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Chattanooga Times Free Press
Saturday, April 17, 2004
California workers’ comp system, costliest in U.S., given overhaul
By Jim
Wasserman The Associated Press
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Handing Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger one of the biggest victories of his new political career, the
state Legislature approved an overhaul of California’s workers’ compensation program,
the most expensive in the nation.
The bill passed the House 77-3 and the Senate 33-3.
Schwarzenegger is expected to sign it quickly.
California’s 91-year-old system has some of
the nation’s highest insurance premiums for employers and some of the lowest
benefits for injured workers. The bill aims to save
billions of dollars by imposing stricter limits on medical benefits, setting a
higher standard of proof for workers claiming to be injured and requiring
employees to use doctors approved by their employers and their insurance
companies.
"We cannot continue to force our businesses,
nonprofits and government agencies to be pummeled by costs 2 1/2 times the national
average," said Republican Sen. Chuck Poochigian,
the bill’s sponsor. "This bill gives California businesses and their workers a
fighting chance."
The bill is considered a major
victory for businesses, local governments and nonprofit groups that have seen
their workers’ comp premiums soar. Business groups had complained that the
costs were driving employers out of California.
Schwarzenegger had made workers’ comp reform a
centerpiece of his administration. Lawmakers acted Friday to meet a deadline
set by the governor, who had vowed to put an even tougher measure on the Nov. 2
ballot if they did not pass the bill.
"Why have we waited this long to do these
reforms?" asked Republican Assemblyman Russ Bogh.
"It’s no accident, let’s be honest. We are here today because of one thing
— because over 1 million people answered Gov. Schwarzenegger’s call for signed
petitions to reform workers’ compensation."
California’s workers’ comp costs have soared in recent
years from $6.4 billion in claims paid in 1997 to an estimated $17.9 billion
last year. The average employer cost of dealing with workplace injuries also
has gone up dramatically, from $2.68 for every $100 of payroll in 2000 to $6.30
per $100 in 2003 — the highest rate in the nation.
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Tennessean
April 17, 2004
Governor hears doctors'
fears
By BILL LEWIS
Staff Writer
Physicians concerned by workers' comp costs, want protection from
unjustified malpractice lawsuits.
FRANKLIN — Tennessee
doctors who gathered here for the annual meeting of the Tennessee Medical
Association had encouragement, and a few words of warning, for Gov. Phil Bredesen yesterday.
Doctors have accepted the likelihood that the legislature won't pass any
significant bills aimed at protecting physicians from what they see as
unjustified malpractice lawsuits.
The doctors promise to wage that battle again next year.
Meanwhile, they are encouraging lawmakers and the governor to cut the cost
of TennCare and of the state's workers' compensation
system without adding provisions that single out or punish doctors.
Bredesen addressed the group yesterday.
Doctors are particularly concerned about being charged with a crime if they
unknowingly care for a patient who claims to be legally enrolled in TennCare but isn't. They also are worried that, as part of
an effort to control the cost of workers' compensation, the administration and
the legislature might impose a fee schedule that cuts payments to physicians
too much.
''Whatever they do, it's got to be fair — fair to the patients and fair to
the people providing the care,'' said Dr. Robert Kirkpatrick of Memphis.
Bredesen promised that any fee schedule would be
fair.
''We're not going to balance this on the backs of the doctors,'' he said
after speaking to the TMA's convention last night.
Doctors who are unaware that a patient is committing TennCare
fraud have nothing to fear, Bredesen said.
But, the governor added, physicians who are aware of patients who are not
legally enrolled in Tenncare have ''an obligation to
help out.''
Doctors who fail to report TennCare fraud could be
charged with a misdemeanor and be sent to jail for just under a year. They
could also be fined $2,500, if the legislature approves a proposal by the
administration.
Kirkpatrick said doctors might decide to opt out of TennCare
and the workers' compensation system if they believe they are being treated
unfairly. Then the 1.3 million poor, disabled or uninsured enrollees in TennCare and thousands of workers injured on the job each
year might have difficulty finding a doctor.
''If they won't see them, the whole system grinds to a halt,'' Kirkpatrick
said.
The governor's office says that if TennCare's
growth is not restrained, it could cost $3.8 billion in state dollars and
consume 91 cents of every new state tax dollar by 2008, leaving little for
education and other priorities. The total cost of the program would be higher
than that, since the federal government pays about two-thirds of the cost.
Doctors said they were uncomfortable with any crackdown on TennCare fraud that would target physicians.
''It would be hard to police it,'' said George Eckles,
a Murfreesboro physician. ''It
would be more appropriate to penalize the patient.''
Dr. Newton Allen Jr., a member of the Saint Thomas Medical Group in Nashville,
said poor management was responsible for TennCare's
problems.
''The absurdity of fraud and abuse in the program has been so mismanaged. To
hold physicians accountable for ineptness on the part of the state'' is unfair,
he said.
As for workers' compensation, the TMA is waiting for either the legislature
or the governor to make a concrete proposal about how to control the costs of
claims. Bredesen has said the state is losing jobs to
other states because its workers' compensation system encourages lawsuits and
is too expensive.
Bredesen said he expected the legislature to make
its own proposal. He has promised to step in if that does not happen soon.
Doctors believe a state fee schedule to control costs is inevitable.
''That's one thing the governor may want to do. That's a sticking point with
physicians,'' said state Rep. Joey Hensley, R-Hohenwald, the only doctor
serving in the state House of Representatives.
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NASHVILLE BUSINESS JOURNAL
OPINION
From
the April 16, 2004 print edition
Guest Commentary
It's time for
workers' comp changes
Stanton Long
Tennessee's
workers' compensation costs are fast spiraling out of control. Today, employers
contribute almost twice as much to workers' comp than they do to Medicare. At
this rate by 2010, employers will contribute more to workers' comp than they do
to social security. If not addressed, these rising costs will undermine the
state's future economic viability.
High workers' comp costs can make the difference between a
company earning a healthy profit or taking drastic measures to survive. With
$500,000 in workers' comp losses and 3.5 percent profit margin, a company needs
to sell more than $14 million in product or services just to cover its losses.
When workers' comp costs skyrocket, it can take a few months of work before
even a healthy company begins to make a profit.
Recognizing the impact workers' comp costs are having on
the state's economy, Gov. Phil Bredesen has called
for legislative reform to help keep jobs in Tennessee.
If that reform is going to be meaningful, the governor and lawmakers should
focus on the cruel irony of the system: The two parties that workers' comp was
built for - employees and employers - are both getting hurt.
If reform is going to work, employers and employees must be
allies, not adversaries. The governor and legislators must keep true to the
promise of workers' comp: help employees get back to work or support the
employees and their families if they cannot work. Finally, action must be quick
if the problem is to be addressed before the legislative session ends.
There are some unique challenges in the state's current
system. Tennessee is one of only
two states that uses a court-based system to resolve
workers' comp claims. Payments for disability awards are inconsistent. The
state's use of "multipliers" and "up to" language to define
awards makes the process extremely subjective.
And since each award is set by one of the 96 circuit and
county courts, there is too much room for negotiation and variation. This often
creates adversarial relationships between employees and employers.
Keeping in mind the needs of employees and employers,
lawmakers need to create a fair and reasonable system that addresses the
following points:
- Workers' comp needs
to become an administrative, not court-based, system. Alternative dispute
resolution solutions will provide better and faster outcomes for both
employees and employers and will remove workers' comp from this litigious,
confrontational environment.
- Lawmakers need to
more clearly define weekly wage replacement benefits and the disability
ratings and awards system. A system that is more objective can be fairly
and systematically applied to all injured employees. Other states have
effectively used a wage replacement process based on the "average
weekly wage" of the employee and disability ratings tied to American
Medical Association guidelines.
- A medical fee
schedule should be established and maintained. Tennessee's
system currently allows medical providers to charge what is
"reasonable and customary." A fee schedule can help control
costs and create consistency across the state.
- The definition of a
work-related injury must be tightly rewritten. One way to restore some
balance is to require a claim to be supported by specific objective
medical findings.
- Finally, legislators
must be mindful that reforms must be designed in a way that simplifies
claims administration. Other states have failed to follow that blueprint
and added layer upon layer of expense as the system becomes ever more
complicated.
Given the problematic nature of workers' comp in Tennessee,
the system must be reformed now. There must be greater cost control and the
system must benefit employees and employers alike. If not, high workers' comp
costs will continue to eat away at profits and even push businesses to
neighboring states. These are consequences that no state can afford.
Stanton Long is chairman of Marsh Inc.'s workers'
compensation practice.
