Joe
and I then proceeded to sit in the Senate gallery and watch the debate on HB153 – Workers’ compensation: exclusion of certain employees. Introduced by our friend Delegate Lee Ware,
the legislation would end the practice of companies having to participate in
BOTH the Virginia Workers Compensation program AND the Longshore and Harbor
Workers Compensation Act. Essentially,
businesses will be able to pick one or the other to support their employees
instead of having to purchase redundant coverage. As you can imagine, union interests supported
participation in both programs and businesses were pleading for relief. Discussion on the floor of the Senate became
quite heated (although this bill was just the tip of the iceberg creating
tension among legislators) and legislators started ascribing issues that had
nothing to do with reality. HB 153
became a political discussion instead of a debate on issues. As a result, the bill ultimately passed on a
20 to 19 vote.
For
the most part, nothing moving toward the Governor’s office for signature should
give us heartburn. Particularly since
our legislation on certificates of insurance is heading in that direction.
Clearly some “brochure” bills are heading to the Governor’s office – a couple of which he asked for, such as the notices regarding earthquake coverage, or the lack thereof.
Accompanying
this report is our Legislative Table which provides an update
on all of our interested bills as of today.
As always, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to give me a
call at 804-929-4134 or e-mail me at rbradshaw@iiav.com.
And
don’t worry – citizens are “safe” to text and drive until next year. SB219 – the last of the text messaging bills – was tabled by Senator Barker
when one of the Delegates promised to work with him on a stronger bill for
2013. We’ve heard that story
before. In short, reckless driving is
reckless driving with significant penalties attached to it, and you can NOW be
stopped while driving for texting, reading e-mails, shaving, eating, brushing
your teeth, putting on make-up…
This
will be our final report for the 2012 legislative session. If something comes up of an urgent nature we
will certainly alert you to this ASAP.
The last day of the session – Sine Die – is scheduled for March 10 but
that’s predicated on the legislators passing a budget. If you remember a couple of years ago, they
didn’t pass a budget until early June!
For
in-depth details on the new legislation, sign up for one of IIAV’s Laws and
Regulations classes. We have a great
video for you, too. Maybe even your
choice of videos.
Finally,
let me thank Joe Hudgins – IIAV’s Vice President of Education and Technical
Affairs and long term-friend - for his help during this session of the General
Assembly. While I might have a good
handle on the politics, Joe is just unsurpassed in his technical knowledge on
insurance issues. His ability also to
explain a complicated insurance situation to legislators has been invaluable and
his help on the certificate issue has been critical. IIAV members should be proud to have Joe
working for you this session.
Until
next legislative session….I hope to see you at an IIAV Laws & Regs class…or
at our convention….or at your office or ours!
