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Sub. H. B. No. 75As Reported by the Senate Insurance, Commerce and Labor CommitteeAs Reported by the Senate Insurance, Commerce and Labor Committee
124th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2001-2002 |
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REPRESENTATIVES Williams, Jones, Carey, Core, Hoops, Calvert, Allen, D. Miller, Oakar, Faber, Evans, Buehrer, Barrett, R. Miller, Schmidt, Womer Benjamin, Grendell, Coates, Setzer, Cirelli, Perry, Patton, Schaffer
SENATOR Nein
A BILL
To amend sections 4121.37, 4121.47, 4121.62, 4123.25,
and
4123.291 and to repeal section
4121.48 of the
Revised Code to make appropriations
for the Bureau
of Workers' Compensation for the
biennium
beginning July 1, 2001, and ending June
30, 2003,
and to provide authorization and
conditions for
the operation of Bureau programs.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 4121.37, 4121.47, 4121.62, 4123.25,
and
4123.291 of the Revised Code be amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 4121.37. The administrator of workers' compensation
having, by
virtue of Section 35 of Article II, Ohio Constitution,
the
expenditure of the fund therein created for the investigation
and
prevention of industrial accidents and diseases, shall, with
the advice
and consent of the workers' compensation oversight
commission, in the exercise
of the administrator's authority and
in the performance of the administrator's
duty, employ a
superintendent and the necessary experts, engineers,
investigators, clerks, and stenographers for the efficient
operation of a division of safety and hygiene of the bureau of
workers' compensation, which is hereby created. The general assembly hereby declares that in furtherance of
the authority granted to the administrator pursuant to Section 35
of
Article II, Ohio Constitution, and to encourage public
employers
to operate and maintain safe places of employment for
public
employees of this state, the
administrator, with the advice
and consent of the oversight commission, may
transfer funds,
certified as provided in section
126.07
of the Revised Code, from
the safety and hygiene fund
to the occupational
safety loan fund
created in section 4121.48 of the Revised Code,
for the purposes
of that
section.
The administrator of workers' compensation, with the
advice
and consent of the oversight commission, shall pay into the safety
and
hygiene
fund, which is hereby created in the state treasury,
the portion
of the contributions paid by employers, calculated as
though all
employers paid premiums based upon payroll, not to
exceed
one per cent thereof in any year, as is
necessary for the
payment of the salary of the superintendent
of the division of
safety and hygiene and the compensation of the
other employees of
the division of safety and hygiene, and the expenses of
investigations and researches for the prevention of industrial
accidents and diseases. All investment
earning
earnings of the
fund shall be
credited to the fund. The administrator has the
same powers to
invest any of the funds belonging to the fund as
are delegated to
the administrator under section
4123.44 of the
Revised Code with respect to the state
insurance fund. The
superintendent,
under the direction of the administrator, with the
advice and consent of
the oversight commission, shall conduct
investigations and researches for the
prevention of industrial
accidents and diseases, conduct loss
prevention programs and
courses for employers, establish and
administrate cooperative
programs with employers for the purchase
of individual safety
equipment for employees, and print and
distribute information as
may be of benefit to employers and
employees. The administrator
shall pay from the safety and hygiene fund the
salary of the
superintendent of the division of safety and
hygiene, the
compensation
of the other employees of the division of safety and
hygiene, the
expenses necessary or incidental to investigations
and researches
for the prevention of industrial accidents and
diseases,
and
the cost of printing and distributing such
information. The superintendent, under the direction of the administrator,
shall prepare an
annual report, addressed to the governor, on the
amount of the expenditures
and the purposes for
which they have
been made, and the results of the investigations
and researches.
The administrator shall include the
administrative costs,
salaries, and other expenses of the
division of safety and hygiene
as a part of the budget of the bureau of
workers' compensation
that is submitted to the
director of budget and management and
shall identify those expenditures
separately from other bureau
expenditures. The superintendent shall be a competent person with at
least
five years' experience in industrial accident or disease
prevention work. The superintendent and up to six positions in
the division of safety and hygiene as the administrator, with the
advice and
consent of the oversight commission, designates are in
the unclassified civil service of the state as long as the
administrator, with
the advice and consent of the oversight
commission, determines the positions
subordinate to the
superintendent are
primarily and distinctively administrative,
managerial, or
professional in character. All other full-time
employees of the
division of safety and hygiene are in the
classified civil
service of the state.