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The Tennessean – April 16,
2004
Study: Workers' comp costs
are low
By ANNE PAINE
Staff Writer
Fuel prices have a greater impact on jobs in Tennessee
than the costs of dealing with injured workers, a report released yesterday
said.
The report put together for the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association by a Georgia
State University
economist said the cost of fuel has an effect four to five times higher.
Benefits paid in Tennessee at
$5.39 per $1,000 of payroll were among the lowest in the nation and less than
the Southeast average, the study by Kelly D. Edmiston said.
Several businesses and manufacturers in Tennessee
say otherwise.
They have said at several legislative committee meetings that the high cost
of paying for injured workers is sending businesses and jobs to other states.
Lawmakers have been trying to come up with a plan to overhaul the workers'
compensation system as a result of complaints. Gov. Phil Bredesen has said he
wants a law passed this year to do so.
''This 'reform' is being attempted in just about every state,'' said Jerry
Lee, president of the Tennessee AFL-CIO, which released the report yesterday
with the trial lawyers group.
He said businesses are trying to ratchet down difficult economic times
generally, and focusing on workers' benefits to help with their bottom lines.
''Most of the bills would not do anything to help the workers,'' he said. ''The
system is stacked in favor of the employer right now. They know it and take
advantage of it.''
A bill that Bredesen has said his administration is working on with a joint
legislative committee on workers' comp has been on the drawing board for longer
than anticipated. Lydia Lenker, the governor's spokeswoman, said that there has
been ''give and take on both sides'' and that Bredesen is ''confident'' that
something will be worked out. Talks with Sen. Joe Haynes, D-Goodlettsville,
committee chairman, continued yesterday, she said.
While businesses object to the costs, the workers have problems with the
time frame of payments.
Trial lawyers in Tennessee who
defend injured workers see up close what their clients face, said Jim Bilbo,
association president.
''They (injured workers) come into our office, and they're in tears because
they can't make their house payments. They can't buy their kids Christmas
presents. There's no teeth in the law requiring insurance companies to pay on
time, and they don't,'' Bilbo said.
Staff writer Bonna de la
Cruz contributed to this report.
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The City Paper
Governor
may step into workers’ comp dispute
By
Judith R. Tackett, jtackett@nashvillecitypaper.com
April 16, 2004
State lawmakers and lobbyists believe Gov. Phil
Bredesen may step in if Democratic leaders do not come up with a proposal
to reform workers’ compensation by Monday.
The review process of two workers’ compensation reform bills, one
proposed by Democrats, the other by Republicans, was
planned to start this week. However, the Democratic proposal was
not ready for review, and Republicans fear that with only nine paid
business days left in the Senate this year, time is running out to
introduce comprehensive workers’ comp reform legislation.
Democratic Caucus Chairman Sen. Joe Haynes of Goodlettsville, who chairs
the oversight committee on workers’ compensation, said he was trying to
have his bill finished by Monday.
Haynes said Thursday he was waiting to hear from the
governor on a proposed Permanent Partial Disability (PPD) cap, which
businesses want to see reduced.
“Once we get that response, it will cause the other parts of the bill to
fall into place,” Haynes said, adding he remains optimistic that details
of his bill would be worked out in time for the
Advisory Council, which meets today, to review the bill.
“I think you’re going to have a bill probably Monday,” Sen. Jerry Cooper
(D-Nashville), who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, said. “And I
think administration is either going to have that bill or their own bill
Monday, I’m told.”
Cooper said his committee would start reviewing workers’ comp bills
immediately after it passes a TennCare bill, which is
scheduled for review Tuesday.
“Sen. [Mark] Norris (R-Collierville) has got a bill, Sen. [Don] McLeary
(D-Humboldt) has got a bill, and you’ve got Nissan and Bridgestone, and
I’m sure they’ll have somebody file a bill for them. So it will be
interesting,” Cooper said.
Jerry Lee, president of the Tennessee AFL-CIO State Labor Council,
confirmed in a press conference Thursday that he expected to see a
proposal Monday either from the joint workers’ comp committee lead by
Haynes or from the administration.
Lee said his organization would like to see employees receiving payments
sooner. He said he believes the governor was trying to reach a fair
compromise, but has to deal with a lot of pressure from the business
industry.
Republican Caucus Chairman Sen. Ron Ramsey of Blountville said he heard
that the governor was “more in line with what the Republican caucus has
wanted than what the Democratic caucus wants.
“It’s my understanding that [the Democratic caucus] is really falling
apart on exactly what they want, and I think we ought to just take Mark
Norris’ bill and run with it,” Ramsey said, adding the Republicans had
their proposal ready for the past three weeks.”
Bredesen’s spokesperson Lydia Lenker said the administration was not
stepping in yet. “The governor is still very confident that the process
is working and we are awaiting a bill from the legislature,” she said.
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Winchester Herald
Chronicle
April 15, 2004
Fraley Welcoming Citizen Input
With the
legislative session now in full-swing, state
legislators are putting the final touches on their legislative packages for
2004.
Governor Bredesen has submitted his annual budget,
and the House Finance Committee has recently completed their yearly Budget
Hearings. The House Democratic Caucus remains committed to working with the
governor to pass a fiscally sound budget that includes no new taxes.
The bulk of this session's legislation has been moving through House
committees and subcommittees this week. To date, more than 3,500 bills have been filed with the House Clerk's Office. This number
includes legislation filed last year and this. This week, the House
considered almost 500 pieces of legislation in the committee process alone.
"Each of these pieces of legislation needs to be reviewed
carefully," Rep. Fraley said. "From identity theft and consumer
protection to indigent mental health issues, all of these proposals will most
likely affect our district in some way. The House has already considered the
Charitable Gaming Act and will soon take up each dimension of the yearly
Budget for consideration. I welcome the input of members of our communities.
It is always important to me to know where the citizens of the 39th District
stand on the issues."
The House of Representatives encourages all Tennesseans to
actively participate as they conduct the business of the state. All
floor sessions, committee and subcommittee meetings and budget hearings are
open to anyone.
In addition, for those who cannot make it up to Nashville, the House has
created a streaming video feed from all floor meetings and some committee
meetings as well. From their web site, one can view these meetings live or
locate the archive and see what happened earlier in the week.
From the onset of the 2004 Legislative Session, the House has set as its goal
to again join together with Governor Bredesen to balance the budget with no new taxes, do its
business in an orderly fashion and go home.
It is, as expected, a tight year fiscally as there is no excess revenue. The
House remains committed, however, to protecting an investment in Tennessee's children by fully
funding the BEP and an investment in teachers and their salary equity, to
supporting Governor Bredesen and his work on TennCare and to looking at Workers Compensation issues.
"I am anxious to review each item set to come before the House,"
Rep. Fraley said. "I hope that you will contact me to let me know how
you feel about the issues facing our community. You can reach me in my
legislative office at 1-800-449-8366, ext. 1-8695 or email me at rep.george.fraley@legislature.state.tn.us."
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Chattanoogan.com
This Week
In The Tennessee Senate
by Jesse Hughes, State Republican Press Secretary
posted April 15, 2004
NASHVILLE-This week on Nashville's Capitol Hill, the Senate used Legislative
Day 80 on Monday and Legislative Day 81 on Thursday, leaving just nine days to
complete Senate business in the 103rd General Assembly. The House of
Representatives has 15 days left.
"We're now down in the single digits," stated Senator Micheal Williams (R-Maynardville). "That's not a good
thing. This isn't some golf game. Phileas
Fogg went around the world in 80 days, one day less
than what the Senate has used so far. But then Phileas Fogg was quite a stickler
for punctuality. We need to get busy and get our work done. The funding numbers
we need for finalizing the budget should be on the table shortly."
Three big items left for the 103rd General Assembly are the appropriations act
to authorize spending the money in the budget along with any underlying bond
bills that may be necessary. Revenue collections are painting a much better
picture than in the last two years.
A second big item is contained in two proposed TennCare
bills that would implement Governor Bredesen's
TennCare Reform measures and which are now in
committees.
And then there's Workers' Compensation Reform.
* * *
Workers' Comp Reform: Is Job Growth
Permanently and Totally Delayed?
Senate Republicans remain quite concerned that opponents of any real Workers'
Compensation Reform are trying to run out the clock in order to prevent passing
meaningful legislation this year that would significantly improve job
opportunities and prompt payment to injured employees in Tennessee.
"We are quite concerned. The Senate has nine days left. Count them. There
are only nine paid legislative days left this year for the Senate to complete
its business," stated Senator Mark Norris (R-Collierville).
