Legislature votes to delay workers’ comp ruling

AUGUSTA — The Legislature enacted and sent to the governor Thursday a bill to postpone an impending regulatory decision on a proposed 30 percent increase in Workers’ Compensation rates until the end of September.

The action came with little discussion and some uncertainty over how Gov. John R. McKernan will respond. The bill is designed to keep rates stable until the effect of expected workers’ comp reforms still being worked out by legislative committees can be taken into consideration.

“We’re looking at the employers of the state and the impact on jobs,” said Sen. Judy C. Kany, D-Waterville, the bill’s sponsor. Kany co-chairs the Banking and Insurance Committee, one of two panels at work on the issue.

Aides to McKernan scurried about behind the scenes, warning lawmakers he had not signed off on the legislation. They were assured by leaders of the Democratic majority the bill could be recalled and modified if necessary.

The proposed rate increase, if approved in full, would translate into between $80 million and $100 million for insurers at a time when employers are complaining more loudly than ever that present rates are oppressive.

State Insurance Superintendent Joseph Edwards said lawyers in the rate case are scheduled to file their final briefs June 14 and that he would be required to issue a ruling before the end of the month under present law. The bill would move that deadline back to Sept. 30.

Edwards shrugged off the implications of the legislative action in a telephone interview from his home Thursday night.

“I just do what I’m told,” he said, acknowledging that, “the advantage of doing it in one decision is market stability.”

In other legislative action, the Senate gave initial approval to a bill to eliminate partial state subsidies that local school districts receive for each home-school student living in the district.

In the version supported by a majority of the Education Committee, the bill also would relieve local school districts of responsibility for reviewing and making recommendations to the state on home-school applications.

Also Thursday, a bill to allow banks and credit unions to sell annuities was killed in the House by a vote of 85-52. It had been rejected previously in the Senate.