Transcript Highlights:

• Firefighters, the firefighter cancer trust and workers' comp Workers' comp and the firefighter cancer
• Workers' comp does... Workers' comp does involve investigation, delaying access to benefits.
• workers' comp claims that will increase and generate costs.
• They have workers' comp.
• It doesn't change anything with workers' comp.

Keywords: 981, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Those were self-insured workers' comp funds we had to put into receivership.
• ' comp insurer.
• Uh, that's workers comp and I understand that. But does this also apply to health insurance?
• traditional workers comp insurer. traditional workers comp insurer.
• Uh that that's workers comp<00:14:48.880> and<00:14:49.040> I<00:14:49.279> understand

Keywords: Meeting Start 00:00 Call to Order and Roll Call 00:16 HB 176 Discussion 01:10 HB 176 Vote 06:45 HB 184 Discussion 08:47 HB 184 Vote 09:53 HB 265 Discussion 10:39 HB 265 Vote 15:09, 958, all

Summary: The House Standing Committee on Banking and Insurance met with a quorum and first passed over House Bill 164 pending a document. The committee then heard House Bill 176, sponsored by Rep. Kim Moser, which would create a framework for insurer-run prior authorization exemption programs, often called “gold carding,” for certain health care providers. Moser said the bill is the product of years of negotiation with insurers, would include behavioral health providers, would exclude prescription drugs, and would require annual reporting from the Department of Insurance and DMS on prior authorization activity. A committee member asked whether the 93% approval threshold for exemption matched other states; Moser and a witness said it was consistent with other states and current insurer programs, and that insurers could set a lower threshold if they wanted a competitive advantage. The committee voted on HB 176 after a motion and second, and the bill passed with a favorable expression. The committee also heard a guest introduction from Rep. All, who introduced a student shadow, Ava Oman, before moving on to House Bill 184. Rep. Meredith explained HB 184 would create a safe harbor for health savings account-qualified insurance plans so state mandates and cost-sharing rules would not conflict with IRS requirements and disqualify those plans at the federal level. The committee approved HB 184 unanimously with a favorable expression. Finally, the committee considered House Bill 265, also presented by Rep. Meredith with a Department of Insurance representative. The bill would allow workers’ compensation self-insured pools to have a dissolution process and would prohibit authorizing any new pools, while leaving existing pools in place. Meredith and the department said the change was prompted by solvency problems in some pools, including a large one that had entered receivership, and by limited regulatory authority over these arrangements. After questions about whether the bill affected health insurance, the committee was told it did not. HB 265 also passed with a favorable expression, and the meeting adjourned after a late-arriving member registered votes in favor of all three bills.

Transcript Highlights:

• IT INCLUDES WORKERS COMP AS A GENERAL PROPOSITION WE DON'T THINK THIS IS OVER INTRUSION INTO HOW WE USE
• NOT THE INJURED WORKER. THIS DOES FOCUS ON THE RIGHT OF AN ACTION. WITH AN INJURED WORKER.
• THE DIVISION WORKERS COMP AND OFFICE OF INSURANCE REGULATION. REGULATE THE WORKERS COMP SYSTEM.
• THE DW SEE DIVISIONAL WORKERS COMP THAT DOES CLAIMS AUDITS ALL OF THE OBLIGATION TO REGULATE THE SYSTEM
• THEY CAN ALSO ASSIGN PENALTIES IF WE ARE OUT SO, I THINK WHAT STRIKES US TO IS THE WORKERS COMP SYSTEM

Transcript Highlights:

• management dollars that pay state workers' comp claims are taxpayer dollars, and the same goes for the
• And the workers' comp system is made to minimize litigation and get a quick resolution to benefits.
• quickly, whether or not workers' comp is going to cover it.
• If your claim is being denied as an injured worker, you are not getting any money from the workers' comp
• where there was no workers' comp insurance company.