"I have brought a comprehensive Workers' Comp Reform Bill to encourage a
healthier business climate in the state so that more people can get back to
work in productive jobs."
At this week's Joint Oversight Committee hearing, Linda Hughes, executive
director of the Workers' Compensation Advisory Council, called the Norris bill
"the most comprehensive proposal before the legislature."
To safeguard existing jobs and encourage economic development in the state,
Senator Norris has guided his comprehensive workers' comp reform bill through
the appropriate committees. Opponents who are trying to derail comprehensive
workers' comp reform have yet to present anything.
"If opponents can't come up with their own bill, Democrat legislators
should at least support the Governor who agrees with Republicans and
right-thinking Democrats that we need reform."
Republicans want real workers' comp reforms that help employees and employers
and protect jobs and economic development in Tennessee.
Senator Mark Norris (R-Collierville) is sponsoring Senate Bill 3169 which addresses comprehensive worker's compensation
reform legislation.
Senator Norris's bill specifically addresses permanent partial disability
multipliers, reduction of litigation by mandatory benefits review, and it
strengthens the presumption in favor of treating physicians. A key feature that
benefits injured workers is that it strengthens prompt pay protections by
increasing penalties for late payments.
"Delay in pay has been a recurring refrain from injured workers on what is
wrong with the workers' comp system. Workers who are injured on the job should
be provided for promptly and fairly," stated Senate Republican Caucus
Chairman Ron Ramsey (R-Blountville). "Senator Norris wisely included tough
penalties on scofflaws who don't pay injured workers."
* * *
Nursing Home Protection Bill Approved
HB 3415/SB 3294 passed out of Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday and then
passed by unanimous consent of the Senate Thursday to require nursing homes
that are not fully sprinklered to install smoke
alarms or detectors in every patient room within 90 days of the effective date
of the act. Also, they must submit a plan for
fully sprinklering the facility within six months for
multi-story facilities or within 11 months for single-story facilities. The
bill also makes failure to submit a sprinkler plan grounds for discipline or
licensure action.
Senate Republicans co-sponsoring this bipartisan nursing home protection bill
include Senators Bill Clabough (R-Maryville), Randy
McNally (R-Oak Ridge), and Bill Ketron
(R-Murfreesboro).
* * *
A Bill for Gizmo
Sen. Ketron Hopes to Present Proposal before Judiciary
Tuesday
Senator Bill Ketron (R-Murfreesboro) hopes to present
to the Senate Judiciary Committee as early as this Tuesday an aggravated animal
cruelty bill that appeared dead earlier in the year due to a fiscal note. The
Gizmo Bill is Senate Bill 3028 and is co-sponsored by Senate Judiciary Chairman
Curtis Person (R-Memphis) and Senate State and Local Government Chairman Steve
Cohen (D-Memphis).
Senator Ketron stated, "People who commit
aggravated animal cruelty often go on to commit similar offenses against
children, elderly people, and other innocent victims. Society needs to apply an
appropriate punishment to show we take these offenses seriously. Charging first
offenders with a felony offense sends an unmistakable message to everyone, not
just the offender, that such behavior will not be tolerated."
Senator Ketron is the past national president of the
National Exchange Club and the current national president of the Exchange Club
Foundation for the Prevention of Child Abuse.
SB 3028 would increase the penalty for a first offense of aggravated animal
cruelty from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class E
felony.
* * *
National Guard Tuition Assistance Bill Becomes Law
Senate Bill 127 to enact the Tennessee National Guard Tuition Assistance Act
was set for ceremonial signing by the governor for Thursday, April 15. The
measure, sought for several years, is designed as an
aid in recruiting and retention. All Senate members added on as sponsors in
final Senate floor action.
Senator Rusty Crowe (R-Johnson City), a bill co-sponsor who has served as
chairman of the Joint Select Committee on Veterans Affairs since 1997 and who
has been a longtime supporter of veterans' programs, stated, "This is very
good news. We have pushed for passage of tuition assistance for veterans for
years. It's wonderful to finally see it this far along
in the process. I appreciate Governor Bredesen for
making it such a high priority."
The Secretary of State has issued Public Chapter 477 for the bill. A copy may
be found online at http://www.legislature.state.tn.us/bills/currentga/Chapter/PC0477.pdf . It would become effective on July
1, 2004,
and is funded in the proposed budget and amendments.
Previous Tuition Assistance measures in 2001 and 2002 came close to passage,
drawing bipartisan support, but subsequently fell prey either to a lack of
state funding or else the funding was later cut from
the budget in final adjustments to the appropriations act.
* * *
Retiring Veteran-Legislator Honored
Construimus, Batuimus --
"We Build, We Fight"
Senate Bill 3137 by Senator Tim Burchett (R-Knoxville) passed out of Senate
Finance Tuesday and then unanimously passed the full Senate Thursday to name
the new state veterans home in Knoxville in honor of retiring
veteran-legislator Senate Republican Leader Ben Atchley
(R-Knoxville).
Senator Atchley honorably served his country for 10
years from 1948-1958 in the U.S. Naval Reserve. He was a SeaBee which derives from
the initials CB for Construction Battalion. Senator Atchley
was called to the well of the Senate where Senator
Burchett presented him with a "SEABEE" license plate to mark the
occasion.
All members were added to the bill.
SB 2674 by Senator Burchett also passed out of Senate Finance and then passed
the full Senate Thursday to name a bridge over the Tennessee River in Knoxville the Senator Ben Atchley Bridge.
All members were added to the bill.
* * *
Bills, Bills, Bills
* * *
All things considered: After action this week, the Senate has 3,499 Senate
bills filed as of 2:00 p.m. on Thursday (April 15), while the House has 3,595
bills. Resolutions: Senate Joint Resolutions now number up to 983; HJRs 1083; SRs 194; and HRs 328. The Senate has used
81 legislative days with the House having used 75 days. Article II, Section 23
of the state Constitution provides for 90 paid regular legislative session days
for every two-year-long General Assembly. The Senate is
scheduled to convene Monday at 5 p.m. with the House scheduled to
return at 4 p.m.
* * *
Senate Floor Actions
* * *
HB 3500/SB 3407 passed by unanimous consent of the Senate Monday to enact the
Minority Health Act of 2004.
* * *
HB 3489/SB 3408 passed by unanimous consent of the Senate Monday to allow
public health nurses and nurse practitioners to apply fluoride varnish to the
teeth of at-risk, underserved persons in or under the auspices of a state,
county or municipal public health clinic.
* * *
HB 1751/SB 1591 unanimously passed the Senate Monday to exempt from nursing
statutes individuals who are trained to assist others with developmental
disabilities or retardation with the self-administration of noninjectable
medications in programs or residential facilities licensed by the Department of
Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities and contracted with either that
department or the Department of Finance and Administration under the Medical
Assistance Participation Agreement or the Division of Mental Retardation
Services.
* * *
SB 2113/HB 2184 failed in the Senate Monday with 13 no votes, 11 ayes and 2
present not voting. The bill would have prohibited transporting loose dogs in
the bed of a pickup truck on interstate highways.
* * *
HB 2161/SB 2876 unanimously passed the Senate Monday to provide for local
education agencies to include in their student handbooks and other information
disseminated to parents contact information on child advocacy groups and how to
contact the Department of Education for information on student rights and
services. A Senate amendment authorizes LEAs to
exhaust existing supplies of handbooks before distributing ones with the
contact information.
* * *
SB 3244 unanimously passed the Senate Monday to add additional duties and
powers to the Office of the Comptroller regarding local governments.
HB 2547/SB 2380 unanimously passed the Senate Monday to revise the procedures
for filing, registering and recording documents in the offices of county
registers.
* * *
SB 2137 passed by unanimous consent of the Senate Thursday to increase to 180
days the current 90-day extension of the deadline for the payment of property
taxes, professional privilege taxes, and Hall income tax for members of the
Armed Forces and Reserves serving overseas on active duty. Senator Crowe
co-sponsors the bill.
* * *
HB 2428/SB 2208 by Senate Education Chairman Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) passed
out of the Senate Finance Committee Tuesday and then passed by unanimous
consent of the Senate Thursday to allow all school board members to participate
in group insurance, if they pay the total monthly premium for the coverage the
member selects.
* * *
HB 2435/SB 2455 by Senator Steve Southerland (R-Hamblen County) passed the
Senate 24-6-1 Thursday to require that, if the municipal electric system cable
pilot project is not up and running by June 30, then that pilot project would go
to the East grand division, and that, if it is up and running, then there would
be another pilot added in the East grand division. Hamblen County is the 3rd
smallest county in size in Tennessee, but it is the 6th largest in
population density.
