BILL REQ. #:  S-4660.1 

READ FIRST TIME 02/05/10.   

     AN ACT Relating to creating a task force to study and report on the state's workers' compensation system; adding a new section to chapter 51.04 RCW; and providing an expiration date.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 51.04 RCW to read as follows:
     The legislature finds that Washington's workers' compensation system is a complex system that has several unique features not commonly found in the workers' compensation systems of other governments. The legislature acknowledges that there have been calls for systematic reform of Washington's workers' compensation system in order to bring the system more in line with the systems of other states. However, the legislature recognizes that the fundamental purpose of the workers' compensation system is to provide sure and certain relief for workers injured in their work and that proposals for systematic reform need deliberate, collaborative, and thoughtful evaluation in order to ensure changes have no adverse impact on worker outcomes, accountability, system efficiency, or cost predictability. The legislature therefore directs the department of labor and industries to convene a task force to evaluate and recommend methods to improve the coordination and provision of quality, timely medical treatment; methods to improve outcomes for, and shorten the duration of, long-term disability claims; and methods to refine and resolve systemic liabilities and long-term pension trends.
     The task force consists of eight members appointed by the director upon consultation with the workers' compensation advisory committee and the governor. Three of the members must be labor representatives, one of which is a member of the workers' compensation advisory committee; and three of the members must be business representatives, one of which is a member of the workers' compensation advisory committee. One member must be a representative of the governor, and one member must be a representative of the department. The legislature encourages the director to appoint individuals with practical experience or expertise in workers compensation who are willing to maintain focus on the goals of the task force, as described in this section, and provide consistency and transparency to the development of recommendations.
     The department shall convene the first meeting of the task force and provide ongoing administrative support to the task force. At the first meeting, the task force shall select a member or members to serve as a chair or cochairs of the task force, as determined by the task force. Subject to funding provided for in the omnibus appropriations act, referencing this act by bill or chapter number, the department may contract for an individual to serve as a facilitator for the task force.
     The task force must periodically report to the director, the workers' compensation advisory committee, and the appropriate standing committees of the legislature. The task force must prepare a final report to submit to the legislature in December 2010. The final report must include task force recommendations for changes to the workers' compensation system that will improve positive outcomes for workers, increase accountability and system efficiency, and improve cost predictability.
     Nonlegislative members, except those representing an employer or organization, are entitled to be reimbursed for travel expenses in accordance with RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060.
     This section expires January 1, 2011.