Sec. 4121.47. (A) No employer shall violate a specific
safety rule adopted by the administrator of workers' compensation
pursuant to section 4121.13
of the Revised Code or an act of the
general assembly to protect the lives,
health, and safety of
employees pursuant to Section 35 of
Article II, Ohio Constitution.
Chapter 4167. of the Revised Code and rules and standards adopted
thereunder are not the rules or enactment
referred to in this
division and shall not be
considered as such for purposes of this
section. (B) If a staff hearing officer, in the course of
his
the
staff
hearing officer's determination of a claim for an additional
award under
Section 35 of Article II, Ohio Constitution, finds the
employer guilty of
violating division (A) of this section,
he
the
staff hearing
officer shall, in addition to any award paid to the
claimant, issue an
order to the employer to
correct the violation
within the period of time
he
the staff hearing
officer fixes.
For
any violation occurring within twenty-four
months of the last
violation, the staff hearing officer shall assess against the
employer a civil penalty in an amount
he
the staff hearing officer
determines up to a
maximum of fifty thousand dollars for each
violation. In fixing
the exact penalty, the staff hearing officer
shall base
his
the
decision upon the
size of the employer as
measured by the number
of employees, assets, and
earnings of the
employer. (C) An employer dissatisfied with the imposition of a
civil
penalty pursuant to division (B) of this section may appeal
the
staff hearing officer's decision, if the commission refuses
to
hear the appeal under division (E) of section 4123.511 of the
Revised Code, or a decision of the commission, if the commission
hears the appeal under that division, to a court of common pleas
pursuant to the Rules of Civil Procedure. An appeal operates to
stay the payment of the fine pending the appeal. (D) The administrator shall deposit all penalties
collected
pursuant to this section in the
occupational safety
loan program
safety and hygiene
fund established pursuant to section
4121.48
4121.37 of the
Revised Code.
Sec. 4121.62. (A) The authority granted to the
administrator of workers' compensation pursuant to sections
4121.61 to 4121.69 of the Revised Code includes the authority to
do all of the following: (1) Contract with any public or private person for the
rendition of rehabilitation services; (2) Take actions and utilize money in the state insurance
fund as necessary to obtain federal funds and assistance in the
maximum amounts and most advantageous proportions and terms
possible; (3) Conduct rehabilitation educational programs for
employers and employees; (4) Establish within the bureau of workers' compensation a
rehabilitation division under the supervision of a director of
rehabilitation appointed by and responsible to the administrator. (B) The director of the division established is in the
unclassified civil service of the state. The appointing
authority
may designate up to three positions at each facility
under the
jurisdiction of the division, and up to six positions
in the
division which are part of the director's immediate staff
as being
in the unclassified service of the state as long as the
administrator determines that the positions are primarily and
distinctively administrative, managerial, or professional. All
other full-time employees of the division are in the classified
civil service. (C) The administrator shall establish fees for use of
services offered by the division of rehabilitation, including,
without limitation, the expense of providing rehabilitation
services, counseling, and training. The administrator shall
adopt
rules, in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code,
which
establish the specific services the division offers and the
amount
of the fee for those services, which amount shall be based
upon
the actual cost of the division providing the services to
the
employer and employee. (D) Nothing in sections 4121.61 to 4121.69 of the Revised
Code shall be interpreted to grant authority to the administrator
to require a claimant to utilize a public provider of
rehabilitation services, counseling, or training. (E) There is hereby established in the state treasury
the
Camera center fund. The fund shall consist of all fees the
administrator charges persons for the use of the services of the
Camera center and all rent the center receives from its tenants.
The
fund shall be used solely to pay for the provision of
rehabilitation services
and expenses of the Camera center. All
investment earnings of the
fund shall be credited to the fund.