* * *
HB 3480/SB 3418 passed out of the Senate Finance Committee and then unanimously
passed the full Senate Thursday to revise the franchise and excise tax laws
regarding job tax credits.
* * *
HB 3528/SB 3426 unanimously passed the Senate Thursday to authorize the Office
of Homeland Security to apply to the Commissioner of Safety to commission
certain Homeland Security officers as peace officers. Senator Burchett is a
co-sponsor of the bill.
* * *
SB 3455 passed out of the Senate Finance Committee and then unanimously passed
the full Senate Thursday to establish registration requirements for mortgage
loan originators and to revise other provisions governing residential lending,
brokerage and services.
* * *
SB 3332 by Senators Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet) and McNally passed the Senate
30-0-1 Thursday to clarify that the administrative head of a public institution
of higher education has the authority to designate a reasonable number of
easily accessible areas within buildings on campus where smokers are permitted
to smoke instead of requiring an area be designated in each building.
* * *
Bill Watch List
* * *
Appropriations Bills:
SB 3415/HB 3551, an appropriations bill, is available to carry the
administration appropriations bill and other amendments. A number of back-up
bills are available if needed.
* * *
TennCare Bills:
SB 3392/HB 3513 and SB 3394/HB 3512, bills capable of carrying the
administration TennCare proposals and amendments, are
under review by legislators and committees at this time. The TennCare Oversight Committee is set to convene Monday,
April 19, at 2 p.m. in Legislative Plaza Hearing Room 31 to hear two hours of
public comments on Governor Bredesen's TennCare proposals and amendments. Joe White of The
Nashville Bureau has graciously allowed us to link for convenient public access
to a copy of the 27-page amendment posted online at his web page at www.nashvillebureau.com . Look under "Your access to
amendment HB 3513" and click it. Just thank Joe.
* * *
Workers' Compensation Bills:
SB 3003/HB 2956, a workers' compensation bill, is available to carry either an
agreed-upon administration amendment or a compromise between parties for
worker's compensation reform if one ever surfaces. SB 3169, the Norris Workers'
Comp Reform Bill, could also be used by the
administration, with the permission of Senator Norris, to carry an appropriate
administration amendment for workers' compensation reform if another workers'
comp bill is not readily available as a vehicle.
* * *
Tort Reform Bills:
SB 605 by Senators Norris and McNally
SB 996 by Senator Norris, and
SB 3272 by Senator Norris.
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Chattanoogan.com
Capitol
Hill Week In Review
Pro-Life Measure Stalled In House Subcommittee
by Lance Frizzell, State House Republican Press
Secretary
posted April 15, 2004
Nashville - A pro-life proposal to clarify that the right to an abortion in
Tennessee is not addressed in our state's constitution failed Wednesday morning
along mostly partisan lines. The vote will keep Tennessee's abortion laws the most liberal
in the nation.
Republicans on the House Public Health and Family Assistance Subcommittee,
including House Republican Leader Tre Hargett (R-Bartlett), Jason Mumpower
(R-Bristol) and Chris Crider (R-Milan), voted for the measure, which passed the
State Senate with overwhelming support. The intent of the bi-partisan proposal
is to resolve a 2000 state Supreme Court ruling that declared abortion as a
right to privacy in the Tennessee constitution.
Even if approved by the House this session, two-thirds majorities would have to
approve it during the next General Assembly before it could go on the general
election ballot in 2006. It would need approval by a number of voters equal to
more than half the ballots cast in the governor's race to become part of the
constitution. If the amendment were enacted, abortions
would continue to be allowed by current state law until lawmakers enacted
restrictions.
The state Supreme Court decision in 2000 ruled that the Tennessee Constitution
offered greater protection of abortion rights than the U.S. Constitution. In
what many consider to be an example of judicial
activism, the justices then struck down laws requiring 2nd trimester abortions
be performed in a hospital, a waiting period and counseling.
Workers' Comp bill expected soon
Legislation reforming the state's compensation system for injured workers is expected by the end of this week. A joint oversight
committee has been reviewing many bills submitted to accomplish the needed
reform, called for by the House Republican Caucus in December.
Two House Republicans have legislation before the committee. Representatives
David Hawk (R-Greeneville) and Jimmy Eldridge (R-Jackson) are carrying bills
that would change the way workers' compensation cases are
settled in Tennessee. Their legislation sets up a
panel to review workers' comp claims instead of settling them in the courts.
The Department of Economic and Community Development has been
told by several companies that Tennessee's high costs for workers' comp
insurance take Tennessee out of the running for business
expansion and relocation. Rep. Eldridge's legislation attempts to protect the
workers' comp system so that injured workers can get a fair settlement in a
timely manner, yet also find a way to contain costs.
Tennessee is one of only two states that
allow courts to set workers' comp awards. The current system fosters inconsistency
and often makes maximum awards the norm. The other 48 states have some form of
a Workers Compensation Review Board.
Charter schools improvement sought
Legislation to clarify the enrollment provision of Tennessee's public charter schools law to allow
"at-risk" children to attend public charter schools will be heard next week. The bill, sponsored by
Representatives Richard Montgomery (R-Seymour), Jamie Hagood
(R-Knoxville), and Diane Black (R-Hendersonville), will be
heard next week in the House K-12 Education subcommittee.
The measure's intent is to put the best interest of each individual child
before the status of a school. Under current law, enrollment in these schools
is restricted to those who attend "low-performing" schools. Also, the number of public charter schools must be limited
to the number of failing schools in the district.
Charter schools are public schools that are overseen
by nonprofit organizations. They provide an alternative to the traditional
public school setting in that administrators and teachers are
given more autonomy over classroom activity and class schedules.
Further, Charter school students must meet the same performance standards as
other public school students.
The bill proposes expanding enrollment to at-risk children, including students
who are failing, have special needs, are dropouts,
those who speak limited English and high-risk students, such as those who are
homeless or have been held back a grade.
Bills in brief
A bill that would make drug dealers civilly liable for
their criminal activity passed the House Civil Practice and Procedure
Subcommittee this week. Sponsored by Representative Chris Newton (R-Cleveland),
HB2636 is based on the Model Drug Dealer Liability Act
that has been adopted in over a dozen states. It is essentially a product
liability act for illegal drugs.
Since it would be impossible to identify each person in the chain of illegal
drug distribution, the bill establishes a "market liability" so a
plaintiff must only prove that a defendant was distributing illegal drugs in
the community at the time the injury occurred. The first judgement
in the country entered as a result of the law yielded
$1 million for a baby born addicted to drugs and more than $7 million to the
city of Detroit for expenses for providing drug treatment.
Another bill that would prohibit discrimination against faith-based
organizations in state contracting for social services passed the House Local
Government subcommittee this week. Representative Susan Lynn (R-Mt. Juliet)
sponsored the measure to ensure that all organizations qualified to provide
these services have the opportunity to bid on a level playing field. The bill
would require that no state funds be spent for
inherently religious activities like religious training and worship. Similar
legislation has passed in several other states and is consistent with rules being promulgated by federal government agencies.
Legislation to give local education associations early
access to Basic Education Program (BEP) funds has unanimously passed the House.
Sponsored by House GOP Caucus Chairman Charles Sargent
(R-Franklin), Representative Phillip Johnson (R-Pegram)
and Representative Glen Casada (R-Franklin), the
measure will help local educators and administrators get a head start on
planning for the next school year.
House Bill 3417 allows local education associations to receive half of their
growth funds six months ahead of schedule. Counties experiencing rapid growth
desperately needed the change.
State Representative Harry Brooks (R-Knoxville) passed legislation on the House
floor that will impose harsher fines on those who violate waste disposal laws.
The measure seeks to end damage to underground water aquifers caused by the
dumping of certain materials into sinkholes.
House Bill 2276 would raise the minimum fine for the disposal of solid waste in
a sinkhole from $100 to $700 per day. The maximum fine was
increased from $5000 to $7000 per day. It also seeks to
no longer exempt private owners from disposing household waste in
sinkholes on their property.
Brooks was inspired to push for this legislation by the controversy over 800
truckloads of contaminated debris from the Coster
Shop redevelopment project dumped into a sinkhole in Knoxville. Citizens claim the pollutants
contaminated their well water.
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Chattanoogan.com
Job
Credit Bill Passes
by Matt Kroplin, House Democratic Press Secretary
posted April
15, 2004
This week in Nashville, House Democrats brought forth
the "Job Tax Credit" bill. This legislation passed the House by a
unanimous vote.
