Z-221                 _______________________________________________

                                                    HOUSE BILL NO. 468

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              50th Legislature                              1987 Regular Session

By Representatives Cole, C. Smith and Sayan; by request of Department of Labor and Industries

Read first time 1/28/87 and referred to Committee on Commerce & Labor.

AN ACT Relating to notices of assessment by the department of labor and industries; and amending RCW 51.48.131.

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

        Sec. 1.  Section 7, chapter 315, Laws of 1985 and RCW 51.48.131 are each amended to read as follows:

          A notice of assessment becomes final thirty days from the date the notice of assessment was served upon the employer unless:  (1) A written request for reconsideration is filed with the department of labor and industries, or (2) an appeal is filed with the board of industrial insurance appeals and sent to the director of labor and industries by mail or delivered in person.  The appeal shall not be denied solely on the basis that it was not filed with both the board and the director if it was filed with either the board or the director.  The appeal shall set forth with particularity the reason for the employer's appeal and the amounts, if any, that the employer admits are due.

The department, within thirty days after receiving a notice of appeal, may modify, reverse, or change any notice of assessment, or may hold any such notice of assessment in abeyance pending further investigation, and the board shall thereupon deny the appeal, without prejudice to the employer's right to appeal from any subsequent determinative notice of assessment issued by the department.

          The burden of proof rests upon the employer in an appeal to prove that the taxes and penalties assessed upon the employer in the notice of assessment are incorrect.  The department shall promptly transmit its original record, or a legible copy thereof, produced by mechanical, photographic, or electronic means, in such matter to the board.  RCW 51.52.080 through 51.52.106 govern appeals under this section.  Further appeals taken from a final decision of the board under this section are governed by the provisions relating to judicial review of administrative decisions contained in RCW 34.04.130 and 34.04.140, and the department has the same right of review from the board's decisions as do employers.