STAND. COM. REP. 1499

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2003

RE: S.B. No. 1070

H.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Finance, to which was referred S.B. No. 1070, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EXAMINATIONS FOR THE DETERMINATION OF PERMANENT IMPAIRMENT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to improve the Workers' Compensation Law by requiring:

(1) That any examination performed solely to determine permanent impairment in workers' compensation cases be conducted by an impairment examiner who has been mutually agreed upon by the employer and employee;

(2) The Director of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR), in the event the parties are not able to mutually agree upon an examiner, to appoint an impairment examiner from a list of qualified examiners categorized and selected by specialty of practice;

(3) The Director of DLIR to compile and maintain a list of impairment examiners and to appoint examiners to conduct examinations in the order they appear on the list; and

(4) The cost of examinations to be borne by the employer.

Consumer Lawyers of Hawaii supported the intent of this bill. DLIR, The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, Hawaii Medical Association, Hawaii Insurers Council, Hawaii Employers' Mutual Insurance Company, Inc., Society for Human Resource Management-Hawaii Chapter, and three concerned citizens opposed this bill.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Finance that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1070, H.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Finance,

 

____________________________

DWIGHT Y. TAKAMINE, Chair