Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2
3	3
4	4	Req. No. 1100 Page 1 1
5	5	2
6	6	3
7	7	4
8	8	5
9	9	6
10	10	7
11	11	8
12	12	9
13	13	10
14	14	11
15	15	12
16	16	13
17	17	14
18	18	15
19	19	16
20	20	17
21	21	18
22	22	19
23	23	20
24	24	21
25	25	22
26	26	23
27	27	24
28	28	1
29	29	2
30	30	3
31	31	4
32	32	5
33	33	6
34	34	7
35	35	8
36	36	9
37	37	10
38	38	11
39	39	12
40	40	13
41	41	14
42	42	15
43	43	16
44	44	17
45	45	18
46	46	19
47	47	20
48	48	21
49	49	22
50	50	23
51	51	24
52	52
53	53	STATE OF OKLAHOMA
54	54
55	55	1st Session of the 58th Legislature (2021)
56	56
57	57	SENATE BILL 655 By: Thompson
58	58
59	59
60	60
61	61
62	62
63	63	AS INTRODUCED
64	64
65	65	An Act relating to workers’ compensation; amending 85
66	66	O.S. 2011, Section 380, as ame nded by Section 45,
67	67	Chapter 254, O.S.L. 2013 (85 O. S. Supp. 2020, Section
68	68	380), which relates to Volunteer Firefighters Group
69	69	Insurance Pool; modifying entity to administ er
70	70	certain insurance pool; conforming languag e; amending
71	71	Section 13, Chapter 208, O.S.L. 2013 (85A O.S. Supp.
72	72	2020, Section 13), which re lates to mental injury or
73	73	illness; adding exception to physical injury
74	74	limitation on compensable injury; requiring employer
75	75	to provide medical treatment under certa in
76	76	circumstances; placing a limitation on employer
77	77	responsibility for certain medication; re quiring
78	78	certain compensation; requiring ma intenance of health
79	79	insurance coverage under certain circumstances;
80	80	defining terms; updating statutory references; and
81	81	providing an effective date.
82	82
83	83
84	84
85	85
86	86
87	87	BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
88	88	SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 85 O.S. 2011, Section 380, as
89	89	amended by Section 45, Chapter 254, O.S.L. 2013 (85 O.S. Supp. 2020,
90	90	Section 380), is ame nded to read as follows:
91	91	Section 380. A. 1. Volunteer fire departments organized
92	92	pursuant to state law may obtain workers ’ compensation insurance for
93	93	volunteer firefighters through the Volunteer Firefighter Grou p
94	94
95	95
96	96	Req. No. 1100 Page 2 1
97	97	2
98	98	3
99	99	4
100	100	5
101	101	6
102	102	7
103	103	8
104	104	9
105	105	10
106	106	11
107	107	12
108	108	13
109	109	14
110	110	15
111	111	16
112	112	17
113	113	18
114	114	19
115	115	20
116	116	21
117	117	22
118	118	23
119	119	24
120	120	1
121	121	2
122	122	3
123	123	4
124	124	5
125	125	6
126	126	7
127	127	8
128	128	9
129	129	10
130	130	11
131	131	12
132	132	13
133	133	14
134	134	15
135	135	16
136	136	17
137	137	18
138	138	19
139	139	20
140	140	21
141	141	22
142	142	23
143	143	24
144	144
145	145	Insurance Pool pursuant to requirements establish ed by CompSource
146	146	Mutual Insurance Company the Office of Management and Enterpri se
147	147	Services (OMES) which shall administer the Pool. For the premium
148	148	set by CompSource Mutual Insurance Company OMES, the state shall
149	149	provide Fifty-five Dollars ($55.00) per f irefighter per year.
150	150	Except as otherwise provided by subsection D of this sectio n, the
151	151	total amount paid by the state shall not exceed Three Hundred Twenty
152	152	Thousand Three Hundred Thirty-eight Dollars ($320,338.00) per year
153	153	or so much thereof as may be nec essary to fund the Volunteer
154	154	Firefighter Group Insurance Pool.
155	155	2. CompSource Mutual Insurance Company OMES shall collect the
156	156	premium from state agencies, public trust s and other
157	157	instrumentalities of the state. Any funds received by CompSource
158	158	Mutual Insurance Company OMES from any state agency, public trust,
159	159	or other instrumentality for purposes of workers ’ compensation
160	160	insurance pursuant to this section shall be depo sited to the credit
161	161	of the Volunteer Firefighter Group Insurance Pool. CompSource
162	162	Mutual Insurance Company OMES shall collect premiums, pay claims,
163	163	and provide for exces s insurance as needed.
