Bill: HB 2053, 85(R) - 2017

Committee

House Business & Industry

2nd Chamber Committee

Senate Business & Commerce

Vote Recommendation

Vote Recommendation Economic Freedom Property Rights Personal Responsibility Limited Government Individual Liberty
Neutral Neutral Neutral Neutral Neutral Neutral

Author(s)

Rene Oliveira

Sponsor(s)

Brandon Creighton

Bill Caption

Relating to the enforcement of workers' compensation compliance and practice requirements.

Fiscal Notes

No significant fiscal implication to the state is anticipated.

Bill Analysis

HB 2053 would amend the Labor Code to have the Workers’ Compensation Division maintain an investigation unit to now conduct investigations related to alleged criminal offenses. Also, an offense would now be classified as a Class A misdemeanor if the value of benefits or premium avoided is less than $2,500, a $1,000 increase from current law. An offense would constitute a state jail felony if the value of benefits or premium avoided is over $2,500, a $1,000 increase from current law.

Vote Recommendation Notes

While increasing the threshold to apply a Class A misdemeanor or a state jail felony is a good thing, those penalties would still be pegged to a very low pecuniary scale. A state jail felony carries a minimum 180 days incarceration which may be somewhat disproportionate for a $2,500 crime. Still, this is a procedural bill that updates the investigation of and penalties regarding criminal offenses of workers' compensation laws and does not appear to have a connection to our liberty principles, therefore remain neutral.

Organizations Supporting

American Insurance Association
National Federation of Independent Business
Property Casualty Insurers Association of America
Texas AFL-CIO
Texas Association of Business

Source URL (retrieved on 03/28/2024 01:03 PM): http://reports.texasaction.com/bill/85r/hb2053?print_view=true