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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Martinez
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
1/27/07
HB
SHORT TITLE Prohibit Certain Workers Comp Payments
SB 208
ANALYST Lucero
APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)
Appropriation
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY07
FY08
NFI
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
Workers’ Compensation Administration
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
Senate Bill 208 limits accelerated or “lump sum" payment of disability modifiers unless all
parties agree and a workers’ compensation judge approves.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
No fiscal implications to the Workers’ Compensation Administration.
Insurance carriers would not have to pay out lump sums, including modifiers, unless there was
agreement.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
SB0208 limits lump sum acceleration of modifiers which may help avoid potential overpayments
to workers in the event they return to work earlier than anticipated.
Currently, modifiers are a major part of workers’ indemnity benefits and can include lump sum
settlements only with the approval of the insurance carrier, which removes the judge’s discretion.