Transcript Highlights:

• support of Senate File 3407, the Workers support of Senate File 3407, the Workers Compensation<00
• an employee for purposes of workers an employee for purposes of workers compensation<00:03:37.120
• Sections five and 8 injured worker.
• > compensation above which workers compensation above which workers compensation benefits<00:04
• chapter 79 and relates to workers chapter 79 and relates to workers compensation<00:04:39.919>

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:22:47.600> and<00:22:47.840> 911 corrections workers and 911 corrections workers
• It's our public workers uh in state.
• Now, for those of you that Q comp.
• Republican districts that are QC comp Republican districts that are QC comp districts.<00:43:24.480
• But that cost, you that are QC comp.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• We're already supposed to workers comp.
• OSHA workers comp kind of discussion. OSHA workers comp kind of discussion.
• What has in the workers comp world.
• > important<04:41:33.120> to Workers comp is incredibly important to Workers comp is incredibly
• With workers comp, it's you have a that.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm a workers’ compensation attorney and a trial lawyer.
• And we might need workers' comp to perhaps answer one part of it.
• Do we have, number one, have there been a number of claims made to workers' comp that caused the question
• Madam Chair, we do have someone here from workers' comp. Is it okay if they step forward?
• Madam Chair, we do have someone here from workers' comp.

Keywords: 996, all

Summary: The committee met with a quorum and took up its only bill, House Bill 132, which would create workers’ compensation presumptions for police officers for certain conditions, including noise-induced hearing loss/tinnitus, PTSD, and heart injury or stroke occurring within 24 hours of responding to or returning from a call or emergency. The sponsor described the bill as a bipartisan effort developed with input from workers’ compensation officials, PERA, and the Albuquerque Police Department, aimed at easing the burden on officers to prove causation while still allowing employers to rebut claims. An amendment was adopted first, refining definitions and adding language that preserves an officer’s ability to prove causation even when the presumption does not apply, and tying the heart/stroke presumption to the existence of a physical training program and medical screening requirements. Supporters included representatives of the Albuquerque Police Officers Association, the Workers’ Compensation Administration, New Mexico State Police, AFSCME/NMFL, and a workers’ compensation attorney. They argued the bill recognizes the cumulative physical and psychological toll of law enforcement, could improve treatment and retention, and would reduce disputes over causation while remaining balanced. One supporter asked the sponsor to consider changing the 20-year requirement tied to PTSD coverage so officers in smaller departments could access benefits earlier. Committee discussion focused on the amendment’s physical training and medical screening condition for the heart/stroke presumption, with questions about whether all departments have such programs and whether the language could limit coverage. Workers’ compensation staff testified that, from 2016 through 2025, there were 75 statewide claims potentially covered by the bill’s provisions before amendment, including about 20 hearing-loss claims, 11 heart-related claims, and about 44 mental-injury claims. A medical witness said research supports a correlation between law enforcement work and these conditions, though no New Mexico-specific study was available yet. After discussion, the committee voted to give House Bill 132, as amended, a do-pass recommendation, with no opposition recorded.

Transcript Highlights:

• comp program starting in fiscal year 27. comp program starting in fiscal year 27.
• <00:38:21.680> funding the amount of unused uh Q comp funding the amount of unused uh Q comp
• , um, psychologists, social workers, um, psychologists, social workers, psychologists.<00:40:50.079
• So, I'm to get the Q comp dollars.
• um for the elimination of the UC comp um for the elimination of the UC comp program. program. program

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Between 2016 and 2025, there has been a 45 percent cut in workers' comp assessments to our employers,
• and a 37 percent cut in total employer workers' comp costs.
• Related to those workers' comp assessments is also the occupational clinic health network.
• It was paid through the workers' comp assessment program.
• Once again, utilizing workers' comp assessments, which have been going down year in and year out.

