Senate sides with King’s comp plan House Dems to block law

AUGUSTA – After an often bitter debate, the state Senate adopted on a 24-11 vote Gov. Angus King’s proposal to overturn the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruling that allows nonwork-related injuries to be combined with on-the-job injuries in deciding benefits under the workers’ compensation laws. But House Democrats vowed to block King’s legislation.

“We want to work to repeal the decision,” said Rep. Patrick Colwell, D-Gardiner, and the House Majority Leader. “But what the governor wants is to go way back beyond that and remove protections for injured workers in this state and we are not going to do that.”

He accused King of not bargaining in “good faith” to resolve the issue. Some other Democrats agreed and made it clear other issues that King supports, from a prison bond issue to funds for homeland security, will be in “limbo” until the governor negotiates on the workers’ compensation issue.

King was unavailable for comment Friday evening. He said Thursday he was willing to negotiate, but would not agree to any provisions that would increase the cost of workers’ compensation.

Most of the Senate debated the issue, and some Democrats joined with all of the GOP members in supporting King’s plan. But several Democrats denounced the proposal.

“I cannot support this legislation because it goes further than just rolling back the [supreme court] Kotch decision,” said Sen. Michael Michaud, D-East Millinocket, the Senate President Pro Tem, a union millworker when not serving in the Legislature. “In negotiating sessions with the chief executive, it became clear he wants to go further.”

That assertion was denied by Sen. Marge Kilkelly, D-Wiscasset, and the sponsor of the measure. She said if the proposal did go further than just reversing the court, then the fiscal impact note that is attached to every bill with a financial effect would have reflected a savings for the state.

“It does not indicate that,” she said. “This bill does not take away anything from workers they did not have until the court ruling.”

Sen. Tom Sawyer, R-Bangor, said the Legislature must pass the measure or it is likely jobs will be lost. He said the National Council of Compensation Insurers estimates the increased premiums for Maine employers is at least $45 million a year as a result of the ruling. And the cost of applying the ruling to existing workers’ compensation cases that are likely to be re-evaluated is estimated between $160 million and $240 million.

“How many more companies do we want to have bail out of the state?” he asked. “We made a valiant effort to compromise on this – I and others were here until midnight – but our efforts were rejected.”

Opponents argued there was no real effort to compromise. All of the meetings were held in private, so the claims and counterclaims could not be proven by either side.

“I am convinced we have gone the wrong way,” said Sen. Neria Douglass, D-Auburn. “We have made it more difficult for an injured worker to pursue a valid claim.”

Before the Senate passed King’s proposal, it rejected an alternative plan developed by Democrats. Rep. George Bunker, D-Kossuth Township, said the Democrats’ measure would not result in an increase in costs. He said the proposal would set a 10-year limit on partial benefits paid to an injured worker, and that insurers were already using the current limit in setting rates.

“This is revenue-neutral,” he said.

But King said the Democrats’ bill would cost at least as much as the court ruling, if not more. That concerned several lawmakers. Sen. Susan Longley, D-Liberty, said all parties need to sit down and find a solution to the problem.

“I don’t see a compromise here. I don’t see a solution,” she said. “We need a solution that works.”

Longley voted against both proposals.

With the parties and Gov. King at an apparent impasse, attempts to complete the Legislature’s work this week were abandoned. No one is willing to guess how long it will take to complete their work.