Sec. 4123.25. (A) No employer shall
knowingly misrepresent
to the
bureau of workers' compensation the amount
or
classification of payroll
upon which
the premium under this
chapter is based. Whoever violates this
division shall be liable
to the state
in
an amount determined by the administrator of
workers' compensation for not more than ten times the
amount of
the
difference
in
between the premium paid and the amount the
employer
should
have paid.
The liability to the state under this
division
shall
may be enforced in a civil action in the name of
the state,
and all sums collected under this division shall be
paid into the
state insurance fund. (B) No self-insuring employer shall
knowingly misrepresent
the
amount of paid compensation paid by such employer for purposes
of
the assessments provided under this chapter and Chapter 4121.
of
the Revised Code as required by section 4123.35 of the Revised
Code. Whoever violates this division is liable to the state in
an
amount
assessed
determined by the
self-insuring employers
evaluation board pursuant to
division
(C) of
section 4123.352 of
the Revised
Code or
for an amount the board determines that is not
more than ten times the
amount of the difference between the
assessment paid and the
amount of the assessment that should have
been paid
along with any
other penalty as determined by the board.
The
liability to the
state under this division may be
enforced in
a civil action in the
name of the state and all sums
collected
under this division shall
be paid into the
self-insurance
assessment fund created
pursuant
to division (K)
of section
4123.35 of the Revised Code.
(C) The administrator of workers' compensation, with the
advice and consent of the workers' compensation oversight
commission, shall adopt rules establishing criteria for
determining both of the following: (1) The amount of the penalty assessed against an employer
for a violation of division (A) of this section; (2) Acts or omissions that do not constitute a violation of
division (A) or (B) of this section.
Sec. 4123.291. (A) An adjudicating committee appointed by
the administrator of workers' compensation to hear any matter
specified in divisions (B)(1) to (6) of this section shall hear
the matter within sixty days of the date on which an employer
files the request, protest, or petition.
An employer desiring to
file a request, protest, or petition regarding any matter
specified in divisions (B)(1) to (6) of this section shall file
the request, protest, or petition to the adjudicating committee on
or before twenty-four months after the administrator sends
notice
of the determination about which the employer is filing the
request, protest, or petition. (B) An employer who is adversely affected by a decision of
an adjudicating committee appointed by the administrator may
appeal the decision of the committee to
the administrator or
his
the administrator's designee. The
employer
shall file the appeal
in writing within thirty days after the employer
receives the
decision of the adjudicating committee. The administrator
or
his
the designee shall hear the appeal and hold a hearing,
provided
that the decision of the
adjudicating committee relates to one of
the following: (1) An employer request for a waiver of a default in the
payment of premiums pursuant to section 4123.37 of the Revised
Code; (2) An employer request for the settlement of liability as
a
noncomplying employer under section 4123.75 of the Revised
Code; (3) An employer petition objecting to the assessment of a
premium pursuant to section 4123.37 of the Revised Code and the
rules adopted pursuant to that section; (4) An employer request for the abatement of penalties
assessed pursuant to section 4123.32 of the Revised Code and the
rules adopted pursuant to that section; (5) An employer protest relating to an audit finding or a
determination of a manual classification, experience rating, or
transfer or combination of risk experience; (6) Any decision relating to any other risk premium matter
under Chapters 4121., 4123., and 4131. of the Revised Code.
Section 2. That existing sections 4121.37, 4121.47, 4121.62,
4123.25, and 4123.291 and section 4121.48 of the Revised
Code are
hereby repealed.
Section 3. (A) The Administrator of
Workers' Compensation,
with the
advice and consent of the Workers'
Compensation Oversight
Commission, may adopt rules that identify
specified medical
conditions that have a historical record of
being allowed whenever
included in a claim. The Administrator
shall designate the rules
to be effective only until three years
after the effective date
of this section. The Administrator, for
a period of three years
after the effective date of this section,
may grant immediate
allowance of any medical condition identified
in those rules upon
the filing of a claim involving that medical
condition and may
make immediate payment of medical bills for any
medical condition
identified in those rules that is included in a
claim. If an
employer contests the allowance of a claim involving
any medical
condition identified in those rules, and the claim is
disallowed,
payment for the medical condition included in that
claim shall be
charged to and paid from the surplus fund created
under section
4123.34 of the Revised Code.
