HB 1456.E - DIGEST

(DIGEST AS PASSED LEGISLATURE)

     Revises RCW 51.32.055 to allow self-insured employers to close disability claims after July 1990.

VETO MESSAGE ON HB 1456

                   May 18, 1993

To the Honorable Speaker and Members,

  The House of Representatives of the State of Washington

Ladies and Gentlemen:

     I am returning herewith, without my approval Engrossed House Bill No. 1456 entitled:

"AN ACT Relating to self-insured employers;"

     This bill would give self-insured employers the right to close certain industrial insurance claims if the Department of Labor and Industries has not intervened because of a dispute and the injured worker has returned to work with the self-insured employer at the previous job or a job that has comparable wages, benefits, and permanency.

     Because of concern over the meaning of the word "permanency" in the context of the bill, self-insured employers have indicated that they will not close any claim, thereby rendering the bill useless.

     For this reason, I have vetoed Engrossed House Bill No. 1456 in its entirety.

                   Respectfully submitted,

                   Mike Lowry

                   Governor