AUGUSTA – Debate over competing bills seeking to establish the extent of Workers’ Compensation coverage resumes today.

Gov. Angus King’s proposal to overturn a state supreme court ruling expanding workers’ comp benefits was rewritten by the House of Representatives early Saturday after it won endorsement in the Senate.

The conflict between the two chambers sharpened a dispute that has come to dominate the final days of this year’s legislative session and that amplifies long-standing differences between advocates for labor and management.

King said Saturday that replacing his original bill with a Democratic alternative would be “a big gamble.”

At the same time, he noted that an impasse would allow a 2-month-old Law Court decision to stand, potentially resulting in substantial costs to Maine businesses.

“If nothing happens, that’s the worst of all results,” King said.

On Feb. 6, the Law Court interpreted current law to say some nonwork-related injuries must be taken into account if a combination of old injuries and newer on-the-job injuries prevents a worker’s return to work.

King filed a bill late last month that he said was designed to override the decision. The Senate gave the measure all-but-final approval Friday night. But hours later, responding to complaints that the bill went beyond King’s declared intentions, the House endorsed its own repeal initiative.

Sponsors said the amended version was designed to override the recent Law Court ruling without further restricting benefits for claimants in on-the-job injury cases.

King said he believed the Democrat-backed change would increase costs within the Workers’ Compensation system, probably by a significant amount.