H-4486.1 _______________________________________________
HOUSE BILL 2862
_______________________________________________
State of Washington 54th Legislature 1996 Regular Session
By Representatives Hargrove and McMorris
Read first time 01/23/96. Referred to Committee on Commerce & Labor.
AN ACT Relating to the department of social and health services lien and notice to withhold and deliver; and amending RCW 43.20B.720, 43.20B.725, 43.20B.730, 43.20B.735, and 43.20B.740.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 43.20B.720 and 1985 c 245 s 7 are each amended to read as follows:
By accepting public
assistance from the department of social and health services, the recipient
thereof shall be deemed to have subrogated said department to the recipient's
right to recover time loss compensation due to such recipient and his or her
dependents pursuant to the provisions of Title 51 RCW to the extent of such
assistance or compensation, whichever is less, furnished to the recipient and
his or her dependents for or during the period for which time loss compensation
is payable: PROVIDED, That the amount to be repaid to the department of social
and health services shall bear its proportionate share of attorney's fees and
costs, if any, incurred by the injured worker or the worker's dependents. The
department of social and health services may assert and enforce a lien and
notice to withhold and deliver ((as hereinafter provided)) to secure
reimbursement ((of any public assistance paid for or during the period and
for the purposes expressed in this section)).
Sec. 2. RCW 43.20B.725 and 1987 c 75 s 33 are each amended to read as follows:
The lien and notice to
withhold and deliver in RCW 43.20B.720 shall ((be signed by the secretary or
the secretary's authorized representative and shall)) identify the
recipient of public assistance and time loss compensation((,)) and
the amount claimed by the department((, and the demand to withhold and
deliver the sum claimed by the department)).
Sec. 3. RCW 43.20B.730 and 1987 c 75 s 34 are each amended to read as follows:
The effective date of
the statement of lien and notice to withhold and deliver provided in RCW
43.20B.725, shall be the day that it is received by the ((director of the))
department of labor and industries((, an employee of the director's office
of suitable discretion,)) or a self-insurer as defined in chapter 51.08 RCW:
PROVIDED, That service of such statement of lien and notice to withhold and
deliver may be made personally ((or)), by regular mail, postage
prepaid, or by electronic device: PROVIDED, FURTHER, That a ((copy
of the)) statement of lien and notice to withhold and deliver shall be
mailed to the recipient at the recipient's last known address by certified
mail, return receipt requested, no later than ((the next)) two
business days after such statement of lien and notice to withhold and
deliver has been ((mailed or delivered to)) received by the
department of labor and industries or ((to)) a self-insurer as defined
in chapter 51.08 RCW.
Sec. 4. RCW 43.20B.735 and 1973 1st ex.s. c 102 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
The director of the
department of labor and industries or his or her designee, following
receipt of the statement of lien and notice to withhold and deliver, shall
deliver to the secretary of the department of social and health services or his
or her designee any funds up to the amount claimed ((he)) the
director may hold, or which may at any time come into ((his)) the
director's possession, on account of time loss compensation payable to said
recipient ((for or during the period stated)), immediately upon a final
determination of the recipient's entitlement to the time loss compensation in
accordance with the provisions of Title 51 RCW.
Sec. 5. RCW 43.20B.740 and 1989 c 175 s 101 are each amended to read as follows:
Any person feeling aggrieved by the action of the department of social and health services in impounding his or her time loss compensation as provided in RCW 43.20B.720 through 43.20B.745 shall have the right to an adjudicative proceeding.
Any such person who
desires a hearing shall, within twenty-eight days after the notice to withhold
and deliver has been mailed to ((or served upon the director of the
department of labor and industries and)) said appellant, file with the
secretary an application for an adjudicative proceeding. If the appellant
files an application more than twenty-eight days, but within one year, of the
date the notice to withhold and deliver was mailed, the appellant is entitled
to a hearing if the appellant shows good cause for failure to file a timely
application. The filing of a late application does not affect prior collection
action pending the final adjudicative order. Until good cause for failure to
file a timely application is decided, the department may continue to collect
under the lien and notice to withhold and deliver.
The proceeding shall be governed by chapter 34.05 RCW, the Administrative Procedure Act.
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