Keywords: 993, senate, all

Summary: The Human Services and Labor budget hearing opened with Senate and Assembly co-chairs introducing members and naming secretaries for the record. The agencies covered included Human Services, Labor, Temporary and Disability Assistance, Children and Family Services, Veterans Services, Human Rights, Workers’ Compensation, the Welfare Inspector General, and the Public Employment Relations Board. Members then gave brief statements on their priorities for the upcoming budget negotiations. A major theme was affordability, with repeated discussion of child care, SNAP, housing, and worker supports. Senators and Assembly members highlighted the Senate and Assembly one-house proposals for a $500 million child care worker retention grant program, additional child care slots and subsidies, cost-of-living adjustments for human services workers, and expanded support for supportive housing, youth employment, HEAP, and energy affordability. Several members also emphasized food insecurity and SNAP-related issues, including funding to address payment errors, prevent penalties, expand SNAP education, and respond to expected federal changes. Labor-related issues included workers’ compensation fraud, wage theft enforcement, workplace violence, temporary disability insurance reform, and the creation of dedicated enforcement funding for the Department of Labor. Some members supported using workers’ compensation assessments or insurance-company-related funding to pay for anti-fraud efforts, while others preferred grants to district attorneys or broader DOL enforcement. There was also discussion of occupational health clinics, labor standards in any SEQRA changes, and expanding access to doctors in the workers’ compensation system. Veterans, child care, and public assistance fraud prevention were also discussed, including funding for veterans legal defense and mental health services, microchip/secure EBT cards to reduce skimming, and restoring or protecting various programs. No formal votes were taken; the hearing concluded with the chairs stating that the Senate, Assembly, and Executive would continue negotiations toward a final budget.

Transcript Highlights:

• including by losing guaranteed unemployment benefits, workers' comp, employer contributions to Social
• So, it's got unemployment, disability, workers comp.
• So, it's got unemployment, disability, workers comp.
• So, it's got unemployment, disability,<00:19:38.360> workers<00:19:38.800> comp.
• I mean, does disability, workers comp.

Keywords: Meeting Start: 00:00 Roll Call: 00:36 HB 732 Discussion: 02:00 HB 732 Vote: 20:55 SB 343 Discussion: 23:39 SB 343 Vote: 28:54 SB 129 Discussion: 30:30 SB 129 Vote: 32:27, 958, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I think workers' comp wouldn't be, I'm sorry, may I? Absolutely.
• Workers' comp is based on Medicare.
• It's higher than workers' comp would pay them.
• Specifically, Medicare and workers' comp.
• Workers' comp is another arbitrarily low government pay rate.

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:08:46.480> By plans, and workers comp coverage. By plans, and workers comp coverage.
• But you pay for the workers' comp.
• <00:13:50.959> So But you pay for the workers comp. So But you pay for the workers comp.
• that pays for workers comp. that pays for workers comp.
• piece and still able to combine workers' comp with general liability.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• and poultry processing workers. and poultry processing workers.
• gait, or emotion, to monitor workers gait, or emotion, to monitor workers outside<00:03:36.040><
• <00:03:44.480> in that collect or transmit worker data in that collect or transmit worker
• , apply to a small percentage of workers, apply to a small percentage of workers, uh<00:05:58.040
• of Work Comp Court of Appeals.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• ' comp law.
• <00:20:20.640> This<00:20:20.880> was for the workers comp coverage.
• This was for the workers comp coverage.
• I think it notifies the employee which co-employer is responsible for workers' comp insurance coverage
• <00:27:46.960> comp is responsible for workers comp is responsible for workers comp insurance

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Wyoming Workers' Comp System. Wyoming Workers' Comp System.
• c> that workers comp programs operate, that workers comp programs operate, that money<02:39:52.960
• '<03:20:44.360> comp discussion to make the workers' comp discussion to make the workers'
• /c><03:32:35.920> um workers comp does great for um workers comp does great for um temporary<03
• But even with the letters from Workers' Comp and working with workers' comp on all of their programs,

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And that includes health insurance, retirement plans, and workers' comp coverage.
• <00:08:46.480> By plans, and workers comp coverage. By plans, and workers comp coverage.
• But you pay for the workers' comp.
• that pays for workers comp. that pays for workers comp.
• ' comp piece and still able to combine workers' comp with general liability.

