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130th MAINE LEGISLATURE |
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LD 575 |
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LR 575(02) |
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An Act To
Establish a Conditional Presumption of Compensability for Certain Employees
in Cases of Impairment from Hypertension or Heart Disease |
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Fiscal Note for
Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment " " |
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Committee: Labor and Housing |
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Fiscal Note Required: Yes |
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Fiscal Note |
Local government costs - potential state mandate
Potential current biennium cost increase - Worker's Compensation Management
Fund
Potential future biennium cost increase - General Fund |
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State Mandates |
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Required Activity |
Unit Affected |
Local Cost |
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Shifting the
burden of proof that an employee of a county whose regular or incidental
duties require the care, supervision or custody of a person confined in a
jail or prison contracted heart disease or hypertension as a result of that
employment from the claimant to the employer and/or the employer's insurer
may necessitate a more vigorous and costly legal defense by counties and
increase the number of cases lost. |
County |
Significant statewide |
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The required
local activities in this bill may represent a state mandate pursuant to the
Constitution of Maine. If the bill does require a local unit of government to
expand or modify its activities so as to necessitate additional expenditures
from local revenue, the state mandate provisions of the Constitution of Maine
require either: (1) General Fund appropriations be provided to fund at least
90% of any additional necessitated local costs of the mandate; or (2) a
Mandate Preamble be added to the bill and two-thirds of the members of each
House vote to exempt the mandate from the funding requirement. If the bill
does represent a state mandate and neither one of these actions occurs, the
local units of government will not be required to implement the mandated
activities. |
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Fiscal Detail
and Notes |
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Shifting the
burden of proof that an employee of the State whose regular or incidential
duties require the care, supervision or custody of a person confined in a
state correctional facility contracted heart disease or hypertension as a
result of that employment from the claimant to the State may increase costs
to the Workers' Compensation Management Fund within the Department of
Administrative and Financial Services beginning in fiscal year 2021-22. The impact to the Fund will depend on
actual experience. |
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The Office of
Fiscal and Program Review has identified approximately 850 positions in the
Department of Corrections whose regular or incidental duties may require the
care, supervision or custody of a person confined in one of the State's
correctional facilities. Although the
exact cost to the State related to lost time and medical costs will depend on
actual experience, the average cost in lost time benefits for this group of
employees is estimated to be $32,473 per claim per year for up to 10 years or
more, depending on the level of the employees incapacity. Additionally, the cost for one fatality is
estimated to be $312,237 paid to eligible survivors in lost time benefits alone. |
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This provision
may also increase General Fund and other funds costs to the Department of
Corrections from increased workers' compensation premiums. The State, as a self-insured program,
charges each state agency a premium rate that is built into the cost
associated with each position within an agency. That rate is based on the actual claims
experience of each agency and is averaged over a three-year period. The future impact to the premium rate for
the Department of Corrections will be based on actual experience. |
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