Partisan Attacks in Comp Reform

Democratic leaders in the Legislature on Friday accused their Republican counterparts of trying to torpedo a workers’ compensation insurance reform agreement crafted a week ago with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez (D-Los Angeles) said Republicans backed by “special interests” in the business community had been taking advantage of the governor’s absence -- Schwarzenegger is on vacation in Hawaii -- to persuade his staff to back away from elements of the still-evolving plan.

Democratic sources said those areas included how doctors are chosen and the way in which disability benefits are calculated for injured workers. They said Republicans had found a friendly ear among some of the governor’s more-business-oriented staffers, some with ties to the Chamber of Commerce.

“The folks who negotiate this on [Schwarzenegger’s] behalf have done a good job of making the list of unresolved issues larger,” Nunez said.

Senate President Pro Tem John Burton (D-San Francisco) echoed Nunez’s complaints, saying Republican lawmakers are making it hard for Schwarzenegger to “accomplish things in some bipartisan manner.”

The Senate’s lead Republican expert on workers’ comp, Charles Poochigian of Fresno, countered that Democrats should not be “questioning people’s motives” with partisan attacks.

Because Democrats hold a majority in both houses, it would be possible to pass a bill without a single Republican vote.

The governor has repeatedly said he wanted a solution that both parties can embrace. But Republicans are concerned that in his zeal to obtain some kind of agreement, the governor would back away from conservative principles.

Schwarzenegger’s aides have been working with Democratic staff members to draft legislation that lawmakers could vote on next week to beat an April 16 deadline. Otherwise, backers of a tough workers’ compensation initiative would submit signatures to qualify it for the November ballot. The governor has vowed to campaign for the business-backed initiative if he doesn’t get a bill he likes from lawmakers.

But getting a deal in time to avoid the initiative battle is uncertain if Republicans keep trying to slow down a compromise, Nunez charged.

Nunez cited as particularly troublesome a Republican effort to sidetrack a Democratic demand that the state have some regulatory control over rates charged by companies that provide workers’ comp insurance to businesses that must carry the protection.

The Democrats and their allies -- attorneys, labor unions and consumer groups who represent employees -- insist that some form of price cap is essential to guarantee that hoped-for savings from proposed reforms are passed to employers who have been hit with premium increases of up to 300% in recent years.

The issue of rate regulation, which is strongly opposed by insurance companies, the state Chamber of Commerce and Republican legislators, continues to be the biggest area of conflict.

Business lobbyists said they had stressed repeatedly to the governor’s office that rate regulations could lessen competition and drive up rates to employers.

“It will make it less attractive for carriers to do business here,” said Chamber President Allan Zaremberg.