They make no mention of voluntary lump-sum settlements. That’s the one thing business wants most, and the one thing labor won’t accept. Two weeks ago, the Senate embraced the idea, as moderate Democrats teamed up with Republicans and passed a workers’ compensation reform measure. To do it, they overrode Democrats allied with labor, and the big question was whether Democratic party leaders would allow the same thing to happen in the House.
            Now we know.
            State Rep. Mike Sells, D-Everett, a staunch ally of labor, says he’s not going to give Senate Bill 5566 a hearing in his House Labor and Workforce Development Committee. He told the Associated Press last week, “It’s not a well-written bill.”   
           And on Friday, he and House Democratic leaders without fanfare introduced three bills that stake out the House position – a more modest package of reforms that still might save a bit of money. That raises the possibility of a battle on the House floor. Moderate Democrats haven’t challenged party leaders in the House this year the way they have in the Senate. But at least for a few minutes early this session, 10 moderate Democrats briefly threatened to vote with Republicans on an unemployment insurance bill – and that puts the prospect within the realm of reality. 
           Lawmakers this year are taking an unusually serious look at big reforms to the state’s workers’ compensation system. Fast-rising claims costs and big increases in tax rates are setting off alarm bells at the statehouse, and even the governor and the director of the Department of Labor and Industries are calling the system unsustainable. There are about a dozen ideas to rein in costs that have been reflected in bills this year, but the central issue has become voluntary lump-sum settlements – a practice that is allowed in 44 other states.

            Business says that if workers have the option, they might be willing to settle claims for less than the cost of long-term pensions. And labor says that’s the problem.

            Offer One-Time Savings

            Unlike the Senate measure, which represents a big and permanent change to the system, only one of the House bills makes a permanent change, but not at the structural level sought by the business community. House Bill 2023 expands the offset for earlier partial disability claims where a pension is finally awarded, an idea that surfaced earlier this session in a sweeping worker-comp reform bill sponsored by by the governor. In addition, HB 2025 freezes cost of living increases for workers’ comp pensions for 2012 and HB 2026 creates a “rainy day fund” within the workers’ comp system.  This means that if tax rates prove higher than needed, the state would keep the surplus instead of returning it, and use it to reduce tax increase in future years.

            The measures are sponsored by Sells and state Rep. Larry Springer, D-Kirkland, the deputy House majority leader and the No. 3 man in the House leadership hierarchy. And if you’re thinking it’s a little late for new bills – that deadlines for passage have already passed – there’s always a way for lawmakers to evade the rules, as long as they are willing to wink.              

            Kris Tefft, lobbyist for the Association of Washington Business and the business lead in the debate, said he’s still analyzing the impact of the House measures. But he said they’re no substitute for the bigger reform bill passed by the Senate.

            “They don’t represent any kind of agreement or compromise package,” he said.

            Waiting for Fiscal Note

            One thing all the players are waiting for is the “fiscal note” on the various worker-comp bills. Normally it’s a procedural bit of paperwork of interest mainly to legislative insiders, but in this case it’s critically important. Whenever a bill either costs money or saves money, by the time it gets a hearing, state agencies are supposed to provide an estimate of fiscal impact. In this case, the governor has expressed support for the Senate worker-comp bill, and the Department of Labor and Industries is expected to issue a fiscal note even if it doesn’t get a hearing. The fiscal note will tell the real story about what the Gregoire administration thinks.

            The more the Senate bill saves, the better the governor’s office likes it.

            That fiscal note is supposed to be out by Wednesday. Meanwhile, unless the Department of Labor and Industries veers from standard operating procedure, fiscal notes on the new House bills can be expected when they get their hearing Tuesday.