S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
3851
2009-2010 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
January 28, 2009
___________
Introduced by M. of A. WEPRIN -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Labor
AN ACT to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to the
assessment upon self-insurers, the state insurance fund, and all
insurance carriers to fund the special disability fund
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Subparagraph 4 of paragraph (h) of subdivision 8 of section
15 of the workers' compensation law, as amended by chapter 139 of the
laws of 2008, is amended to read as follows:
(4) As soon as practicable after May first in the year nineteen
hundred fifty-eight, and annually thereafter as soon as practicable
after January first in each succeeding year, the chair of the board
shall assess upon and collect from all self-insurers, except group self-
insurers, the state insurance fund, all insurance carriers and group
self-insurers, (A) a sum equal to one hundred [fifty] TEN per centum of
the total disbursements made from the special disability fund during the
preceding calendar year (not including any disbursements made on account
of anticipated liabilities or waiver agreements funded by bond proceeds
and related earnings), less the amount of the net assets in such fund as
of December thirty-first of said preceding calendar year, and (B) a sum
sufficient to cover debt service, and associated costs (the "debt
service assessment") to be paid during the calendar year by the dormito-
ry authority, as calculated in accordance with subparagraph five of this
paragraph. Such assessments shall be allocated to (i) self-insurers
except group self-insurers and the state insurance fund based upon the
proportion that the total compensation payments made by all self-insur-
ers except group self-insurers and the state insurance fund bore to the
total compensation payments made by all self-insurers except group self-
insurers, the state insurance fund, all insurance carriers and group
self-insurers, (ii) insurance carriers based upon the proportion that
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06968-01-9
A. 3851 2
the total compensation payments made by all insurance carriers bore to
the total compensation payments by all self-insurers except group self-
insurers, the state insurance fund and all insurance carriers and group
self-insurers during the fiscal year which ended within said preceding
calendar year, and (iii) group self-insurers based upon the proportion
that the total compensation payments made by all group self-insurers
bore to the total compensation payments made by all self-insurers, the
state insurance fund and all insurance carriers during the fiscal year
which ended within said preceding calendar year. Insurance carriers and
self-insurers shall be liable for all such assessments regardless of the
date on which they came into existence, or whether they have made any
claim for reimbursement from the special disability fund. The portion of
such sum allocated to self-insurers except group self-insurers and the
state insurance fund that shall be collected from each self-insurer
except a group self-insurer and the state insurance fund shall be a sum
equal to the proportion of the amount which the total compensation
payments of each such self-insurer except a group self-insurer or the
state insurance fund bore to the total compensation payments made by all
self-insurers except group self-insurers and the state insurance fund
during the fiscal year which ended within said preceding calendar year.
The portion of such sum allocated to insurance carriers that shall be
collected from each insurance carrier shall be a sum equal to that
proportion of the amount which the total premiums written by each such
insurance carrier bore to the total written premiums reported by all
insurance carriers during the fiscal year which ended within said
preceding calendar year. The portion of such sum allocated to group
self-insurers that shall be collected from each group self-insurer shall
be a sum equal to that proportion of the amount which the pure premium
calculation for each such group self-insurer bore to the total pure
premium calculation for all group self-insurers for the calendar year
which ended within the preceding state fiscal year. The payments from
the debt service assessment, unless otherwise set forth in the special
disability fund financing agreement, are hereby pledged therefor and
shall be deemed the first monies received on account of assessments in
each year. For the purposes of this paragraph, "direct premiums written"
means gross premiums, including policy and membership fees, less return
premiums and premiums on policies not taken. For purposes of this para-
graph "pure premium calculation" means the New York state annual payroll
as of December thirty-first of the preceding year by class code for each
employer member of a group self-insurer multiplied by the applicable
loss cost for each class code as determined by the workers' compensation
rating board in effect on December thirty-first of the preceding year,
and for a group or individual self-insurer who has ceased to self-insure
shall be based on payroll at the time the group or individual self-in-
surer ceased to self-insure reduced by a factor reflecting the reduction
in the group or individual self-insurer's self-insurance liabilities
since ceasing to self-insure. An employer who has ceased to be a self-
insurer or a group that ceases to be licensed as a group self-insurer
shall continue to be liable for any assessments into said fund on
account of any compensation payments made by him or her on his or her
account during such fiscal year, and the security fund, created under
the provisions of section one hundred seven of this chapter, shall, in
the event of the insolvency of any insurance company, be liable for any
assessments that would have been made against such company except for
its insolvency. No assessment shall be payable from the aggregate trust
fund, created under the provisions of section twenty-seven of this arti-
A. 3851 3
cle, but such fund shall continue to be liable for all compensation that
shall be payable under any award or order of the board, the commuted
value of which has been paid into such fund. Such assessments when
collected shall be deposited with the commissioner of taxation and
finance for the benefit of such fund. Unless otherwise provided, such
assessments, shall not constitute an element of loss for the purpose of
establishing rates for compensation insurance but shall for the purpose
of collection be treated as separate costs by carriers. All insurance
carriers and the state insurance fund, shall collect such assessments,
from their policyholders through a surcharge based on premiums in
accordance with rules set forth by the New York workers' compensation
rating board, as approved by the superintendent of insurance. Such
surcharge shall be considered as part of premium for purposes prescribed
by law including, but not limited to, computing premium tax, reporting
to the superintendent of insurance pursuant to section ninety-nine of
this chapter and section three hundred seven of the insurance law,
determining the limitation of expenditures for the administration of the
state insurance fund pursuant to section eighty-eight of this chapter
and the cancellation by an insurance carrier, including the state insur-
ance fund, of a policy for non-payment of premium. The provisions of
this paragraph shall not apply with respect to policies containing
coverage pursuant to subsection (j) of section three thousand four
hundred twenty of the insurance law relating to every policy providing
comprehensive personal liability insurance on a one, two, three or four
family owner-occupied dwelling. The state insurance fund shall, notify
its insureds that such assessments, shall be, for the purpose of recoup-
ment, treated as separate costs, respectively for the purpose of premi-
ums billed on or after October first, nineteen hundred ninety-four.
For the purposes of this paragraph, except as otherwise provided: the
term "insurance carrier" shall include only stock corporations, mutual
corporations and reciprocal insurers authorized to transact the business
of workers' compensation insurance in this state; the term "self-insur-
er" shall include any employer or group of employers permitted to pay
compensation directly under the provisions of subdivision three, three-a
or four of section fifty of this chapter;
S 2. This act shall take effect January 1, 2010.