Senate Panel Sends BWC Budget to Senate Floor

During a busy week at the Ohio Senate, the Insurance Committee moved House Bill 27, the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) budget bill. The committee accepted a substitute version of the bill that made several changes to the House passed version.

Among the more headline grabbing issues, the Senate removed a provision that would have prevented illegal aliens from receiving workers’ compensation benefits.

A second high profile provision deals with the time an injured worker has to report an injury; the House passed reduction from two years to one year was retained by the Senate. This change is heavily supported by the OMA and business groups.

The Senate plans to the vote the bill out of the chamber next week, leaving precious little time for a possible conference committee. As a budget bill, the bill must be signed by the governor by the end of June. 6/22/2017