News and Press Releases for March 2007

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3/01/2007

Governor Issues Statement on Workers' Comp Subcommittee Passage

Governor Says True Reform Needed to Keep South Carolina's Business Climate Competitive

Columbia, S.C. - Gov. Mark Sanford today issued the following statement on the passage of the Senate workers' comp bill from subcommittee to the full Senate Judiciary Committee:

"In talking to small business owners around the state, it's become abundantly clear that those businesses cannot afford yet another year of spiraling workers compensation premium increases, and that the time to act to reverse that trend is now," Gov. Sanford said.

"In reforming the workers' compensation system, we think several things are key to meaningful reform. One, there needs to be strong objective standards and consistency of awards that help bring an employer's insurance risk more in line with reality. Two, we need to phase out the Second Injury Fund - an outdated system whose unpredictable assessments put an undue burden on many employers. Three, we need to increase the use of mediation and crack down on fraudulent claims so that we can finally create a disincentive for trying to take advantage of the system. Finally, we need to repeal the Tiller decision because of the way it allows non-expert advice to be relied upon."

"While there are a number of other workers' compensation reforms that ultimately need to happen - like more restrictions on repetitive trauma claims and elimination of the 50 percent back rule - we think meeting these four markers would constitute a very significant step in the right direction. I'd urge the full Senate Judiciary Committee to further strengthen this bill - especially when it comes to objective standards - before it heads to the floor so that we can have a meaningful workers' compensation reform bill that protects both our state's workers and our state's businesses."

Last year, South Carolina's workers' comp premiums grew more than 18 percent and our state ranks second in the nation since 2000 in terms of how quickly rates have increased. Meanwhile, reform in other states has produced rate reductions for their businesses -- California has seen a cumulative rate reduction of 55 percent since July 2003 while Florida's workers compensation filings - which impact the cost of premiums - have seen a 13 percent decrease this year alone.