2015 LEGISLATIVE REPORT ON THE 78TH OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY. Oregon Self-Insurers Association

Transcription

1 2015 LEGISLATIVE REPORT ON THE 78TH OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Oregon Self-Insurers Association

2 2015 Legislative Session Overview

3 Governor s Historic Resignation Governor John Kitzhaber resigns shortly after beginning an unprecedented fourth term. We ve lost a mess of governors to the seductions of money, cronyism, clout. We never lost one to love. Chicago Tribune editorial board Secretary of State Kate Brown assumes governorship and gets generally high marks.

4 Session Dynamics Emboldened by large majorities, Democrats pushed several key unfinished business bills through in the first 30 days of the session including: Low Carbon Emissions Standards Class Action Damage Awards Motor Voter Registration

5 General Legislative Summary Early adopted K-12 funding package representing an 11% increase and including extending kindergarten to a full day. Mandated one week of paid sick leave. Criminal background checks for private gun sales. Voluntary retirement savings plan for workers.

6 General Summary Continued Increased funding for higher education and a program offering free community college. Groundbreaking marijuana legislation to implement Measure 91. Failed to approve a transportation package of taxes and fees to pay for roads & bridges. Failed to approve tax increases on corporations and high income earners.

7 OSIA Legislative Priorities For OSIA, it was a fairly successful session considering the circumstances. Though Oregon Trail Lawyers Association had the advantage of large Democrat majorities, key legislators ensured that MLCA s recommendations remained a key component with regard to WC legislation.

8 Attorney Fees in WC Claims Introduced by the OTLA, HB 2764 addressed circumstances under which attorney fees may be awarded and the amounts of attorney fees awarded in WC claims. HB 2764-B passed after amendments were adopted that MLAC brokered between the various stakeholders. The sign of a good compromise no one was happy with the final version.

9 Self-Insurance Security Fund Introduced by OSIA and supported by other business organizations including AOI, SB 143 would have created a Self-Insurer Security Fund for private sector self-insureds. The devil was in the detail as WCD and OSIA could not concur on various provisions including whether the Fund should be managed by a mutual benefit corporation or a state agency. The bill died in committee.

10 WC Court Case Fixes AIO and OSIA introduced SB 649 to address recent court case decisions including Brown and Schleiss. Labor opposed the bill saying its premature to consider legislative fixes when the impact of the court cases is not yet known. MLAC did not move the bill forward but requested the Division to monitor the impact of the cases.

11 Claims Processing Audit Process Sponsored by OSIA, HB 2211 has been signed into law after passing the Legislature. It authorizes, but does not require, WCD to audit service companies directly for their claims management performance. If enacted, insurers will no longer need to calculate and allocate penalties among multiple service companies.

12 Payment of First Time Loss Benefits HB 2797, introduced by OSIA, clarifies the timeliness of an injured worker s first payment of temporary disability benefits. Approved by the Legislature, it provides that the first payment of time loss benefits will be due no later that 14 days after the employer has knowledge of both the claim and the worker s authorized disability.

13 Other WC Bills of Interest For a complete report on the bills OSIA was involved in during the 2015 Legislative Session, go to OSIA s Legislative page and look for the 2015 Final Legislative Report and the 2015 Bill Summary Report. Contact Bill Cross at osia@osia.com with any questions.