(B) The Administrator shall establish a pilot program to
determine the effectiveness of implementing division (A) of this
section.
Section 4. The Administrator of Workers' Compensation shall
submit a series of reports to the Workers' Compensation
Oversight
Commission, the Office of Budget and Management, the Legislative
Service Commission, and the
General Assembly
semiannually during
the
2001-2003 biennium,
beginning on or before October 1, 2001,
containing
information
relative to all of the following:
(A) The premium cost per worker, which reports the average
annual cost a state fund employer pays to provide workers'
compensation coverage for its employees. The premium cost per
worker is calculated by adding together an employer's total
amounts of premiums and assessments paid during a calendar year
and dividing that sum by the employer's average number of
workers. (B) The claims cost per worker, which reports the average
annual benefit cost paid for each worker who is employed by a
state fund employer during the preceding twelve months. The
claims
cost per worker is calculated by dividing an employer's
total
claim expenses paid during the preceding twelve months by
the
employer's average number of workers. (C) The administrative cost per claim, which reports the
average annual administrative expense a state fund employer pays
to process a claim. The administrative cost per claim is
calculated by dividing an employer's total amount of
administrative expenses incurred during the preceding twelve
months
by the total number of claims the employer processed. (D) The direct loss ratio, which measures the relationship
between an employer's revenues and workers' compensation
benefits
paid to an injured worker during the preceding twelve
months; (E) The rate of return generated by investments of the
Bureau
of Workers' Compensation; (F) The customer service index, which accounts for various
statistical measures reflecting the bureau's customer service
levels; (G) The Health Partnership Program performance index, which
measures the effectiveness of managed care organizations working
for the bureau and reflects the quality of care, customer
satisfaction, and cost of care provided by the managed care
organizations; (H) The rate of injury in the state per 1,000 workers; (I) The average and median number of days the bureau takes
to adjudicate
an injured worker's medical bill fee; (J) The return-to-work rate of state fund employers' injured
workers who do not receive workers' compensation benefits for at
least ninety days following their injury, which reports the number
of injured workers who returned to work as a percentage of total
injuries; (K) The average number of days it takes for an employer or
injured worker to report an injury to the bureau, which is
calculated by taking the average number of days between the date
of injury and the date the claim was filed with the bureau; (L) The percentage of indemnity claims adjudicated by the
bureau within fourteen days of the injury.
Section 5. All items in this section are appropriated
out
of
any moneys
in the state treasury to the credit of the
designated
fund. For all
appropriations made in this act, those
in the first
column are for fiscal year
2002, and those in the
second column
are for fiscal year 2003.
BWC BUREAU OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION
FND |
ALI |
|
ALI TITLE |
|
|
FY 2002 |
|
|
FY 2003 |
Workers' Compensation Fund Group
023 |
855-401 |
|
William Green Lease Payments to OBA |
|
$ |
17,570,700 |
|
$ |
18,174,700 |
023 |
855-407 |
|
Claims, Risk
& Medical Management |
|
$ |
133,919,528 |
|
$ |
141,539,537 |
023 |
855-408 |
|
Fraud Prevention |
|
$ |
10,698,376 |
|
$ |
11,713,797 |
023 |
855-409 |
|
Administrative Services |
|
$ |
117,121,527 |
|
$ |
119,884,053 |
023 |
855-410 |
|
Attorney General Payments |
|
$ |
4,078,273 |
|
$ |
4,314,644 |
4Y6 |
855-612 |
|
J.L. Camera Center Operating |
|
$ |
500,000 |
|
$ |
0 |
822 |
855-606 |
|
Coal Workers' Fund |
|
$ |
86,465 |
|
$ |
91,894 |
823 |
855-608 |
|
Marine Industry |
|
$ |
50,755 |
|
$ |
53,952 |
825 |
855-605 |
|
Disabled Workers Relief Fund |
|
$ |
668,280 |
|
$ |
693,764 |
826 |
855-609 |
|
Safety
& Hygiene Operating |
|
$ |
18,888,294 |
|
$ |
20,130,820 |
TOTAL WCF Workers' Compensation |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fund Group |
|
$ |
303,582,198 |
|
$ |
316,597,161 |
TOTAL ALL BUDGET FUND GROUPS |
|
$ |
303,582,198 |
|
$ |
316,597,161 |
WILLIAM GREEN LEASE PAYMENTS The foregoing appropriation item 855-401, William Green Lease
Payments to OBA,
shall be used for lease payments to the Ohio
Building Authority, and these
appropriations shall be used to meet
all payments at the times they are
required to be made during the
period from July 1, 2001, to June 30, 2003, by
the Bureau of
Workers' Compensation to the Ohio Building Authority pursuant to
leases and agreements made under Chapter 152. of the Revised Code
and Section
6 of Am. Sub. H.B. 743 of the 118th General Assembly.