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee opened its labor hearing on SB 655 and outlined the day’s schedule, including a later working session on SB 416 and an executive session planned for 2:30 p.m. Senator Dan Innis introduced SB 655, describing it as a technical bill affecting employee leasing companies/professional employer organizations (PEOs), workers’ compensation coverage, and a Senate-added minimum wage exemption for minor league baseball players covered by a collective bargaining agreement. He said the PEO change would let either the PEO or the client business hold workers’ comp coverage, while still requiring coverage, and argued it would align New Hampshire with most other states and reduce barriers for small businesses and multi-state employers. He also said the baseball provision would clarify wage treatment for minor league players and support the Manchester team. Justin Warell of Insperity testified in support of the PEO portion, explaining that PEOs provide HR, payroll, benefits administration, and workers’ compensation administration through a co-employment model. He said the bill would preserve mandatory coverage while allowing flexibility for the client or PEO to maintain the policy, which could help clients who already have preferred coverage or who face cost or administrative issues in multiple states. He noted that most clients would still remain under the PEO’s policy and said Insperity would submit written comments. Committee members asked about how the arrangement would work, whether the client or PEO would pay, and whether the bill would affect liability insurance packaging; Warell said the employer still bears the cost and that the bill mainly gives larger clients an option. One member asked him to remain available for possible follow-up after hearing from the labor department. Stephen Gonzalez of Major League Baseball testified in support of the minor league baseball exemption. He said MLB and the MLB Players Association negotiated a collective bargaining agreement that already provides players with salary, housing, meals, per diems, health and retirement benefits, disability continuation, tuition assistance, and signing bonuses. He argued that treating players as hourly workers creates impractical time-tracking problems because players do work-related activities on their own time, and said the bill would recognize them as salaried workers and avoid litigation over what counts as hours worked. Committee members questioned why the exemption was needed if players are already salaried and whether MLB could simply amend its CBA; Gonzalez said the bill would help prevent wage-and-hour lawsuits and noted that similar exemptions have been enacted in other states. No vote was taken during the hearing, and the chair indicated the bill would be considered for executive action later that afternoon.

Transcript Highlights:

• ' comp, and at this time we don't plan on backfilling those positions.
• ' comp, and at this time we don't plan on backfilling those positions.
• ' comp, and at this time we don't plan on backfilling those positions.
• <00:03:27.760> comp<00:03:28.080> and<00:03:28.200> that on sick leave or workers
• comp and that on sick leave or workers comp and that we<00:03:28.519> don't<00:03:29.239>

Keywords: 00:00 Call to Order and Roll Call 00:30 Energy and Environment Cabinet 18:56 Adjournment, 958, all

Summary: The Tourism and Energy committee received a presentation from Gordon Sloan, Commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources, and Deputy Commissioner David Fields on the Division of Mine Safety. They outlined the division’s structure, saying it has four branch offices in Madisonville, Harlan, Hazard, and Pikeville, with 36 inspectors total, plus administrative staff and several headquarters specialists. They also explained that four additional inspectors are on sick leave or workers’ compensation and will not be backfilled, and confirmed that inspectors work from offices rather than from home. The presentation focused on mine safety duties and staffing needs. Sloan said underground licensed mines must receive six inspections annually, including mine safety analyses, an electrical inspection, roof inspections, and regular inspections of airways, returns, belts, and miner safety equipment. He also described the division’s mine rescue responsibilities, including providing rescue coverage where operators do not have their own teams, maintaining teams within an hour’s drive of mines, and supporting training and certification. The division also conducts 17 training courses and about 8,000 to 9,000 trainings per year. Members were given updated mine and employment figures. Sloan reported 126 licensed mines in 2024 across the branch areas, with 61 active all year and others idle or later abandoned. He said Kentucky had 4,683 miners in 2024, with average employment of 4,509, and noted that the state had gone 34 months without a mining fatality since March 2022. He also said the division provides rescue services for 16 underground rock quarries, three highway tunnels, and three underground military training sites. In response to questions, Sloan said the division does not plan to refill the four vacant inspector positions because staffing is adequate statewide, and he said he would provide additional historical mine data later. The committee took no formal action and adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• And there are very few attorneys who really do workers' comp.
• I'm not a workers' comp attorney, and so I don't know.
• The workers' comp original jurisdiction for workers' compensation cases was originally in district court
• A workers' comp court is an administrative court in districts.
• Well, I would say that within Workers' Comp, there's employees available within the Office of Workers

