2nd GOP-led House workers comp floor motion fails

Republicans on Thursday attempted again a procedural motion on the House floor that would have allowed a vote on a Senate bill establishing the option of lump sum settlements to workers compensation, but failed to get the necessary votes.

The motion's 41-51 defeat wasn't necessarily unexpected. The Republicans needed a handful of Democrats to cross party lines.

Four of eight Democrats who earlier this week released their own proposal on establishing settlements on workers compensation refused to cast a vote, breaking a House rule. Two said they did not vote in protest on a lack of action by House leadership on the bill.

"I'm not going to vote to remove the speaker or blow this place apart, but at the same time, morally, I can't vote against a policy that needs to move forward," said Rep. Chris Hurst, D-Enumclaw.

Thursday's motion all but seals work in the regular session on the business-backed Senate bill, which is opposed by organized labor and has stalled in the House. The issue is likely to be a key debate point during the upcoming special session, one that may be used as bargaining chip for budget negotiations.

Gov. Chris Gregoire, and leaders of the Senate and House have made reforming the state's system for injured workers a priority after the state auditor's office last year said reserves in the compensation system were at risk of insolvency.

Gregoire has said she wants savings enacted this year to avoid a hike in the payments that businesses are required to pay into the system.

How to fix the system has been cause for debate.

Under the plan Hurst amended from the Senate bill, settlements from medical claims are eliminated, but an option for other lump-sum settlements would remain. The plan also enhances safeguards for workers who can't afford a lawyer and asks for a study to be completed after three years to assess the plan.

The Senate bill would bring an estimated savings of $1.2 billion over the next two years, according to state officials. There were no estimates on how much money the amended House proposal would save the system.

About 85 percent of compensation costs come from 8 percent of all claims, which involve workers who are receiving benefits for a prolonged period or have lifetime pensions, according to the Department of Labor and Industries.

To curb those costs, business has backed the settlement option.

In response to the Senate bill, a handful of legislators have introduced several labor-supported measures, including one that would allow workers to sue a company. Under the current system, a worker can't sue an employer, in return for businesses that pay into a system that provides benefits to an injured worker.

Rep. Sherry Appleton, D-Poulsbo, criticized the four Democrats who did not vote, saying that leadership should penalize them for breaking a rule.

House Majority Leader Pat Sullivan, D-Covington, said leadership will discuss the vote with the four members, but at the time they are focused on other issues.

An older package of bills in the House would freeze cost of living allowances for a year and stop injured workers who receive total-disability pensions from receiving partial-disability benefits.

The measures have a projected savings of about $500 million in the next six years. It is backed by labor-friendly legislators.

Senate budget writers included their bill in their proposal, breathing life into it until the end of budget negotiations, which will come in the upcoming legislative overtime.

Supporters of the bill want Gregoire to make workers compensation an issue for the special session, something she indicated recently.