Of the amounts received
in Fund 023, appropriation item 855-401,
up to $35,745,400 shall be
restricted for lease rental payments to
the Ohio Building Authority. If it is
determined that additional
appropriations are necessary for such purpose, such
amounts are
hereby appropriated. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary,
all tenants of the
William Green Building not funded by the
Workers' Compensation Fund (Fund 023)
shall pay their fair share
of the costs of lease payments to the Workers'
Compensation Fund
(Fund 023) by intrastate transfer voucher. WORKERS' COMPENSATION FRAUD UNIT The Workers' Compensation Section Fund (Fund 195) shall
receive payments from
the Bureau of Workers' Compensation at the
beginning of each quarter of each
fiscal year to fund expenses of
the Workers' Compensation Fraud Unit of the
Attorney General's
Office. Of the foregoing appropriation item 855-410,
Attorney
General Payments, $751,694 in fiscal year 2002 and $773,151 in
fiscal
year 2003 shall be used to provide these payments. The Camera Center Fund (Fund 4Y6) created in division (F) of
section 4121.62
of
the Revised Code shall receive revenues raised
by the fees the Camera Center
charges for its services and rent
paid
by tenants of the Center's facilities. The foregoing
appropriation item
855-612, J.L. Camera Center Operating, shall be
used for expenses related to the closing of the center. On
January 1, 2002, or as soon thereafter as possible, the Director
of Budget and Management shall transfer the cash balance in the
Camera Center Fund (Fund 4Y6) to the Administrative Fund (Fund
023). The director shall cancel any existing encumbrances against
appropriation items 855-611, J.L. Camera Center Rent, and 855-612,
J.L. Camera Center Operating, and reestablish them against
appropriation item 855-409, Administrative Services (Fund 023).
These amounts are hereby appropriated. The Bureau of Workers' Compensation shall not consider
appropriations made to
the Camera Center Fund (Fund 4Y6) when
establishing administrative cost rates. Notwithstanding section 4121.37 of the Revised Code, the
Administrator of Workers' Compensation shall
transfer moneys from
the State Insurance
Fund so that
appropriation item 855-609,
Safety and Hygiene Operating, is
provided
$18,888,294 in fiscal
year 2002 and $20,130,820 in fiscal
year 2003. OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY LOAN FUND
Not later than January 1, 2002, the Administrator of Workers'
Compensation shall transfer the cash balance in the Occupational
Safety Loan Fund established in former section 4121.48 of the
Revised Code to the Safety and Hygiene Fund (Fund 826) created in
section 4121.37 of the Revised Code. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the
Director of Budget
and Management shall make any transfers of cash
balances between funds made
necessary by the creation of new
funds
or the consolidation of funds as
authorized by the General
Assembly. Within the first five days after the
effective date of
this section, the administering agency head shall certify to
the
director an estimate of the amount of the cash balance to be
transferred
to the receiving fund. The director may transfer the
estimated amount when
needed to make payments. Within thirty days
after the effective date of this
section, the administering agency
head shall certify the final amount to the
director. The director
shall transfer the difference between any estimated
amount
previously transferred and such certified final amount. To implement funding changes as described above
pertaining to
prior year
encumbrance balances and commensurate
appropriation
authority, in fiscal year
2002 the Director of
Budget and
Management may cancel encumbrances
outstanding on June
30, 2001,
and reestablish such prior year encumbrances or
parts of
encumbrances as needed in fiscal year 2002 in the appropriate fund
or
appropriation item as authorized in this act for the same
purpose and to
the same vendor. As determined by the director,
the appropriation authority
necessary to reestablish such prior
year encumbrances in fiscal year 2000 in
a different fund or
appropriation item within an agency or between
agencies is
authorized. The director shall reduce each prior year's
appropriation authority by the amount of the encumbrances canceled
in their
