JEFFERSON CITY - Determined to circumvent Senate inaction on worker's compensation, House Republicans passed worker's compensation legislation Thursday by tacking it on to an unrelated Senate bill.
Rep. Kevin Wilson, R-Neosho, successfully attached his entire worker's compensation legislation to the Senate bill during Thursday's House session. By passing the measure as an amendment to an already-approved Senate bill, the legislation will head to a conference committee -- forcing the Senate to deal with the issue rather than letting it die quietly.
What's more, while Sen. John Loudon, R-St. Louis County, said last week he was "willing to sacrifice any bill of mine" if it meant moving forward with worker's compensation, the Globe has learned Loudon's bill was intended from the very beginning as a "vehicle" for worker's compensation.
Loudon's bill was originally crafted in the Senate for the express purpose of giving House Republicans a way around the Senate's potential stalling on worker's compensation, said Rep. Steve Hunter, R-Joplin.
Hunter said the House developed a strategy dating back to the "first day of the session" that called for getting not just one, but two, benign Senate bills brought over to the House just in case they needed "to be used as vehicles" for employment-related legislation.
"This was planned," Hunter said. "This wasn't an accident."
With Thursday's success at using Loudon's bill as the means to jump-start worker's compensation, House Republicans will attempt an identical move today regarding unemployment compensation by using the second "vehicle."
A House bill to tighten requirements on who would be eligible for unemployment compensation was approved by the House back in February and sent to the Senate. But the proposal has stalled ever since -- and Thursday morning the Senate effectively sounded its death knell by deciding to put the bill aside.
In response, House Republicans plan to now introduce the entire text of the defeated bill again as an amendment to a two-paragraph Senate bill already waiting for House action. Hunter said that bill, sponsored by Sen. Charles Shields, R-St. Joseph, was also originally crafted to give the House leverage against potential Senate roadblocks.
To get around a Missouri law requiring any legislation to only deal with one topic, both Senate bills were given broad titles -- simply "related to employment."
Rep. Kevin Wilson said his worker's compensation bill is "vital for small businesses," which he said were the "backbone of America."
"We're in a global economy," Wilson said. "We have to have an environment that is conducive to business."
Wilson's proposal would seek to clarify what is considered "work-related," and more specifically define what constitutes an accident.
It would also take steps to limit attorney involvement by placing restrictions on attorney's fees, and would create a system where administrative law judges would be subject to Senate approval.
"This is designed to bring some fairness to the system," Wilson said.
Rep. Wayne Cooper, R-Camdenton, said the proposal would also require "objective medical standards" to be used in determining the extent of an injury.
"Right now, one doctor can say one thing, while another doctor might judge [impairment ratings] differently," Cooper said. "This would provide a standard for everyone to follow."
Wilson said he thought it was important to "take the subjectivity out of it" in order to guarantee the system provides equal treatment.
Opponents of the legislation say injured workers would have a more difficult time getting compensated, and the system would favor business interests over those of workers.