State Senator Beth Edmonds

Governor Signs Landmark Workers' Compensation Legislation

AUGUSTA - April 8, 2004 Governor John E. Baldacci today signed into law historic reform of the Workers' Compensation Board. The new law, LD 1909, An Act to Promote Decision Making within the Workers' Compensation Board, take effect immediately.

Noted the Governor, "Three weeks ago, when I unveiled this bill, we all recognized that it was a landmark day. The bill was brought to the Legislature with the endorsement of both the AFL and the Chamber. Today as I sign the bill, with nearly unanimous support of the Legislature, we have proven that historic restructuring is possible if we all work together."

The Governor was joined by Commissioner Buddy Murray, legislators, the presidents of the Maine AFL-CIO and Maine State Chamber of Commerce, and the chair of the restructured board, Paul Dionne. Governor Baldacci noted that for some time, the board has been paralyzed, unable to tackle event day-to-day administrative tasks. "This is the first major change in the structure of the Workers' Compensation Board since the 1992 reforms. The 1992 reforms were contentious - today's reforms are marked by consensus and bipartisan agreement. Together this session we are tackling tough issues --- spending reform, taxes, health care and education spending. If we can restructure workers compensation with unanimous support, we can pull together and enact other necessary reforms. We need to secure the integrity, accountability and affordability of all state programs now and in the future. Workers Compensation reform is critically important to both businesses and Maine's workers. Workers' comp premiums are one of many costs to business that we are working to bring down. At the same time the workers deserve safe working places, fair benefits, and our full support when they face unfortunate and sometimes tragic injuries."

The bill received unanimous bipartisan support of the Joint Standing Committee on Labor, unanimous support of the Maine Senate, and overwhelming support in the Maine House of Representatives. The Governor thanked Senator Beth Edmonds and Representative Bill Smith, co-chairs of the Labor Committee, for their hard work on this bill, along with Republican leads Senator Blais and Representative Treadwell.

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