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1
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, Workers' compensation laws provide workers
3 important protection from the economic hardship wrought by
4 injuries and diseases caused by employment; and
 
5     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
 
9     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
 
14     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
 
18     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
21 Task Force shall be created to bring together legislators and

 

 

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1 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
 
4     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
18 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
23 Illinois AFL-CIO; and be it further
 

 

 

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1     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 further
 
22     RESOLVED, That the Task Force Report shall address each of

 

 

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1 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.