HB 3480 broadens the scope of the Job Tax Credit to include higher skilled,
better paying jobs, as defined by the Job Skills Act, and redefines distressed
counties in order to recognize and better serve their needs. In economically
distressed counties, the legislation would offer businesses, such as cellular
phone manufactures, not traditionally categorized as part of the manufacturing
industry, to receive increased incentives to create new jobs.
One of the top concerns of Tennesseans today is the lagging economy and
shrinking job market. This legislation seeks to address that issue. By offering
job credits to companies who create new jobs in Tennessee, we are encouraging a growth in
the local job market.
These incentives help the state of Tennessee in general and local communities
as well. As your representatives in Nashville, the House Democratic Caucus
intends to do everything it can to make sure Tennessee working families are well-represented. You have told us that being able to
maintain a strong, well-paying job is one of your top priorities, so we have
made sure to make it ours as well. This legislation seeks to address just that.
The bill, as amended, requires that a county not currently classified as
economically distressed, as defined by the Department of Economic and Community
Development, must have experienced in any one month of the last twenty-four
above average unemployment and below average per capita income based on Tennessee's overall averages. The bill
expands the definition of qualified business enterprise to include businesses
and industry that are high-skill and high-wage yet outside of the current
definition, which primarily encompasses manufacturing, warehousing or
headquarters facilities.
The bill would include those businesses that may not create the large number of
jobs that manufacturing, warehousing or headquarters facilities offer, but do
create higher-skilled, better paying jobs and increase the overall level of
employment. Additionally, the bill raises the current jobs tax credit available
to businesses in economically distressed areas as an incentive for those
businesses to create and/or expand jobs that will assist those areas.
▪ ▪ ▪
Moving through committee…
HB 2870 by Rep. Shepard expands the entities covered by the pharmacy access
statute. Presently, issuers of health insurance and managed health insurance are prohibited from denying the right of any licensed
pharmacy or pharmacist to participate in plans under the same terms and
conditions as other pharmacy providers. The legislation will
next be heard in the Commerce Committee.
HB 2343 by Rep. Ferguson establishes the "Elder Protection Act of
2004," which will provide standards for detaining individuals who are
charged with elder abuse. Issues related to financial institutions that act as
trustees are also addressed within the bill as
amended, and doctor offices, health care facilities, senior centers, community
centers, and pharmacies are required to post contact information for reporting
elder abuse, neglect, or exploitation. This legislation will
next be heard in Calendar & Rules.
HB 2831 by Rep. Hood authorizes the payment of $25,000 to the estate of a
firefighter that was killed in the line of duty. This
legislation will next be heard in the Budget
Subcommittee.
HB 3503 by Rep. Hackworth was referred to Finance,
Ways and Means. An administrative bill, the legislation changes the industrial
classification used to determine the reserve ratio for computing a new
employer's unemployment insurance premiums. Formerly calculated under the
Standard Industrial Classification code, the ratio will now
be calculated under the North American Industry Classification System
and may reduce premiums. This legislation will next be heard
in the Budget Subcommittee.
HB 2853 by Rep. Winningham requires university
foundations to adopt a code of ethics. This bill also provides a method for
removal of board members who violate adopted codes. This legislation will next be heard in the full Education Committee.
HB 3539 by Rep. Fitzhugh enacts the Industrial Loan and Thrift Companies Act
(TILT Act) and the Residential Lending, Brokerage and Servicing Act (Mortgage
Act). This bill is a predatory lending bill in response to the federal rule
that state laws regulating federal banks. The bill bolsters current Tennessee law to increase penalties from
$500 to $10,000 for violations. Further, since no current method exists to know
the identities of the mortgage loan originators, this bill would establish
registration requirements for such originators. This legislation will next be heard in the Finance Committee.
HB 3512 by Rep. Armstrong enacts the key components of the Governor’s TennCare Reform. Also known as the
“Fraud and Abuse Bill”, this legislation creates specific sanctions for the new
fraud and abuse division of TennCare.
HB 3467 by Rep. McMillan creates the “Tennessee Sexual Offender and Violent
Sexual Offender Registration, Verification, and Tracking Act of 2004.” This
bill is a comprehensive revision of the law relating to sexual offenders.
Specifically, this bill establishes registration procedures for sexual
offenders who decide to reside in Tennessee or another state. This
legislation will next be heard in the Health
Committee.
HB 2257 by Rep. Bowers creates a rebuttable
presumption that equally shared parenting time is in the best interest of a
child unless the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence to the contrary
or the parents have agreed to other custody arrangements in open court. This
legislation will next be heard in the Children &
Family Affairs Committee.
HB 0527 by Rep. Windle expands the extraterritorial
application of Tennessee Workers Compensation Laws to permit a worker injured
in another state to file a workers compensation claim in either Tennessee or in the state in which they
were injured. This legislation will next be heard in
the committee on Calendar & Rules.
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Chattanooga Times Free Press
April 13, 2004
GARY N. KELLY
Red Bank
It's time to work on workers' comp
This is in response Jim Bilbo's commentary in Sunday's edition (April 4) on workers' compensation. There were a number of misstatements in his letter that deserve correction.
Mr. Bilbo implies benefits to employees are too low when Tennessee's benefits exceed most neighboring states'.
The resultant costs to employers have led to significant concern that industry will not come or expand here. That hurts jobs, which hurts employers and employees.
His article also says "reducing benefits … such as forcing workers to pay for medical treatment with TennCare." That is a misleading statement with no basis. In our small company, the workers' compensation premium has increased 50 percent as a portion of gross payroll since 1999.
Our experience modifier has decreased to about 67 percent what it was three years ago, and our total payroll has decreased, but our workers' comp cost continues to increase.
Instead of trying to kill every idea, we ought to look at a package that results in cost savings to employers while still providing benefits and quick and effective medical care to injured employees who are legitimately in need of such benefits.
I hope Mr. Bilbo and his organization will join in this effort and will stop writing these grossly misleading articles.
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Chattanooga Times Free Press
April 13, 2004
Progress seen on workers' comp bill
State legislators have rejected several proposals dealing with the issue and now are focusing on the few that remain.
By John Commins Nashville Bureau
NASHVILLE - State lawmakers said Monday they'll have a workers' compensation bill ready before the legislative session adjourns early next month. "It will be an orderly process," said Sen. Joe Haynes, D-Goodlettsville, chairman of the Joint Committee on Workers Compensation. "It's time to either put up or shut up."
On Monday, the joint committee briefly reviewed, then rejected, more than 20 bills dealing with workers' comp, leaving only a handful remaining.
"We've thinned the herd," said Sen. Mark Norris, R-Collierville, sponsor of a Republican-backed bill that survived the winnowing. "I'm starting to see a little momentum, and I am a little more optimistic that we will get something done."
Gov. Phil Bredesen asked the General Assembly to pass workers' comp reform before the end of the session, which lawmakers have targeted for early May. The governor and business organizations have complained that Tennessee's workers' comp costs are much higher than those in neighboring states and are costing Tennessee manufacturing jobs. Sen. Haynes is sponsoring the omnibus bill expected to carry any amendments recommended by the governor, who to date has not outlined a specific approach.
Sen. Haynes said he's working with the administration to fashion a compromise package he hopes will appease the many interest groups that deal with workers' comp, including business, organized labor, trial lawyers, doctors, hospitals and insurers.
Deb Woolley, president of the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said she is convinced the General Assembly and the governor are committed to meaningful workers' compensation reform. Ms. Woolley said the Chamber of Commerce supports elimination of the multiplier on work-related injuries that can more than double the awards granted to injured workers, even if they return to the same job at the same pay.
Tennessee should enact a medical fee schedule for workers' comp injuries and reduce the number of jurisdictions that hear workers' comp cases, she said. The Chamber also wants tighter definitions for compensable accidents.
Sen. Norris' bill will reduce workers' compensation litigation by requiring mandatory benefits review conferences before cases can be taken to court. The bill also strengthens the decision of the treating physician.
The Senate Commerce Committee is expected to hear Sen. Norris' bill next week.
John Summers, a lobbyist for the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association, said the state should press for timely payments of workers' comp benefits and for more benefit review conferences. However, he said, many of the proposed business reforms are unneeded.
"This is just a political ploy by the business community and a generally pro-business governor, and they think this is an opportunity for them to improve their bottom line at the expense of injured workers," Mr. Summers said.
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The City Paper
Workers' Comp mired?
