02/10/2017 03:15 PM House LABOR & COMMERCE

         HB 69-REPEAL WORKERS' COMP APPEALS COMMISSION                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
3:31:45 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR KITO  announced that the  final order of business  would be                                                               
HOUSE BILL  NO. 69, "An  Act repealing the  Workers' Compensation                                                               
Appeals  Commission;  relating to  decisions  and  orders of  the                                                               
Workers'  Compensation Appeals  Commission; relating  to superior                                                               
court   jurisdiction   over    appeals   from   Alaska   Workers'                                                               
Compensation Board  decisions; repealing Rules 201.1,  401.1, and                                                               
501.1, Alaska  Rules of Appellate  Procedure, and  amending Rules                                                               
202(a), 204(a)  - (c), 210(e),  601(b), and 603(a),  Alaska Rules                                                               
of Appellate Procedure; and providing for an effective date."                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
3:32:14 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR KITO closed public testimony on HB 69.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  KITO  explained  that  HB 69  would  repeal  the  Workers'                                                               
Compensation Appeals Commission.  He  mentioned a letter from the                                                               
Department of Labor & Workforce  Development (DOLWD) [included in                                                               
the  committee  packet] which  answers  questions  raised by  the                                                               
committee in a previous meeting.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
3:32:53 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MARIE   MARX,  Director,   Division  of   Workers'  Compensation,                                                               
Department  of Labor  & Workforce  Development (DOLWD),  answered                                                               
questions regarding  HB 69.   In response to a  previous question                                                               
about who  generally wins  cases appealed  to the  Alaska Supreme                                                               
Court from the commission, she  stated that the majority of cases                                                               
were not decided by the Alaska  Supreme Court:  often the parties                                                               
settled,  the  Supreme Court  declined  to  hear a  petition  for                                                               
review, the  parties failed to  prosecute, or the  Alaska Supreme                                                               
Court would  send the  case back  to the  commission.   She noted                                                               
that although it  is hard to determine a clear  winner because of                                                               
nuances, she calculated  that 51 percent of the  39 cases decided                                                               
in favor of the claimant - 49 percent in favor of the employer.                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
3:34:10 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR KITO said it is basically a statistical dead heat.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
MS. MARX  responded, "That would  be accurate."  She  stated that                                                               
she  may have  misstated  in her  previous  testimony by  calling                                                               
"reports  of injuries"  claims.   She clarified  that reports  of                                                               
injury  are anytime  someone is  injured, which  doesn't have  to                                                               
involve  time loss  or medical  care.   She  explained there  are                                                               
around  20,000   reports  of   injury  per   year.     Of  those,                                                               
approximately 1,200 result in  workers' compensation claims being                                                               
filed  - a  very small  percentage  are disputed.   The  Workers'                                                               
Compensation Board holds hearings on  about 250 to 300 claims and                                                               
petitions.  She  explained that a lot of claims  do not reach the                                                               
board for a hearing because  they are often settled, mediated, or                                                               
there is a failure to prosecute.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
3:36:15 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON moved  to report HB 69  out of committee                                                               
with  individual  recommendations  and  the  accompanying  fiscal                                                               
notes.    There  being  no   objection,  HB  69  was  moved  from                                                               
committee.