House Committee on Judiciary (05/06/2010)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

Date:	05/06/2010	ATTENDANCE

Time:	02:03 PM to 05:27 PM	Court	X
		Gardner B.	X
Place:	HCR 0107	Kagan	X
		King S.	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Miklosi	X
	Representative Levy	Nikkel	X
		Pace	X
This Report was prepared by		Ryden	X
	Jessika Shipley	Waller	X
		McCann	E
		Levy	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
SB10-199 SB10-011		Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole

02:03 PM -- Senate Bill 10-199

Representative Court, sponsor, presented Senate Bill 10-199 concerning clarifying revisions to certain provisions of the Colorado Probate Code. The bill makes several modifications to the probate code. Specifically, the bill:

• requires that cost-of-living adjustments of certain dollar amounts be rounded to $1,000 increments, rather than $100 increments;
• defines the word "will" to exclude designated beneficiary agreements, but clarifies the rights of a designated beneficiary to receive all or part of an intestate estate;
• clarifies that a child who is in the process of being adopted by a second adult in a second-parent adoption when the second adult dies shall be treated as adopted by the second adult if the child's parent survives the second adult by 120 hours;
• reduces the evidence required to overcome a presumption that a deceased spouse has a parent-child relationship with a child born using assisted reproduction technologies;
• revises the scope of the rules of construction applicable to wills and other governing instruments to specify that new class gift rules apply only to documents executed or re-published on or after the effective date of the applicable statute;
• requires that official comments to the code be published in the statute;
• removes statutory language awarding a part or all of an intestate estate to a designated beneficiary who was designated by the decedent to be his or her designated beneficiary for purposes of intestate succession;
• removes statutory language awarding a share of an intestate estate for a decedent's stepchildren when there are no blood relatives of the decedent available to receive an intestate share; and
• amends the effective date-applicability clause of House Bill 09-1287, enacted in 2009.

Representative Court distributed prepared amendments L.002 and L.003 (Attachments A and B).

02:05 PM -- Marc Darling, Colorado Bar Association, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Darling discussed the process undertaken by the bar association in drafting the bill. He spoke specifically about changes that were made to the Colorado Probate Code as a result of the passage of the Colorado Designated Beneficiary Act, which was enacted in 2009.

02:09 PM -- Beth Bryant, Colorado Bar Association, spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Bryant explained that amendments L.002 and L.003 conform the Designated Beneficiary Act with the Colorado Probate Code. She indicated that the changes in the amendments are technical in nature.


BILL:	SB10-199
TIME:	02:13:44 PM
MOVED:	Court
MOTION:	Adopt prepared amendment L.002 (Attachment A). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Ryden
		VOTE
	Court
	Gardner B.
	Kagan
	King S.
	Miklosi
	Nikkel
	Pace
	Ryden
	Waller
	McCann	Excused
	Levy
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	SB10-199
TIME:	02:13:59 PM
MOVED:	Court
MOTION:	Adopt prepared amendment L.003 (Attachment B), which amends L.002. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Ryden
		VOTE
	Court
	Gardner B.
	Kagan
	King S.
	Miklosi
	Nikkel
	Pace
	Ryden
	Waller
	McCann	Excused
	Levy
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	SB10-199
TIME:	02:14:25 PM
MOVED:	Court
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 10-199, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation. The motion passed on a vote of 9-0, with 2 excused.
SECONDED:	Ryden
		VOTE
	Court	Yes
	Gardner B.	Yes
	Kagan	Yes
	King S.	Yes
	Miklosi	Yes
	Nikkel	Yes
	Pace	Excused
	Ryden	Yes
	Waller	Yes
	McCann	Excused
	Levy	Yes
Final YES: 9 NO: 0 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

02:15 PM -- Senate Bill 10-011

Representative Miklosi, sponsor, presented Senate Bill 10-011 concerning measures to reduce conflicts of interest in workers' compensation cases. The bill, which was recommended by the Interim Committee to Study Issues Related to Pinnacol Assurance, makes several changes to workers' compensation law concerning conflicts of interest by physicians, insurers, and employers. It requires physicians who provide independent medical examinations to provide a summary disclosure of any business, financial, employment, or advisory relationships with an insurer or self-insured employer upon request. It prohibits the payment or receipt of a financial incentive to encourage the delay or denial of a workers' compensation claim. The bill requires that if an injured worker is not present for communications between a treating physician and the employer or insurer, the treating physician will provide a written record of the communications to the injured worker.

Finally, the bill prohibits the inclusion of reversionary interests in indemnity benefits in a workers' compensation insurance contract. This would prevent an insurer from receiving the remaining value of an annuity upon the death of an injured worker. Such a provision, including one in an existing contract, is void and unenforceable.

02:21 PM -- Jennifer Bisset, representing herself, spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Bisset spoke about her experience as an attorney who represents plaintiffs in workers' compensation claims cases. She discussed Pinnacol Assurance. She stated her support specifically for disclosures with regard to independent physicians. She talked about the payment of financial incentives to encourage the delay or denial of workers' compensation claims. Ms. Bisset responded to extensive questioning by the committee about an appropriate incentive program for workers' compensation insurance companies.

03:03 PM -- Dr. Lynn Parry, Colorado Medical Society, spoke in support of the bill. Dr. Parry spoke about the importance of physicians who perform independent medical exams disclosing any business, financial, employment, or advisory relationships with an insurer. She responded to questions from the committee.