respective funds and appropriation items. VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION The Bureau of Workers' Compensation and the Rehabilitation
Services Commission
shall enter into an interagency agreement for
the provision of vocational
rehabilitation services and staff to
mutually eligible clients. The bureau
shall provide $554,033 in
fiscal year 2002 and $570,654 in fiscal year 2003
from the State
Insurance Fund to
fund vocational rehabilitation services and
staff in accordance with the
interagency agreement. Any unencumbered cash balance in excess of $45,000,000 in the
Workers'
Compensation Fund (Fund 023) on the thirtieth day of June
of each fiscal year
shall be used to reduce the administrative
cost rate charged to employers to
cover
appropriations for Bureau
of Workers' Compensation and Industrial Commission
operations.
Section 6. LAW GENERALLY APPLICABLE TO APPROPRIATIONS Law contained in the main operating appropriations act of the
124th General Assembly that applies generally to the
appropriations made in that act also applies generally to the
appropriations made in this act.
Section 7. The codified sections of law amended in this
act,
and the items of law of which the codified sections of law
amended
in this act are composed, are subject to the
referendum.
Therefore, under Ohio Constitution, Article II,
Section 1c and
section 1.471 of the Revised Code, the codified
sections of law
amended by this act, and the items of
law of which the codified
sections of law as amended by
this act are composed, take effect
on the ninety-first day after
this act is filed with the Secretary
of State. If, however, a
referendum petition is filed against any
such codified section of
law as amended by this act, or against
any item of law
of which any such codified section of law as
amended by
this act is composed, the codified section of law as
amended, or item of law, unless rejected at the referendum, takes
effect at the earliest time permitted by law.
Section 8. The repeal by this act of a codified section of
law is subject to the referendum. Therefore, under Ohio
Constitution, Article II, Section 1c and section 1.471 of the
Revised Code, the repeal takes effect on the ninety-first day
after this act is filed with the Secretary of State. If, however,
a referendum petition is filed against the repeal, the repeal,
unless rejected at the referendum, takes effect at the earliest
time permitted by law.
Section 9. Section 4121.62 of the Revised Code, as amended by
this act, is subject to the referendum and takes effect January 1,
2002. This section is subject to the referendum, together with
section 4121.62 of the Revised Code as amended by this act.
Section 10. The uncodified sections of law enacted in this
act,
and the items of law of which the uncodified sections of law
enacted in this act are composed, are not subject to the
referendum. Therefore, under Ohio Constitution, Article II,
Section 1d and section 1.471 of the Revised Code, the uncodified
sections of law enacted in this act, and the items of law of which
the uncodified sections of law enacted in this act are composed,
go into immediate effect when this act becomes law.
Section 11. If the amendment in this act of a codified
section of law is subject to the referendum, the corresponding
indications in the amending and existing repeal clauses commanding
the amendment also are subject to the referendum, along with the
amendment.
Section 12. An item, other than an amending or repealing
clause, that composes the whole or part of an uncodified section
contained in this act has no effect after June 30, 2003, unless
its context clearly indicates otherwise.
Section 13. If any item of law that constitutes the whole or
part of a codified or uncodified section of law contained in this
act, or if any application of any item of law that constitutes the
whole or part of a codified or uncodified section of law contained
in this act, is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other
items of law or applications of items of law that can be given
effect without the invalid item of law or application. To this
end, the items of law of which the codified and uncodified
sections contained in this act are composed, and their
applications, are independent and severable.
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