164	164	B. CompSource Mutual Insurance Company OMES shall report,
165	165	annually, to the Governor, the Speaker of the Oklahoma House of
166	166	Representatives, and the Pres ident Pro Tempore of the Sta te Senate
167	167	the number of enrollees in the Volunteer Fi refighter Group Insurance
168	168	Pool, and the amount of any anticipated surplus or deficienc y of the
169	169
170	170
171	171	Req. No. 1100 Page 3 1
172	172	2
173	173	3
174	174	4
175	175	5
176	176	6
177	177	7
178	178	8
179	179	9
180	180	10
181	181	11
182	182	12
183	183	13
184	184	14
185	185	15
186	186	16
187	187	17
188	188	18
189	189	19
190	190	20
191	191	21
192	192	22
193	193	23
194	194	24
195	195	1
196	196	2
197	197	3
198	198	4
199	199	5
200	200	6
201	201	7
202	202	8
203	203	9
204	204	10
205	205	11
206	206	12
207	207	13
208	208	14
209	209	15
210	210	16
211	211	17
212	212	18
213	213	19
214	214	20
215	215	21
216	216	22
217	217	23
218	218	24
219	219
220	220	Pool; and shall also provide to the Governor, the Speaker of the
221	221	Oklahoma House of Representatives and the P resident Pro Tempore of
222	222	the State Senate sixty (60) d ays advance notice of any proposed
223	223	change in rates for the Volunteer Firefighter Group Insurance Pool.
224	224	C. The amount of claims paid, claim expenses, underwriting
225	225	losses, loss ratio, or any other financi al aspect of the Volunteer
226	226	Firefighter Group Insuranc e Pool shall not be considered when
227	227	determining or considering bids for the amount of any premiums,
228	228	rates, or expenses owed by, or any discounts, rebates, dividends , or
229	229	other financial benefits owed to a ny other policyholder of
230	230	CompSource Mutual Insurance Company OMES.
231	231	D. Except as otherwise provided by law, any increase in the
232	232	state payment rate for volunteer firefighters under the Volunteer
233	233	Firefighter Group Insurance Pool s hall not exceed five percent (5%)
234	234	per annum. Any proposed change in rates for th e Volunteer
235	235	Firefighter Group Insurance Pool must be approved by the Board of
236	236	Directors of CompSource Mutual Insurance Company OMES with notice
237	237	provided pursuant to subsection B of this section. CompSource
238	238	Mutual Insurance Company OMES shall not increase premiums for the
239	239	Volunteer Firefighter Group Insurance Pool more than once per annum.
240	240	E. For purposes of this section, the term “volunteer fire
241	241	departments” includes those volunteer fire departments whi ch have
242	242	authorized voluntary or uncompensated workers rendering services as
243	243	firefighters and are created by statute pursuant to Section 592 of
244	244
245	245
246	246	Req. No. 1100 Page 4 1
247	247	2
248	248	3
249	249	4
250	250	5
251	251	6
252	252	7
253	253	8
254	254	9
255	255	10
256	256	11
257	257	12
258	258	13
259	259	14
260	260	15
261	261	16
262	262	17
263	263	18
264	264	19
265	265	20
266	266	21
267	267	22
268	268	23
269	269	24
270	270	1
271	271	2
272	272	3
273	273	4
274	274	5
275	275	6
276	276	7
277	277	8
278	278	9
279	279	10
280	280	11
281	281	12
282	282	13
283	283	14
284	284	15
285	285	16
286	286	17
287	287	18
288	288	19
289	289	20
290	290	21
291	291	22
292	292	23
293	293	24
294	294
295	295	Title 18 of the Oklahoma Statutes, Sections 29 -201 through 29-204 of
296	296	Title 11 of the Oklahoma Statutes, and those defined by Section 351
297	297	of Title 19 of the Oklahoma S tatutes.
298	298	SECTION 2. AMENDATORY Section 13, Chapter 208, O.S.L.
