New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 9 - EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT › Subtitle A - Governor's Office › Chapter I - Executive Orders › Part 5 - Executive Orders (George E. Pataki) › Section 5.91 - Executive Order No. 91: Workers' Compensation Special Funds Study Commission. [*] [DAGGER]

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
WHEREAS, despite significant advances made through the 1996
					 New York Employment Safety and Security Act, workers'compensation rates and
					 assessments still comprise a disproportionate share of the cost of doing
					 business in New York State;
WHEREAS, special funds assessments constitute approximately
					 six percent of the workers'compensation premium paid by New York's
					 employers;
WHEREAS, although special funds assessments have increased
					 rapidly in recent years, some special funds still remain in a financially
					 precarious position;
WHEREAS, the business and labor communities have long
					 maintained that these public funds are costly and inefficient;
WHEREAS, it has been proposed that these funds could either
					 be phased out of or the funds could be restructured at a significant savings to
					 the business and labor community;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE E. PATAKI, Governor of the State
					 of New York, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and
					 Laws of the State of New York, do hereby constitute the Workers' Compensation
					 Special Funds Study Commission (the "Commission"). The Commission shall consist
					 of fifteen members appointed by the Governor. The Commission shall review the
					 purposes for which the funds were established, assess whether the funds are
					 fulfilling their purposes, and examine the financial condition of the funds,
					 including historical assessment patterns, payout patterns of the funds, and
					 their unfunded ultimate liabilities.
The commissioner of labor, the superintendent of insurance,
					 and the chair of the workers' compensation board shall serve as co-chairs of
					 the Commission. The Governor shall appoint twelve additional members as
					 follows:
(i) the Executive Director of
				  the State Insurance Fund;
(ii) the
				  Commissioner of Taxation and Finance;
(iii) the Director of the Governor's Office
				  of Regulatory Reform;
(iv) three
				  representatives of organized labor appointed upon recommendation of the
				  AFL-CIO;
(v) a representative of
				  the business community appointed upon recommendation of the Business Council of
				  New York State, Inc.;
(vi) a
				  representative of small employers appointed upon recommendation of the National
				  Federation of Independent Business;
(vii) a representative of workers'
				  compensation insurers appointed upon recommendation of the Alliance of American
				  Insurers;
(viii) a representative
				  of workers' compensation insurers appointed upon recommendation of the American
				  Insurance Association;
(ix) a
				  representative of workers' compensation insurers appointed upon recommendation
				  of the New York Insurance Association; and
(x) a representative of safety groups
				  appointed upon recommendation of the Association of Safety Group
				  Managers.
The Commission shall:
(i) engage in public outreach in furtherance
				  of the performance of its duties;
(ii) in consultation with the workers'
				  compensation board, contract with a private consulting actuarial or accounting
				  firm to prepare an analysis of the financial condition of the funds;
				  and
(iii) make findings based upon
				  information derived from the public outreach and the financial analysis of the
				  funds and make recommendations consistent with its findings.
The Commission shall report its findings to the Governor no
					 later than October 1, 1999. The members of the Commission shall receive no
					 compensation but shall be entitled to reimbursement for any necessary expenses
					 incurred in connection with the performance of their duties.
Every state department, agency, division, board, bureau,
					 commission, and any other entity over which I have executive powers shall
					 provide any assistance necessary for the Commission to carry out its
					 duties.
Signed: George E. Pataki
Dated: February 25, 1999
Footnotes
* [See Executive Order No. 93,
					 (George E. Pataki, §
											5.93
infra.
)]
[DAGGER] [Revoked by Executive
					 Order No. 5 (Eliot Spitzer),
infra.
.] [Revoked by Executive
					 Order No. 9 (David A. Paterson),
infra.
.] [Revoked by
					 Executive Order No. 2 (Andrew M. Cuomo),
infra.
.]