S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
786
2013-2014 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
(PREFILED)
January 9, 2013
___________
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 section 1 of part QQ
of chapter 56 of the laws of 2009, the opening paragraph, clause (A),
and clause (B) as amended by section 1 of part G of chapter 57 of the
laws of 2011, and clause (B) as further amended by section 104 of part A
of chapter 62 of the laws of 2011, 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, the state insur-
ance fund, and all insurance carriers (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 dormitory authority, as calculated in
accordance with subparagraph five of this paragraph. Such assessments
shall be allocated to (i) self-insurers and the state insurance fund
based upon the proportion that the total compensation payments made by
all self-insurers and the state insurance fund bore to the total compen-
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03819-01-3
A. 786 2
sation payments made by all self-insurers, the state insurance fund, and
all insurance carriers, and (ii) insurance carriers based upon the
proportion that the total compensation payments made by all insurance
carriers bore to the total compensation payments by all self-insurers,
the state insurance fund and all insurance carriers during the fiscal
year which ended within said preceding calendar year. Insurance carri-
ers and self-insurers shall be liable for all such assessments regard-
less 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 and the state insurance
fund that shall be collected from each self-insurer and the state insur-
ance fund shall be a sum equal to the proportion of the amount which the
total compensation payments of each such self-insurer or the state
insurance fund bore to the total compensation payments made by all 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 carri-
er shall be a sum equal to that proportion of the amount which the total
standard premium by each such insurance carrier bore to the total stand-
ard premium reported by all insurance carriers during the calendar year
which ended within said preceding fiscal year. The payments from the
debt service assessment, unless otherwise set forth in the special disa-
bility 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, "standard premium" shall mean
the premium as defined for the purposes of this assessment by the super-
intendent of financial services, in consultation with the chair of the
board and the workers' compensation rating board. An employer who has
ceased to be a self-insurer shall continue to be liable for any assess-
ments 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 twen-
ty-seven of this article, 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 superintendent of
financial services in consultation with the New York workers' compen-
sation rating board and the chair of the board. 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 superinten-
dent of financial services pursuant to section ninety-nine of this chap-
ter 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 insurance
A. 786 3
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 recoupment, treated
as separate costs, for the purpose of premiums billed on or after Octo-
ber first, nineteen hundred ninety-four. For the purposes of this
section, a "self-insurer" shall be: (i) an employer authorized to self-
insure under subdivision three of section fifty of this chapter, active
groups authorized pursuant to subdivision three-a of section fifty of
this chapter or a group of employers authorized to self-insure under
paragraph ten of subdivision three-a of section fifty of this chapter;
or (ii) a public employer authorized as set forth in paragraph a of
subdivision four of section fifty of this chapter to self-insure under
subdivision three, three-a or four of such section or article five of
this chapter, whether individually or as a group.
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.
The board is hereby authorized to issue credits or refunds as neces-
sary, in the case of overpayments made to the fund. An insurance carrier
that knowingly underreports premiums for the purposes of this section
shall be guilty of a class E felony.
S 2. This act shall take effect January 1, 2014.