Thursday, May 12, 2005
Workers Comp Two Step
The stare down between the House and Senate over reform of the workers compensation system may soon end. The Senate (SB 5) and the House (HB 7) each passed a version of workers' comp overhaul weeks ago. The problem is that neither chamber substituted its proposal into the other chamber's bill. Instead, there are two separate bills numbers, preventing a conference committee. Lawmakers have squabbled for weeks over whether the final bill should be SB 5 or HB 7.
Finally, the House has placed its version of SB 5 on the calendar for floor debate tomorrow. A version of HB 7 with the Senate's language has been lingering on the Senate floor calendar for several days. The plan, as we hear it, is that each chamber will pass the other chamber's bill with substituted language. That will clear the way for "two" conference committees made up of the same House and Senate members (call us crazy, but that sounds like one conference committee, but we digress). The committee will find a compromise and split up the agreed-upon workers' comp reform language among HB 7 and SB 5. Eventually both bills will pass. This way both Sen. Todd Staples and Rep. Burt Solomons can have their names on a workers comp reform bill. And really, isn't that the most important thing?
Finally, the House has placed its version of SB 5 on the calendar for floor debate tomorrow. A version of HB 7 with the Senate's language has been lingering on the Senate floor calendar for several days. The plan, as we hear it, is that each chamber will pass the other chamber's bill with substituted language. That will clear the way for "two" conference committees made up of the same House and Senate members (call us crazy, but that sounds like one conference committee, but we digress). The committee will find a compromise and split up the agreed-upon workers' comp reform language among HB 7 and SB 5. Eventually both bills will pass. This way both Sen. Todd Staples and Rep. Burt Solomons can have their names on a workers comp reform bill. And really, isn't that the most important thing?