The sponsor said the change would create consistency, provide real coverage for workers hired occasionally by a self'employed person, and enable the state to track exemptions. He estimated the incremental cost of the policy to be modest ("probably 2 to $300 annually"). Senators posed hypotheticals about whether the change would affect owners who already exempt themselves and about potential liability if an owner acts as an employee during an emergency; sponsors said the bill would not alter coverage in those cases and is designed to bring uniformity.
Senators voiced support and some cautions: one senator declared a conflict of interest because he employs several people in the construction trades but nevertheless voted aye. The clerk recorded 27 ayes, 0 nays and 2 absent, advancing SB135 to the third'reading calendar.