299	299	2013 (85A O.S. Supp. 2020, Section 13), is amended to read as
300	300	follows:
301	301	Section 13. A. 1. A mental injury or illness is not a
302	302	compensable injury unless caused by a phy sical injury to the
303	303	employee, and shall not be considered an injury arising out of and
304	304	in the course and scope of employment or compensable unless
305	305	demonstrated by a preponderance of the evidence; provided, however,
306	306	that this physical injury limitation shal l not apply to any victim
307	307	of a crime of violence or to a first responder who suffers post-
308	308	traumatic stress disorder after responding to a n emergency.
309	309	2. No mental injury or illness under this section sh all be
310	310	compensable unless it is also diagnosed by a l icensed psychiatrist
311	311	or psychologist and unless the diagnosis of the condit ion meets the
312	312	criteria established in the most current issue Fourth Edition of the
313	313	Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental D isorders.
314	314	B. 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of this act the
315	315	Administrative Workers ’ Compensation Act, where a claim is for
316	316	mental injury or illness, the employee shall be limited to twenty -
317	317	six (26) weeks of disability benefits unless it is shown by clear
318	318
319	319
320	320	Req. No. 1100 Page 5 1
321	321	2
322	322	3
323	323	4
324	324	5
325	325	6
326	326	7
327	327	8
328	328	9
329	329	10
330	330	11
331	331	12
332	332	13
333	333	14
334	334	15
335	335	16
336	336	17
337	337	18
338	338	19
339	339	20
340	340	21
341	341	22
342	342	23
343	343	24
344	344	1
345	345	2
346	346	3
347	347	4
348	348	5
349	349	6
350	350	7
351	351	8
352	352	9
353	353	10
354	354	11
355	355	12
356	356	13
357	357	14
358	358	15
359	359	16
360	360	17
361	361	18
362	362	19
363	363	20
364	364	21
365	365	22
366	366	23
367	367	24
368	368
369	369	and convincing evidence that benefits should continue for a set
370	370	period of time, not to exceed a total of fifty -two (52) weeks.
371	371	2. a. In cases where death results directly from the mental
372	372	injury or illness within a period of one (1) year,
373	373	compensation shall be paid the depe ndents as provided
374	374	in other death cases under this act the Administrative
375	375	Workers’ Compensation Act.
376	376	b. Death directly or indirectly related to the mental
377	377	injury or illness occurring one (1) year or more from
378	378	the incident resultin g in the mental injury or illness
379	379	shall not be a compensable injury.
380	380	C. 1. In the event the Workers’ Compensation Commission
381	381	determines that a first responder has suffered post -traumatic stress
382	382	disorder not accompanied by a physical injury, the employer shall
383	383	provide reasonable and necessary medical treatment for such injury
384	384	subject to the Fee Schedule for workers ’ compensation for a period
385	385	not to exceed one (1) year. The employer shall not be responsible
386	386	for medical treatment in the form o f prescription medication in
387	387	excess of Ten Thousand Do llars ($10,000.00).
388	388	2. If the treating physician determines that the firs t
389	389	responder is temporarily una ble to perform his or her job or any
390	390	alternative work offered by the employer, he or she shall be
391	391	entitled to receive compensation which is the greater of:
392	392
393	393
394	394	Req. No. 1100 Page 6 1
395	395	2
396	396	3
397	397	4
398	398	5
399	399	6
400	400	7
401	401	8
402	402	9
403	403	10
404	404	11
405	405	12
406	406	13
407	407	14
408	408	15
409	409	16
410	410	17
411	411	18
412	412	19
413	413	20
414	414	21
415	415	22
416	416	23
417	417	24
418	418	1
419	419	2
420	420	3
421	421	4
422	422	5
423	423	6
424	424	7
425	425	8
426	426	9
427	427	10
428	428	11
429	429	12
430	430	13
431	431	14
432	432	15
433	433	16
434	434	17
435	435	18
436	436	19
437	437	20
438	438	21
439	439	22
440	440	23
441	441	24
442	442
443	443	a. the weekly benefit provided for in a collective
444	444	bargaining agreement or according to the pol icy of the
445	445	employer, or
446	446	b. seventy percent (70%) of the injured employee ’s
447	447	average weekly wage not to exceed the stat e average
448	448	weekly wage.
449	449	In no event shall disability b enefits extend beyond fifty -two
450	450	(52) weeks.
451	451	3. During any period in which a first responder is temporarily
452	452	unable to perform his or her job, the employer shall pay to maintain
453	453	health insurance coverage for the first responder if the insurance
454	454	was in effect on the date of the injury.
