Work-comp fix is good news

Before Wednesday, the outlook was pretty sketchy for a major workers’-compensation reform bill before the Montana Legislature.

The Republican legislative majority and the administration of Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer appeared at times to be at intractable odds over the legislation despite having mutual goals of reducing work-comp rates that are currently the highest in the nation.

But a major breakthrough was revealed at a committee hearing Wednesday morning, when the commissioner of the Department of Labor announced that the Schweitzer administration is backing the bill with amendments that have been negotiated over the last month or so.

That kind of development was imperative because work-comp was a major priority — if not the biggest priority — for the Legislature this year. Failure was not an option.

The legislation is aptly described as a “jobs bill” because the current sky-high workers’-compensation rates are clearly an impediment to employers investing and creating more jobs. Some local employers pay as much as $17 an hour for their employees.

That is an obvious disincentive for businesses to move to Montana. Why move here and see your profits diminished when you can set up shop in any of our neighboring states that have far lower work-comp rates?

As amended, the reform bill is projected to slash rates by about 24 percent this year, and an additional 15 percent over the next three to five  years. Another way of looking at it is that employers will be collectively paying about $140 million less towards workers’ compensation in the next few years.

That’s the kind of economic infusion that’s sorely needed in Northwest Montana, where recession conditions continue and unemployment still exceeds 14 percent.

To their credit, Rep. Scott Reichner, R-Bigfork, and Sen. Ryan Zinke, R-Whitefish, played leading rolls in bringing the complicated legislation together in a way that ensured its survival.

Now it’s our hope that the Legislature and the Schweitzer administration can move forward in a similar fashion on other important matters, such as reforming the state’s medical marijuana law, cutting the arcane business-equipment tax, and of course, passing a prudent, balanced budget.