Legislature(2017 - 2018)HOUSE FINANCE 519
02/15/2018 01:30 PM House FINANCE
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB79 | |
| HB38 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HB 38 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 79 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HOUSE BILL NO. 79
"An Act relating to workers' compensation; repealing
the second injury fund upon satisfaction of claims;
relating to service fees and civil penalties for the
workers' safety programs and the workers' compensation
program; relating to the liability of specified
officers and members of specified business entities
for payment of workers' compensation benefits and
civil penalties; relating to civil penalties for
underinsuring or failing to insure or provide security
for workers' compensation liability; relating to
preauthorization and timely payment for medical
treatment and services provided to injured employees;
relating to incorporation of reference materials in
workers' compensation regulations; relating to
proceedings before the Workers' Compensation Board;
providing for methods of payment for workers'
compensation benefits; relating to the workers'
compensation benefits guaranty fund authority to claim
a lien; excluding independent contractors from
workers' compensation coverage; establishing the
circumstances under which certain nonemployee
executive corporate officers and members of limited
liability companies may obtain workers' compensation
coverage; relating to the duties of injured employees
to report income or work; relating to
misclassification of employees and deceptive leasing;
defining 'employee'; relating to the Workers'
Compensation Board's approval of attorney fees in a
settlement agreement; and providing for an effective
date."
1:45:42 PM
Co-Chair Seaton MOVED to ADOPT the proposed committee
substitute for HB 79, Work Draft 30-GH1789\R (Wallace,
2/13/18).
Representative Wilson OBJECTED for discussion.
JANE PIERSON, STAFF, REPRESENTATIVE NEAL FOSTER, explained
the changes in the work draft committee substitute (CS).
She explained that most of the amendments in the CS were
advanced by the Department of Labor and Workforce
Development (DOL) and were technical in nature with one
exception. She pointed to page 4, line 6 that included the
language "is a business entity that is" that was a
technical amendment. She moved to the next technical
amendment on page 7, line 18 that deleted the following
language "by expiration or cancellation of the employer's
insurance" and inserted "with the insurance provisions of
this chapter." She turned to the next technical change on
page 9, line 13 to page 10, line 1 that added Sections 16,
Section 17, and Section 18 to allow for electronic filing.
She highlighted page 10, lines 11 through 14 that changed
"who was permitted to represent a claimant at a workers'
compensation hearing" to "any person authorized by
regulation of the board" which was a substantive change.
Current law specified a person could be represented by
anyone with written permission. She elaborated that the
House Judiciary Committee version "U" allowed for self-
representation, or representation by an attorney licensed
to practice law in the state, a parent, if the party is a
minor, guardian, or court-appointed representative.
Ms. Pierson pointed to page 15, line 18 and noted that the
word "in" was eliminated and changed to "under." On page
15, lines 19 through 28 was related to submitting claims to
a second injury fund and was technically corrected. She
referenced page 22, line 9 and related that AS 23.30.110(d)
was changed from "appealed and reenacted" to "as amended."
She noted that page 22, lines 14 through 16 contained a
conforming amendment. She reviewed that on page 23, line 6,
another conforming amendment changed 2017 to 2018 and on
page 23, line 7 the final conforming amendment changed 2018
from 2019.
1:49:20 PM
Representative Kawasaki requested clarification regarding
the substantive change relating to claimant representation
to anyone permitted by regulation of the board. He wondered
what the regulation would be since it was not defined in
the statute.
MARIE MARX, DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF LABOR AND WORKFORCE
DEVELOPMENT, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT,
explained that the alternative representative list would be
determined by the Alaska Workers' Compensation Board. She
reminded committee members that the board had two
functions: it had regulatory authority and served as
adjudicators and held hearings. She believed the board was
in the unique position to know the types of individuals
that should represent the claimants. She furthered that the
requirement provided the "flexibility" to modify the list.
She characterized the provision as a "compromise" from the
prior version's provision and existing statute.
1:51:23 PM
Representative Guttenberg asked for a review of what the
bill would fix. Ms. Marx offered an overview of the
workers' compensation process. She expounded that the
injured worker filed a claim, which initiated a litigation
process. The department and the board had found that when
people were represented by "competent counsel" things moved
quickly, efficiently and with beneficial outcomes for both
parties. In addition, the department had staff that
provided the self-represented worker assistance that guided
them through the process and explained their rights and
duties under the Alaska Worker's Compensation Act. She
reported that the assistance helped the process work
efficiently. Whereas, when people were represented by
"parties that were not a parent of a minor or were court
appointed" such as a spouse or friend the process was
inefficient and the outcomes for injured workers were not
beneficial to the worker or the employer and the cases
tended to last longer. The "non-attorney" representative
was not bound by ethical and professional rules and often
lacked an understanding of the worker's compensation
process. The changes were proposed to help injured workers
come to a successful conclusion of their cases and help
employers reduce litigation expenses.
