BILL REQ. #:  H-4565.1 

Read first time 01/31/2006.   Referred to Committee on Commerce & Labor.

     AN ACT Relating to revising the industrial insurance self-insurance program; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that:
     (1) It is fundamental to the Washington workers' compensation system that claims be adjudicated and resolved in a fair, informal, and cooperative environment that benefits the injured worker, the employer, and the department of labor and industries;
     (2) With an appropriate auditing program and statutory penalty structure, more flexibility and authority for self-insured employers to administer their claims should be granted; and
     (3) Revisions to the industrial insurance self-insurance program should be made to grant self-insured employers more authority to actively participate in workers' compensation claims.