BILL REQ. #:  S-3663.1 

Read first time 01/11/2006.   Referred to Committee on Labor, Commerce, Research & Development.

     AN ACT Relating to industrial insurance claims made due to emergency response; and amending RCW 51.16.220.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 51.16.220 and 2005 c 422 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) When a worker of a nongovernment employer is injured or develops an occupational disease due to an exposure while assisting in the life and rescue phase of an emergency, in response to a request for assistance from a Washington state or local government entity located in Washington state, including fire service or law enforcement, the cost of benefits shall be reimbursed from the disaster response account, RCW 38.52.105, to the appropriate workers' compensation fund, or to the self-insured employer, as the case may be. The cost of such injuries or occupational diseases shall not be charged to the experience record of a state fund employer.
     (2) For the purposes of this section, "life and rescue phase" means the first seventy-two hours after the occurrence of a natural or man-made disaster that results in a state of emergency proclaimed pursuant to Washington state or local law, and during which time a Washington state or ((municipal)) local government entity located within Washington state, including fire service or law enforcement, ((acknowledges or declares such a disaster and)) requests assistance from the private sector in locating and rescuing survivors. The initial life and rescue phase may be extended for a finite period of time by declaration of the state or ((municipal)) local government entity requesting assistance.