1:53:30 PM
Representative Wilson asked if the same board that made the
mediation decision would decide who could represent the
claimant. Ms. Marx replied that "since the board had
regulatory authority" the board would establish rules on
representation. The litigation rules would apply to
hearings held by the board. She reported that a board
hearing panel consisted of a full-time attorney appointed
as the chair, one lay member from industry and one lay
member from labor. Representative Wilson was concerned that
the entity that made the decision decided who could
represent a claimant and it "seemed like a conflict of
interest." Ms. Marx replied that the board had regulatory
authority prior to statehood and the three member panel
existed since 1946. The board established the rules for the
hearing process and administration of the Alaska Workers
Compensation Act in conjunction with DOL. Representative
Wilson maintained her belief regarding a conflict of
interest. She thought that the claimant who was not able to
have the representation she wanted would not trust the
outcome. Ms. Marx emphasized that the regulation process
included public comment. When a rule was proposed there was
always an oral hearing and period for written comment. The
rules were established by the board with input from the
department and the public. She characterized the influence
of public input on the regulatory process as "huge."
1:56:20 PM
Co-Chair Seaton wanted to ensure that a person could be
self-represented. He pointed to the words on page 10, lines
11 and 12 "each party may present evidence." He asked if
the board could prevent "the defendant" from self-
representation. He wanted to ensure the language in the
bill could not allow the board to preclude self-
representation. Ms. Marx answered that the authority would
be turned over to the board. She elucidated that 90 percent
of the parties; claimants and employers, were self-
represented. The rules would clarify who could represent an
employer. She thought it would be helpful to know whether
it included the insurance claim administrator and medical
billing specialist versus the doctor. She communicated that
there was a balance between delineation in statute or board
regulation regarding claimant and employer representation.
She remarked that a list in statute would be "long" and
"inflexible." She voiced that the board had an interest in
making sure the process ran efficiently and fairly. She
declared that self-representation was a "fixture in our
system." She could not imagine a situation where the board
would preclude any party from self-representation at the
board level. She emphasized that anything was possible, but
the scenario was improbable. She assured that as chair of
the regulatory hearings she would ensure that the outcomes
were in "alignment" with needs of the department and the
law.
1:59:55 PM
Co-Chair Seaton stated that the prior wording specifically
allowed self-representation and asked whether he was
correct. Ms. Marx agreed. Co-Chair Seaton guessed that the
language had been included to specify that self-
representation could not be precluded. He wondered whether
further clarity was necessary in the CS. Ms. Marx replied
that the department would not oppose including more
specific language that a person may be self-represented or
otherwise represented as set by the board through
regulation. She underscored that it was not the intent to
keep people from being self-represented before the board
and most parties were "unrepresented."
2:01:57 PM
Co-Chair Foster asked for committee adoption of the CS.
Representative Wilson voiced that she also wanted to ensure
that people could be self-represented.
Representative Wilson WITHDREW her OBJECTION. There being
NO further OBJECTION, it was so ordered.
Co-Chair Foster MOVED to ADOPT Amendment 1, 30-GH1789\R.1
(2/15/18) (copy on file).
Page 2, lines 4 - 5:
Delete "relating to reemployment benefits;"
Representative Wilson OBJECTED for discussion.
Co-Chair Foster explained the amendment. He reported that
the amendment was proposed by the department and simply
removed "relating to reemployment benefits" from the title
of the bill since the item was no longer addressed in the
bill.
Representative Wilson WITHDREW her OBJECTION. There being
NO OBJECTION, it was so ordered.
2:03:14 PM
Representative Kawasaki wondered if the committee wanted to
try to fix the CS. He MOVED to ADOPT Conceptual Amendment 2
with the inclusion of "self-represented or" before the
existing language "represented by any person authorized by
regulation of the board" on page 10, line 13.
There being NO OBJECTION, Conceptual Amendment 2 was
ADOPTED.
Representative Wilson requested to hold the bill in
committee for further review.
2:05:17 PM
AT EASE
2:05:52 PM
RECONVENED
Co-Chair Foster concurred with Representative Wilson and
relayed that the committee would hold the bill.
Committee discussion ensued regarding the adequate amount
of time to further review the bill.
HB 79 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.
Co-Chair Foster handed the gavel over to Co-Chair Seaton.
2:07:41 PM
AT EASE
2:09:18 PM
RECONVENED
Co-Chair Seaton communicated that HB 79 would be heard
again the following Monday.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB038 Supporting Document - FY19 DRM WC Projections with HB38 PPI Cost Increase Estimate 2.12.18.pdf |
HFIN 2/15/2018 1:30:00 PM |
HB 38 |
| HB 79 CS version R.pdf |
HFIN 2/15/2018 1:30:00 PM |
HB 79 |
| HB 38 Rep Josephson WC HFC Oppose ltr.pdf |
HFIN 2/15/2018 1:30:00 PM |
HB 38 |
| HB 79 - Changes from version U to version R.pdf |
HFIN 2/15/2018 1:30:00 PM |
HB 79 |
| HB 38 amendments #1 and #2.pdf |
HFIN 2/15/2018 1:30:00 PM |
HB 38 |
| HB 79 -Amendment #1.pdf |
HFIN 2/15/2018 1:30:00 PM |
HB 79 |