South Carolina’s Governor Sanford: Workers’ Comp Reform Key to Growing Economy

GOVERNOR JOINS ALLIES FROM THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY
TO PUSH FOR MEANINGFUL WORKERS’ COMP REFORMS

Columbia, S.C. – April 30, 2007 – Gov. Mark Sanford today joined with business groups from across South Carolina to make another push for substantive workers’ compensation reforms aimed at curbing increased premiums that harm businesses and consumers.

Earlier this month, the Senate passed a weakened version of the bill despite a push from pro-reform Senators to strengthen the bill. The House is expected to take up the bill soon. The governor is pushing for the House to strengthen that bill, and was joined in Simpsonville by representatives from numerous organizations who are joining the call for the reforms, including the National Federation of Independent Businesses, the Manufacturers Alliance, homebuilder groups, chambers of commerce and contractors groups.

“Our workers’ compensation system continues to be too subjective, it hurts our small businesses’ ability to compete, and it drives up costs for the average South Carolinian in a way that benefits a select group of people who in many cases happen to be lawyer-legislators,” Gov. Sanford said. “The fact is that the current workers’ compensation system is hurting the average South Carolinian when, as one contractor has told me, about 25 percent of the overhead cost of renovating a home goes to pay workers’ comp premiums. Also telling is the fact that lawyer-legislators who vote on these reforms, and their partners, have made nearly $8 million since 2004 in workers’ comp awards. Clearly, it’s a broken system that needs to change. We’re going to work with allies in the House to strengthen this bill — especially when it comes to the idea of objective standards for awards — so that we can have meaningful workers’ compensation reform that protects both our state’s workers and our state’s businesses.”

Last year, South Carolina’s workers’ comp premiums grew more than 18 percent and our state ranks second in the nation since 2000 in terms of how quickly rates have increased. Meanwhile, reform in other states has produced insurance premium rate reductions for their businesses – California has seen a cumulative rate reduction of 55 percent since July 2003 while Florida’s workers’ compensation filings – which impact the cost of premiums – have seen a 13 percent decrease this year alone.