The Building Industry Association of Washington filed an initiative with the Secretary of State last week to allow private insurers to compete with the state Dept. of Labor & Industries to offer employers workers' compensation coverage.
"BIAW warned that if the Legislature refused to do anything this session to reform our state's broken and nearly bankrupt workers' compensation system, BIAW would," said BIAW president Matthew Clarkson. "BIAW's initiative makes good on that promise."
Clarkson is also owner of Soaring Eagle Homes in Camas.
Initiative 1082 will bring Washington in line with the 46 other states that allow competition from private insurers in the industrial insurance market. According to the BIAW, the state's "monopoly" on workers' comp means employers have no choice but to pay L&I's ever-increasing workers' comp taxes to obtain the industrial insurance coverage they need to protect their workers.
I-1082, which has already been endorsed by the National Federation of Independent Business, would inject private market competition into Washington's worker's comp system. The initiative creates a Joint Legislative Task Force on Private Competition for Industrial Insurance, which would be charged with developing proposed legislation and make recommendations by December 2011.
The initiative also eliminates the worker-paid share of workers' comp taxes. Washington state is the only state that allows employers to deduct a portion of workers' comp taxes from employee wages. I-1082 will require employers to pay the full amount.
"The provisions of I-1082 are a win-win for businesses and their workers," said Clarkson. "Allowing private insurers to compete with L&I will create a more business friendly environment that will give existing Washington businesses some much needed relief and help attract new businesses."
According to BIA executive director Avaly Mobbs, petitioners will have until July 2 to collect about 250,000 valid voter signatures to get I-1082 on the November ballot.