By Skip Cauthorn, scauthorn@nashvillecitypaper.com
April 13, 2004
With the clock ticking on workers' compensation reform, which Gov. Phil Bredesen says must be completed this year, committee action on any such proposal in the legislature will likely be put off for another week.
Democratic leaders said last Thursday a bill would be presented Monday and most admit they hope to adjourn early next month. Even that, by legislative committee standards, is a relatively short timeframe.
Bredesen called for reform of the state regulations in January saying businesses were leaving or opting not to settle here due to high premiums in insuring against worker injury.
Currently in Tennessee businesses with five or more employees must provide workers' comp insurance.
State Sen. Joe Haynes (D-Goodlettsville), who is co-chairing the Joint Oversight Committee on Workers' Compensation, says a planned amendment was simply not ready Monday.
"We're trying to revise some of the issues and see if we can develop a consensus between the different groups," said Haynes. "I'd say the drop-dead date is this Friday."
The bill would have to go to the Workers' Compensation Advisory Council Friday for preliminary review prior to sending a proposal back to the legislature Monday, said Haynes.
The Senate Commerce Committee, through which workers' comp bills must travel, has put off any action on the issue this week.
"[Haynes] said in the press conference Thursday he was going to bring up his idea or their idea today," said state Sen. Jerry Cooper (D-Morrison), the Commerce Committee chairman. That's why I was sitting in there. So, you know as much as I do."
Several ideas are floating around from the various lobbies involved. Trial lawyers, strong Democratic supporters, fear attempts to reduce the number of court cases through an administrative appeals board, which many contend would reduce premium rates.
And organized labor, also tied to Democrats, opposes any reductions in workers' benefits.
Business interests are in favor of Democrat Bredesen's call for reform and agree that jobs are going elsewhere.
Republicans have been critical of Haynes and the Democrats, this being an election year, saying they wish to stall action this year to appease labor and trial lawyer lobbyists.
Haynes says he's "running numbers" on potential increases in employee benefits.
The committee Monday will likely work off of two bills and possibly one from Haynes.
State Sen. Mark Norris (R-Collierville), who is sponsoring one of the bills before the committee, says he hopes his legislation will prompt action by Democratic leaders.
"Those who might be accused of dragging their feet deny it," said Norris. "That's why I guess two weeks ago I went ahead and proceeded with my bill that I filed last year. … But I wanted to jumpstart the process just in case there's somebody out there who thinks were going to run out the clock."
Norris says a medical fee schedule to limit physician charges, which many say could also curb premiums, shouldn't be taken up this year. However, Norris' bill does include an administrative appeal board.
Bredesen has said the administration will step in if the committee fails to produce a bill.
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commercialappeal.com - Memphis, TN
Tenn. lawmakers hasten workers' comp bill
By Karin Miller
The Associated Press
April 13, 2004
NASHVILLE - Gov. Phil Bredesen's administration, lobbyists and lawmakers are still trying to work out a compromise on legislation overhauling the state's workers' compensation system, Sen. Joe Haynes said.
The "drop dead" date is Friday, said Haynes, who had hoped to present the bill Monday to the Joint Oversight Committee on Workers' Compensation that he co-chairs.
He said that interested parties are trying to determine the fiscal impact of changes like increasing the compensation rate for some injured workers.
"All of these items cost money. We're trying to run the numbers to see if that will work," said Haynes, D-Goodlettsville and Senate majority leader.
He said there's no truth to allegations that sponsors are trying to "slow walk" the legislation. "Workers' compensation is a very complex and difficult area of law," Haynes said. "We're working as hard as we can work."
But lawmakers with alternative bills say they're ready to move their proposals.
"At the end of the day, ours is the most comprehensive bill and we need to move forward. We're running out of time," said Sen. Mark Norris, R-Collierville. "This covers all the concerns that the committees have heard. I don't see any reason for delay."
Bredesen told lawmakers this year he wanted to sign a bill lowering the cost of workers' compensation to businesses. Legislative leaders hope to wrap up the session in early May.
The state's Workers' Compensation Advisory Council recommended against passage of bills sponsored by Norris and by Sen. Don McLeary, D-Humboldt, saying they include some good aspects but don't address all the issues that should be included in a reform of the system.
Among other things, the bills would:
" Increase compensation for workers who can't return to the job but lower awards for employees who go back to work.
" Require benefit review conferences in all cases before they can go to trial.
" Provide penalties for late payments to injured workers.
" Give more weight to treating physicians' testimony about the extent of an injury.
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The Jackson Sun
Legislators still wait for workers' comp bill
By KARIN MILLER
The Associated Press
Apr 13 2004
NASHVILLE - Gov. Phil Bredesen's administration, lobbyists and lawmakers are still trying to work out a compromise on legislation overhauling the state's workers' compensation system, Sen. Joe Haynes said.
The ''drop dead'' date is Friday, said Haynes, who had hoped to present the bill Monday to the Joint Oversight Committee on Workers' Compensation that he co-chairs.
He said that interested parties are trying to determine the fiscal impact of changes like increasing the compensation rate for some injured workers.
''All of these items cost money. We're trying to run the numbers to see if that will work,'' said Haynes, D-Goodlettsville and senate majority leader.
He said there's no truth to allegations that sponsors are trying to ''slow walk'' the legislation. ''Workers compensation is a very complex and difficult area of law,'' Haynes said. ''We're working as hard as we can work.''
But lawmakers with alternative bills say they're ready to move their proposals.
''At the end of the day, ours is the most comprehensive bill and we need to move forward. We're running out of time,'' said Sen. Mark Norris, R-Collierville. ''This covers all the concerns that the committees have heard. I don't see any reason for delay.''
Bredesen told lawmakers earlier this year he wanted to sign a bill lowering the cost of workers' compensation to businesses. Legislative leaders hope to wrap up the session in early May.
The state's Workers' Compensation Advisory Council recommended against passage of bills sponsored by Norris and by Sen. Don McLeary, D-Humboldt, saying they include some good aspects but don't address all the issues that should be included in a reform of the system.
Among other things, the bills would:
" Increase compensation for workers who can't return to the job, but lower awards for employees who go back to work;
" Require benefit review conferences in all cases before they can go to trial;
" Provide penalties for late payments to injured workers;
" Give more weight to treating physicians' testimony about the extent of an injury.
Norris' bill also would prohibit compensation for a repetitive action injury such as carpal tunnel syndrome. McLeary's bill would require a study of whether the state should create a medical fee schedule that would limit compensation for doctors treating injured workers.
The oversight committee deferred action on the council's recommendations until Friday, when the council will meet again to discuss the Haynes bill and any changes proposed to the legislation by Norris and McLeary.
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NewsChannel5.com
Lawmakers Wait For Workers Comp Bill
Posted: 4/12/2004 4:54:28 PM
Officials are still trying to work out a compromise on
legislation overhauling Tennessee’s
workers’ compensation system.
They had hoped
to present the bill Monday night.
The Bredesen administration, lobbyists and lawmakers were
trying to determine the fiscal impact of changes like increasing the
compensation rate for some injured workers.
Bredesen told lawmakers earlier this year he wanted to sign a bill
lowering the cost of workers’ compensation to businesses.
(Copyright
2004, AP)
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WATE.com
State legislators still waiting for workers' comp bill
April 12, 2004
NASHVILLE (AP) --
Officials are still trying to work out a compromise on legislation
overhauling Tennessee's workers'
compensation system.
They
had hoped to present the bill Monday night.
The Bredesen administration, lobbyists and lawmakers
are trying to determine the fiscal impact of changes like increasing
the compensation rate for some injured workers.
Bredesen told lawmakers earlier in 2004 he
wanted to sign a bill lowering the cost of workers' compensation to
businesses.
Copyright
2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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Chattanooga Times Free Press
Sunday, April 12, 2004
Legislators face snags to May
1 session end
Lawmakers still must balance the budget and deal with
TennCare and workers’ compensation.
By John
Commins Staff Writer
NASHVILLE — Legislative leaders remain
confident they can complete the state’s business and adjourn by May 1, which
would be one of the earliest adjournments in years.
"I think we have an outside shot at getting out by
the last week of April, but I’d hesitate to bet my house on it," said Sen.
Joe Haynes, DGoodlettsville, chairman of the Senate Majority Caucus.
"From the very beginning some of us tried to set
our sights on April 15, but we knew that wasn’t realistic. But when you shoot
for the 15 th, you might hit May 1," Sen. Haynes said.
Democrats and Republicans agree the three major issues
between them and adjournment are balancing the budget and passing TennCare and
workers’ compensation reforms.
