Full Text of HJR0020 95th General Assembly
HJ0020 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, Workers' compensation laws provide workers | 3 |
| important protection from the economic hardship wrought by | 4 |
| injuries and diseases caused by employment; and
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| WHEREAS, Illinois employers favor a workers' compensation | 6 |
| system that not only treats injured workers appropriately and | 7 |
| fairly but also minimizes unnecessary costs, prevents abuse, | 8 |
| and settles disputes quickly and impartially; and
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| WHEREAS, The General Assembly and Governor approved | 10 |
| significant changes to the law in 2005, yet both Illinois | 11 |
| workers and employers have continued concerns about the current | 12 |
| state of workers' compensation laws, and both desire to make | 13 |
| changes to improve the law for both workers and employers; and
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| WHEREAS, The workers' compensation system should equitably | 15 |
| remunerate Illinois physicians and health care providers for | 16 |
| services rendered to relieve employees of work-related | 17 |
| injuries and diseases; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 19 |
| NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | 20 |
| SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that a Workers' Compensation Reform
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| Task Force shall be created to bring together legislators and |
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| stakeholders to consult each other and the public for the | 2 |
| purpose of gathering information and recommending reforms to | 3 |
| workers' compensation laws; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That the Speaker of the House, the Minority | 5 |
| Leader of the House, the President of the Senate, and the | 6 |
| Minority Leader of the Senate shall each make 2 appointments to | 7 |
| the Task Force and each appointee shall be a member of the | 8 |
| General Assembly; and be it further | 9 |
| RESOLVED, That the Chairman of the Illinois Workers' | 10 |
| Compensation Commission and the Director of the Division of | 11 |
| Insurance shall act as ex-officio members of the Task Force; | 12 |
| and be it further | 13 |
| RESOLVED, That additional members shall be appointed from | 14 |
| organizations as follows: one member appointed by the Illinois | 15 |
| Manufacturers Association; one member appointed by the | 16 |
| Illinois Retail Merchants Association; one member appointed by | 17 |
| the Illinois State Chamber of Commerce; one member appointed by
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| the Illinois chapter of the National Federation of Independent | 19 |
| Business; one member appointed by the Associated General | 20 |
| Contractors of Illinois; one member appointed by the Illinois | 21 |
| State Medical Society; one member appointed by the Illinois | 22 |
| Hospital Association; and three members appointed by the
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| Illinois AFL-CIO; and be it further |
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| RESOLVED, That all members appointed to the Task Force | 2 |
| shall receive no compensation for serving as a member but shall | 3 |
| be eligible to receive reimbursement for reasonable costs | 4 |
| associated with membership if such funds are appropriated; and | 5 |
| be it further | 6 |
| RESOLVED, That 2 Task Force co-chairpersons, who are | 7 |
| members of the General Assembly, shall be nominated and elected | 8 |
| by Task Force members to preside as co-chairpersons over | 9 |
| meetings of the Task Force; and be it further | 10 |
| RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall commence operation no | 11 |
| later than August 1, 2007; the Task Force shall conduct public | 12 |
| hearings at the call of the co-chairpersons; at least one | 13 |
| hearing shall be scheduled and convened in each of the 10 | 14 |
| Illinois Entrepreneurship Network Regions currently designated | 15 |
| by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity; time | 16 |
| shall be allotted for members of the public to offer remarks at | 17 |
| meetings of the Task Force; and a report detailing the findings | 18 |
| and recommendations of the Task Force for reform of workers' | 19 |
| compensation laws shall be presented to the Governor
and the | 20 |
| General Assembly no later than March 15, 2008; and be it | 21 |
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| RESOLVED, That the Task Force Report shall address each of |
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| the following issues, among other workers' compensation issues | 2 |
| and topics without limit: (i) an analysis of the 2005 statutory | 3 |
| changes to the workers' compensation medical provisions and how | 4 |
| employer costs and access and quality of care to injured | 5 |
| workers have been impacted; (ii) recommendations to combat and | 6 |
| prevent abuse and fraud within the workers' compensation | 7 |
| system; (iii) recommendations for the provision of adequate | 8 |
| compensation for workers and families of workers for lost wages | 9 |
| while off work and future lost wages because of injury or | 10 |
| disease that also allows Illinois employers to be competitive | 11 |
| regionally and globally; (iv) the existence and adequacy of | 12 |
| programs that promote and encourage workplace safety and injury | 13 |
| and disease prevention; (v) an analysis of workers' | 14 |
| compensation benefits and costs to employers in states adjacent | 15 |
| to Illinois with recommendations to help Illinois employers | 16 |
| compete with companies in states with lower workers' | 17 |
| compensation costs; and (vi) an analysis and recommendations as | 18 |
| to the ability of the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission | 19 |
| to mediate and adjudicate disputes in a timely and impartial | 20 |
| manner.
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