03:15 PM -- Ed Kahn, Colorado Center on Law and Policy, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Kahn discussed the history of the workers' compensation system. He stated his opinion that the current system is relatively efficient and economical, but the disclosure provisions of the bill are an important addition in the interest of justice and fairness. He talked about Colorado contract law. He expressed concern about the constitutionality of certain provisions of the bill.

03:21 PM -- Phil Hayes, Colorado AFL-CIO, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Hayes provided examples of workers' compensation injuries that he believes were handled poorly. He discussed his concerns with current workers' compensation practices, specifically the determination of the number of days until a worker reaches his or her maximum medical improvement. He stated his opinion that insurance adjusters have an incentive to keep that number as low as possible, regardless of what is best for the injured worker. He talked about different ways for insurance companies to award incentives or bonuses to their employees.

03:28 PM -- Fred Ritsema, Colorado Self-insurers Association, testified in opposition to the bill. Mr. Ritsema distributed written testimony to the committee and read from his prepared remarks (Attachment C). He also provided copies of Workers' Compensation Rules of Procedure 18-6 (Attachment D). He indicated that the disclosure of business relationships for physicians who provide independent medical examinations will delay an already lengthy process and create tactical considerations that do not belong in this process. He discussed compensable workers' compensation claims. Mr. Ritsema responded to extensive questions from the committee about reversionary interest on annuities.

03:58 PM -- Robert Ferm, American Insurance Association, spoke in opposition to the bill. Mr. Ferm expressed his concerns with section 2 of the bill, which addresses compensation for delaying or denying claims. He stated that current law adequately addresses this issue. He expressed his opinion that such a practice is not happening in Colorado. Mr. Ferm responded to questions from the committee about the practice of awarding financial incentives or bonuses for delaying and denying claims.

04:15 PM -- Harvey Flewelling and Mark Andreatta, Pinnacol Assurance, testified in opposition to the bill. Mr. Flewelling distributed a written statement to the committee and read from his prepared remarks (Attachment E). Mr. Andreatta addressed Pinnacol's employee bonus sharing program and stated that financial incentives are never given to employees for delaying or denying claims. He discussed the process of reviewing and approving or denying claims. Mr. Andreatta responded to questions from the committee about Pinnacol's decisions to pay medical bills. The committee discussed the satisfaction of injured workers with the services rendered by Pinnacol and the difference between major business objectives and bonus programs tied to the reduction of days until an injured worker reaches his or her maximum medical improvement.

04:47 PM -- Tony Gagliardi, National Federation of Independent Business, spoke in opposition to the bill. Mr. Gagliardi stated that it is in the best interest of an employer to get an injured worker to maximum medical improvement as soon as possible. He discussed recent reforms to the Colorado workers' compensation system. He talked about section 2 of the bill and stated his opinion that it will ultimately result in higher workers' compensation insurance costs. He stated that section 4 of the bill also creates an upward pressure on insurance rates. Mr. Gagliardi responded to questions from the committee about insurance rate increases.

05:07 PM -- Kelly Campbell, Property and Casualty Insurers' Association, spoke in opposition to the bill. Ms. Campbell focused her testimony on section 2, paragraph 2 of the bill. She expressed concern about the structure of the language. The committee discussed rewording the section.


BILL:	SB10-011
TIME:	05:18:44 PM
MOVED:	Miklosi
MOTION:	Adopt prepared amendment L.005 (Attachment F), as amended. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Court
		VOTE
	Court
	Gardner B.
	Kagan
	King S.
	Miklosi
	Nikkel
	Pace
	Ryden
	Waller
	McCann	Excused
	Levy
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	SB10-011
TIME:	05:17:38 PM
MOVED:	Levy
MOTION:	Adopt prepared amendment L.009 (Attachment H), which amends L.005. Members of the committee commented about the amendment. The motion passed on a vote of 7-3, with 1 excused.
SECONDED:	Pace
		VOTE
	Court	Yes
	Gardner B.	Yes
	Kagan	Yes
	King S.	Yes
	Miklosi	No
	Nikkel	Yes
	Pace	No
	Ryden	No
	Waller	Yes
	McCann	Excused
	Levy	Yes
Not Final YES: 7 NO: 3 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	SB10-011
TIME:	05:19:35 PM
MOVED:	Levy
MOTION:	Adopt prepared amendment L.008 (Attachment G). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Court
		VOTE
	Court
	Gardner B.
	Kagan
	King S.
	Miklosi
	Nikkel
	Pace
	Ryden
	Waller
	McCann	Excused
	Levy
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection

05:21 PM

Representative Miklosi wrapped up his presentation of the bill and asked for a favorable recommendation.


BILL:	SB10-011
TIME:	05:25:21 PM
MOVED:	Miklosi
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 10-011, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation. Members of the committee commented about their positions on the bill. The motion passed on a vote of 6-4, with 1 excused.
SECONDED:	Ryden
		VOTE
	Court	Yes
	Gardner B.	No
	Kagan	Yes
	King S.	No
	Miklosi	Yes
	Nikkel	No
	Pace	Yes
	Ryden	Yes
	Waller	No
	McCann	Excused
	Levy	Yes
Final YES: 6 NO: 4 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

05:26 PM

Representative Levy adjourned the committee.