Senate Minority Caucus Chairman Ron Ramsey,
RBlountville, said if the General Assembly adjourns any later than early May,
he’ll blame the Democrats.
"They are going to have to get on board with
TennCare and workers’ compensation," Sen. Ramsey said. "We were ready
a month ago to address those issues if the Democrats had brought them to the
table. We’ve already brought bills forward so they can’t say we are the ones
holding things up."
House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh, D-Covington, said
Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen’s TennCare reforms have been generally well
received in the House, but that some sticking point could emerge.
Rep. Naifeh said he’s already hearing from pharmacists
who are concerned that the governor’s reforms will exclude inde- pendent or
"willing" pharmacies from the program, in favor of larger chain
stores or mail-order pharmacies that might offer lower drug prices in exchange
for exclusive rights to TennCare business. "I’m
hearing positive remarks, but it is not all apple pie and motherhood,"
Rep. Naifeh said. "It’s what we have to do if we want to get the program
under control, but I understand the ramifications, as well."
The battle over workers’ compensation reform is moving
along at least two fronts. The Senate Commerce Committee is expected this week
to hear a reforms proposal from Sen. Mark Norris, R-Collierville. Among other
things, Sen. Norris’ bill calls for the creation of a mandatory benefits review
conference for injured workers before they can take their employers to court.
Meanwhile, the General Assembly’s Joint Committee on Wo
rkers’ Compensation is expected this week to review a proposal from Gov. Phil
Bredesen and also to hear more testimony from insurance companies that provide
workers’ compensation coverage.
Rep. Rob Briley, D-Nashville, a member of the joint
committee, said he does not anticipate any sweeping changes to the workers’
compensation laws clearing the House this session, despite Gov. Bredesen’s call
for action.
"The basic framework that we have with workers’
compensation is a good one. We are not going to throw the baby out with the bath
water," Rep. Briley said. "We will probably tweak the system we have
and not go to an entirely new system or reinvent the wheel."
Democrats and Republicans believe the least
controversial issue will be passing Gov.
Bredesen’s $23.8 billion budget.
"This will be the easiest budget we’ve adopted in
the last five years," Sen. Haynes said.
"I would think we will pretty much approve what he
proposes. This has all been through the committees. It’s been an open process.
Everyone has been given the opportunity to testify. There aren’t any
surprises," he said.
Sen. Ramsey said the budget "is going to be
relatively easy."
"There are fewer improvements this year than
last," he said.
The Senate Budget Subcommittee meets Wednesday and
Thursday, and Sen. Ramsey said, "I think we’ll have it approved by
then."
Rep. Naifeh said he believes the budget will be on the
House floor during the week that starts April 19.
"We need to conduct our business, balance this
budget with no new taxes and get out in an orderly manner, and I think we will
do that," Rep. Naifeh said. In 2003, during Gov.
Phil Bredesen’s first year in office, the General Assembly adjourned in early
June, the earliest adjournment in at least five years. In 2001 and 2002 the
session stretched into the summer as lawmakers battled over a state income tax.
In July 2002, with the income tax defeated, the General Assembly passed a 1
cent sales tax increase, the largest tax hike in state history. Republicans
and Democrats believe their colleagues, particularly those with opposition in
the August party primaries, want to adjourn as quickly as possible so they can
go home, campaign and raise money. Under state law, sitting legislators cannot
raise money while the General Assembly is in session, and their ability to
campaign at home is hampered by their presence in Nashville four days a week.
"We saw what happened two years ago when we went
to the Fourth of July," Rep. Naifeh said. Sen.
Ramsey said the prolonged 2002 session and the fight over an income tax played
a role in the defeat of many incumbents that year. He said both lessons have
been learned. There is no more talk of an income tax, he said, and nobody wants
to be in Nashville any longer than necessary.
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Tennessean
April
12, 2004
Other side of workers'
comp told
By ANNE PAINE
Staff Writer
Lisa Pradel says she loved her work of 18 years as a hair stylist and
never viewed it as dangerous, but everything changed for the Mt.
Juliet woman when she took out
the shop trash one night.
In the dark, a misstep left her foot wrenched in a way that ended her life
as she knew it, plummeting her into what she describes as a nightmare world
of workers' compensation hassles.
Three years later, she has a limp, says she can't stand for more than 15
minutes out of an hour and is in constant pain.
''I lost my house,'' said Pradel, 36, a single mother with kids now 6 and
11. ''My car. My credit. My life. My children's life.
''I live with my mother. She's raised me once, and now's she's raising me
and my kids. I have lived in anger.''
Workers tell their side
Manufacturers and business associations have appeared frequently this year
at Legislative Plaza,
testifying before committees that the state's workers' comp system is too
expensive and should be cut. They talk of workers who abuse the system.
Workers' representatives have spoken at committee meetings, too. They
agree the system is flawed, but they say it's in ways that can result in
injured workers suffering.
Through all the meetings before lawmakers, few, if any, injured workers
who have been in the workers' comp system have been heard from.
Pradel is among those who gathered at Nashville
State Community College
recently to tell their stories. It was one of seven meetings, sponsored by
the AFL-CIO labor organization and the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association,
which are continuing across the state.
About 10 lawmakers, including Sen. Joe Haynes, D-Goodlettsville, who is
chairman of a joint oversight committee on the topic, attended the one here.
Most who spoke were men injured while loading or unloading cars onto car
carriers or moving equipment. As was Pradel's, their most bitter memories
were not of the accidents that befell them but of their treatment under the
workers' comp system.
Many spoke simply, often with trembling voices of the anguish of not being
able to support their families or to roughhouse with their children and of
being put on painkillers or therapy when they needed surgery.
They talked of the problem of the long lag time before workers' comp
checks began while they still needed to put food on the table and pay bills.
Many, as did Pradel, said the payments were often late. She said she hired an
attorney and finally reached a settlement after three years without work.
''I did not get rich,'' she said. ''I paid my mother off. I paid bills
off. I hurt all the time. I know I will always run the risk of losing the use
of my leg.''
She said she is determined to ''get some of my life back'' and is
retraining to be a paralegal after getting student loans and grants.
Two sides of the issue
The official factions on either side of the issue, including manufacturers
and unions, have diverging opinions about whether workers' comp costs are too
high in Tennessee.
The costs tend to be more than in surrounding states but lie in the middle
nationwide. One side says that it's causing jobs to go to other states, the
other that many jobs are going overseas and that most states are losing jobs.
Everyone tends to agree that some businesses and insurance companies can
be better than others about providing quick treatment and benefits to injured
workers.
The Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry wants to get rid of a
multiplier factor in the formula that allows awards to go higher to people
with permanent injuries that partially disable them, even when a person
returns to the same job at the same pay.
Chamber officials say also that figures show Tennessee
is one of the slowest states in the nation when it comes to paying workers'
comp.
''That's unfair to workers,'' said Deb Woolley, executive director of the
chamber. ''Workers who get injured should expect to be taken care of right.''
She said she didn't know how the workers could be taken care of more
quickly.
The group also backs requiring a benefit review conference in the
Department of Labor to handle all cases, saying it would reduce contentiousness.
Jerry Lee, president of the Tennessee AFL-CIO Labor Council, disagrees
with the business group's focus on removing the ''multiplier'' factor.
That would eliminate the flexibility and place limitations needed for
different cases, he said.
''They call them multipliers,'' he said. ''We call them caps.''
Lee is among those waiting to see what the Bredesen administration
recommends.
The governor, as he has on at least a few other issues, has hope
blossoming on both sides.
''The administration is trying to look at a balanced approach to address
the problems,'' Lee said.
Fix it
Claude Belton, 58, of Murfreesboro
is one of the workers who feels betrayed by the system.
After 31 years as a car hauler, he injured his back and neck while
tightening up a chain on a load in Elizabethtown,
Ky., in 2001.
Despite his pain, he said, he was asked to take the load on to Tennessee
and then be looked at here. Once back, he felt under suspicion. Needed
treatment was delayed, he said. Later he had two surgeries and found himself
forced into retirement.
''There isn't a day goes by that I don't wake up hurting,'' he said. ''The
sad part of all of that? You watch your wife get up and go to work each and
every day, and you just sit there.''
He paused before beginning again.
''They say we're out to beat the system. Revise it. Just ensure us that we
can get the medical treatment that we need after we're injured.''
Committee meets today
The Joint Oversight Committee on Workers Compensation will meet at 1:30 p.m. today in Room 12 of the Legislative
Plaza to review pending
legislation.