Bills: HR244, HR245, HR246, HR247, HR248, HR249, HR250, HR251, HCR101, HCR102, HR223, HR224, HR225, HR226, HR227, HR229, HR230, HR231, HR232, HR234, HR235, HR236, HR237, HR238, HR239, HR240, HR241, HR242, HR243, HCR94, HCR95, HCR96, HCR97, HCR98, HCR99, HCR100, SCR31, SCR33, SCR35, SCR37, SCR56, SCR57, SB171, SB251, SB252, SB353, SB367, SB433, SB461, HR170, HR191, HR206, HR207, HR208, HR217, HCR11, HCR53, HCR60, HCR66, HCR68, HB66, HB153, HB165, HB326, HB387, HB454, HB455, HB484, HB513, HB603, HB660, HB719, HB762, HB766, HB793, HB802, HB816, HB833, HB940, HB947, HB950, HB975, HB1028, HB1039, HB1051, HB1053, HB1080, HB1201, HB1215, HB1228, HB1251, HB1252, SCR2, SB26, SB28, SB29, SB30, SB41, SB44, SB64, SB84, SB87, SB93, SB98, SB107, SB118, SB142, SB192, SB195, SB199, SB219, SB222, SB234, SB241, SB255, SB275, SB277, SB292, SB294, SB306, SB314, SB482, SB233, SB326, HR171, HCR49, HCR65, HCR72, HR37, HCR64, SCR19, SCR3, SCR6, SCR18, SCR11, SCR22, HB64, HB68, HB92, HB130, HB258, HB633, HB801, HB89, HB341, HB451, HB456, HB579, HB595, HB621, HB818, HB841, HB1064, HB1101, HB1191, SB47, SB82, SB106, SB206, SB210, SB248, SB305, SB376, SB397, SB441, SB2, SB19, SB24, SB50, SB70, SB96, SB101, SB103, SB104, SB114, SB122, SB159, SB160, SB173, SB180, SB182, SB260, SB412, SB418, SB424, SB442, SB460, SB476, SB1, SB23, SB32, SB42, SB43, SB46, SB51, SB110, SB113, SB150, SB154, SB161, SB218, SB220, SB221, SB253, SB289, SB310, SB351, SB399, SB404, SB502, HCR32, HB955, HB284, HB617, HB730, HB926, HB1125, HB1194, HB1203, HB798, HB998, HB1084, HB1223, HB646, HB824, HB901, HB79, HR20, HR74, HB59, HB306, HB366, HB393, HB458, HB577, HB582, HB605, HB614, HB682, HB733, HB752, HB773, HB911, HB996, HB1035, HB1069, HB1113, HB1140, HB1180, HB1234, HB1240, SB89, SB68, SB149

Keywords: disclosure, local law, public notice, legislative transparency, Artists at the Capitol Day, art education, Louisiana Art Education Association, recognition, community engagement, House Resolution 247, HR247, Laura Lewis, birthday commendation, 104th birthday, centenarian, longevity, St. James Parish, Louisiana House of Representatives, Mount Calvary Baptist Church, ceremonial resolution

Transcript Highlights:

• So I don't think workers' comp is a fair... Comparison, for one.
• So, workers' comp is...
• do workers' comp and Medicare.
• don't want to participate in workers' comp.
• So, workers' comp rates are actually pretty good.

Bills: HB4806

Keywords: civil action, damages, health care services, noneconomic damages, negligence, legal standards, 1184, house, all