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Jackson Sun
Workers' compensation reform critical for jobs
Apr 11 2004
Anyone who has a job or
wants a job in Tennessee should pay close
attention to major legislation set to be debated this
week in the General Assembly. Workers' compensation reform will be on the
agenda. Clearly, the system needs reform to avoid driving businesses and jobs
out of Tennessee.
Workers' compensation
reform is one of the most politically difficult things for lawmakers to do.
Pressures from industry, economic development experts, employers, employee
groups, labor unions, doctors, insurance companies and trial lawyers all must
figure into the mix. Each has legitimate issues and legitimate concerns about
changing the system.
But change the system we
must, for the sake of keeping and gaining new jobs in Tennessee. Workers' compensation
costs to employers can be several times higher per employee in Tennessee than in other states.
That is a very business unfriendly hurdle for business recruiters and state
economic development officials to clear with prospective businesses.
Workers' compensation
rates might not be the only consideration for businesses, but it is a major
one. In today's ultra competitive economic development arena, recruiters need
every positive they can point to and as few negatives as possible.
The other concern, of
course, is fairness to injured employees. In fact, that should be the first
concern of any reform legislation. Injured workers must be
taken care of medically, compensated fairly and have their claims adjudicated
quickly. Reports of workers losing everything while their
workers' compensation claims are being settled is unacceptable.
This weeks' workers'
compensation reform debate is important. Lawmakers must stay focused on the
goals: fairness to workers and fairness to jobs growth.
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Tennessean
April
11, 2004
Spring is when big
lobbyists outdistance the truer public interests
Just
as sure as the dandelions grow higher than the buttercups, there are signs of
spring around the Legislative Plaza.
It's when the General Assembly begins to talk of
wrapping up its session and going home, and no one is sorry.
It
can be a confusing time for citizens trying to assess the damage to wallets,
sensibilities and democracy in general by the legislature. A lot appears to be
going on, not all of it fit viewing for the school children
piling off their buses outside.
But there is predictability to the routine if you know where
to look. Some things never change.
Legislative
leaders have been talking for months about ending the session at the end of
April. Everyone knows that means the middle of May. Or
hopefully before Memorial Day.
Here
are some other things that will happen with certainty:
Earnest,
well-meaning, un- paid citizen lobbyists with the
public good in mind will see their goals go up in flames or a puff of smoke.
One
such group has been pushing a bill to protect spouses from automatic
termination of insurance in the case of divorce or death of the wage-earning
spouse. It's a reasonable proposal, perhaps keeping
more people off the TennCare rolls, which everyone
says is a good thing.
It
failed to get out of a House subcommittee.
Then
there's the group that wants local governments, rather
than the state, to set smoking rules in private buildings such as restaurants.
Feeling a cold wind blowing, as they say around these parts, the sponsor
withdrew the bill before another House subcommittee could kill it.
What
happened? In both cases, powerful, full-time paid lobbyists were in opposition.
In the first case, it was the insurance companies and some big businesses. In
the second, it was the Tennessee Farm Bureau and the restaurant industry. They
have big political action committees with lots of cash. It is an election year.
If
the legislature gave local governments the power to
regulate smoking, tobacco lobbyists would migrate to local governments,
depriving state lawmakers of a major resource, not to mention bar bills that
disappear into the night.
Another
sure thing: the Senate Finance Committee will begin to meet in secret in
apparent violation of Senate rules, state law and the state constitution. The
real reason is that secret sessions allow senators of a certain age (and most
of them are) to sleep through the meetings in peace without media cameras
catching them.
The
non-narcoleptic senators will talk mostly about strippers. No, not the kind
they have been watching in Printers Alley. The big stripper amendment to be added to the budget bill kills all non-authorized
spending, i.e., bills that spend money sponsored by lawmakers who vow they will
never vote for a tax. Such sponsors must never be allowed
to know who put them in the stripper.
If
it is an even-numbered year in which senators in even-numbered districts are
subjected to the inconvenience of an election, and this is one of those years,
a hard core group of lobbyists will go into a deep
funk.
Some
misguided Republican will think he can beat the speaker of the Senate. He
probably can't, but the speaker of the Senate will be
nervous. The lobbyists know they will have to spend October going door-to-door
in the scenic enclaves of Bolivar, Selmer, Moscow,
Pocahontas, Adamsville and Grand Junction
to ensure the re-election of the speaker of the Senate, rather than fishing in Alaska.
Such is the price of public service.
The
biggest spectator sport in the final days will be watching titans of the
lobbying game, those evenly matched in terms of cash and organized voting
blocs, struggle to the usual draw.
This
year the subject is workers compensation, with businesses and insurance
companies on one side and organized labor and trial lawyers on the other.
Nothing will be done to solve the problem, even though
the governor says the present system is contributing to the outflow of jobs
from Tennessee.
There
is one infallible sign that the end is nigh for the session. That is when
schools across Tennessee begin to
let out for the summer, and Mama and the kids start to show up in Nashville,
interrupting the nightly flow of refreshment for weary legislators.
That
is when someone will stand, summon up the Latin they never learned in school
and move that the legislature stand in adjournment ''sine die.'' It means no
return, at least until next year. It should be a state holiday.
Larry Daughtrey
is a Tennessean columnist. Send e-mail to Ldaughtrey@aol.com
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Chattanooga Times Free Press
Saturday, April 11, 2004
COMMENTARY
Who gets
the money?
Bob
Herbert Commentary
It’s like running on a treadmill that keeps increasing its
speed. You have to go faster and faster just to stay in place. Or, as a factory worker said many years ago, "You can
work ’til you drop dead, but you won’t get ahead."
American workers have been remarkably productive in
recent years, but they are getting fewer and fewer of the benefits of this
increased productivity. While the economy, as measured by the gross domestic
product, has been strong for some time now, ordinary workers have gotten little
more than the back of the hand from employers who have pocketed an
unprecedented share of the cash from this burst of economic growth.
What is happening is nothing short of historic. The
American workers’ share of the increase in national income since November 2001,
the end of the last recession, is the lowest on record. Employers took the
money and ran. This is extraordinary, but very few people are talking about it,
which tells you something about the hold that corporate interests have on the
national conversation.
The situation is summed up in the long, unwieldy but
very revealing title of a new study from the Center for Labor Market Studies at
Northeastern University: "The Unprecedented Rising Tide of Corporate
Profits and the Simultaneous Ebbing of Labor Compensation — Gainers and Losers
from the National Economic Recovery in 2002 and 2003."
Andrew Sum, the center’s director and lead author of
the study, said: "This is the first time we’ve ever had a case where two
years into a recovery, corporate profits got a larger share of the growth of
national income than labor did. Normally labor gets about 65 percent and
corporate profits about 15 to 18 percent. This time profits got 41 percent and
labor [meaning all forms of employee compensation, including wages, benefits,
salaries and the percentage of payroll taxes paid by employers] got 38
percent."
The study said: "In no other recovery from a
post-World War II recession did corporate profits ever account for as much as
20 percent of the growth in national income. And at no time did corporate
profits ever increase by a greater amount than labor compensation."
In other words, an awful lot of American workers have been had. Fleeced. Taken to the cleaners.
The recent productivity gains have been widely
acknowledged. But workers are not being compensated
for this. During the past two years, increases in wages and benefits have been
very weak, or nonexistent. And despite the growth of
jobs in March that had the Bush crowd dancing in the White House halls last
week, there has been no net increase in formal payroll employment since the end
of the recession. We have lost jobs. There are fewer payroll jobs now than
there were when the recession ended in November 2001.
So if employers were not hiring workers, and if they
were miserly when it came to increases in wages and benefits for existing
employees, what happened to all the money from the strong economic growth?
The study is very clear on this point. The bulk of the gains did not go to workers, "but instead were
used to boost profits, lower prices, or increase CEO compensation."
This is a radical transformation of the way the bounty
of this country has been distributed since World War
II. Workers are being treated more and more like
patrons in a rigged casino. They can’t win.
Corporate profits go up. The stock market goes up.
Executive compensation skyrockets. But workers, for
the most part, remain on the treadmill.
When you look at corporate profits versus employee
compensation in this recovery, and then compare that, as Sum and his colleagues
did, with the eight previous recoveries since World War II, it’s
like turning a chart upside down.
The study found that the amount of income growth
devoured by corporate profits in this recovery is "historically
unprecedented," as is the "low share ... accruing to the nation’s
workers in the form of labor compensation."
I have to laugh when I hear conservatives complaining
about class warfare. They know this terrain better than anyone.
They launched the war. They’re waging it. And they’re winning it.
New York Times News Service
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