455	455	D. 1. For the purposes of this section:
456	456	a. “First responder” means a firefighter, law enforcement
457	457	officer or licensed emergency medical personnel
458	458	employed on a full-time basis by this state or a
459	459	political subdivision of this state, or a volunteer
460	460	firefighter,
461	461	b. “Law enforcement officer” means any officer, agent or
462	462	employee of this state or a political subdivision of
463	463	this state authorized by law or by a government agency
464	464	to engage in or supervise the prevention, detection or
465	465	investigation of any violation of criminal law ,
466	466
467	467
468	468	Req. No. 1100 Page 7 1
469	469	2
470	470	3
471	471	4
472	472	5
473	473	6
474	474	7
475	475	8
476	476	9
477	477	10
478	478	11
479	479	12
480	480	13
481	481	14
482	482	15
483	483	16
484	484	17
485	485	18
486	486	19
487	487	20
488	488	21
489	489	22
490	490	23
491	491	24
492	492	1
493	493	2
494	494	3
495	495	4
496	496	5
497	497	6
498	498	7
499	499	8
500	500	9
501	501	10
502	502	11
503	503	12
504	504	13
505	505	14
506	506	15
507	507	16
508	508	17
509	509	18
510	510	19
511	511	20
512	512	21
513	513	22
514	514	23
515	515	24
516	516
517	517	c. “Licensed emergency medical personnel” means an
518	518	emergency medical technician (EMT), an intermediate
519	519	emergency medical technician (IEMT), an advanced
520	520	emergency medical technician (AEMT) or a paramedic
521	521	licensed by the State Department of Health to perform
522	522	emergency medical ser vices in accordance with the
523	523	Oklahoma Emergency Response Systems Development Act
524	524	and the rules and standards promulgated by the State
525	525	Commissioner of Health ,
526	526	d. “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder” means an injury or
527	527	condition in which a first responder has been exposed
528	528	to a traumatic event and:
529	529	(1) has experienced, witnessed or was confronted with
530	530	an event that involved actual or threatene d death
531	531	or serious injury, or a threat to the physical
532	532	integrity of others, and the response involved
533	533	fear, helplessness or horror,
534	534	(2) the traumatic event is persistently reexperienced
535	535	in one or more of the following :
536	536	(a) recurrent and intrusive distress ing
537	537	recollections of the event ,
538	538	(b) recurrent distressing dreams,
539	539	(c) acting or feeling as if the traumatic event
540	540	were recurring,
541	541
542	542
543	543	Req. No. 1100 Page 8 1
544	544	2
545	545	3
546	546	4
547	547	5
548	548	6
549	549	7
550	550	8
551	551	9
552	552	10
553	553	11
554	554	12
555	555	13
556	556	14
557	557	15
558	558	16
559	559	17
560	560	18
561	561	19
562	562	20
563	563	21
564	564	22
565	565	23
566	566	24
567	567	1
568	568	2
569	569	3
570	570	4
571	571	5
572	572	6
573	573	7
574	574	8
575	575	9
576	576	10
577	577	11
578	578	12
579	579	13
580	580	14
581	581	15
582	582	16
583	583	17
584	584	18
585	585	19
586	586	20
587	587	21
588	588	22
589	589	23
590	590	24
591	591
592	592	(d) intense psychological distress at exposure
593	593	to cues that symbolize an aspect of the
594	594	traumatic event, or
595	595	(e) physiological reactivity on exposure to cues
596	596	that symbolize an aspect of the traumatic
597	597	event,
598	598	(3) experiences persistent avoidance of sti muli
599	599	associated with the trauma and numbing of general
600	600	responsiveness such as efforts to avoid thoughts,
601	601	feelings or conversations asso ciated with the
602	602	trauma, markedly diminished interest o r
603	603	participation in significant activities or a
604	604	feeling of detachment or estrangement from
605	605	others,
606	606	(4) experiences persistent symptoms of increased
607	607	arousal such as difficulty falling or staying
608	608	asleep, irritability or outbursts of anger,
609	609	difficulty concentrating or hypervigilance,
610	610	(5) the duration of the disturbance is more than one
611	611	month, and
612	612	(6) the disturbance causes clinically significant
613	613	distress or impairment in social, occupational
614	614	and other important areas of functioning , and
615	615
616	616
617	617	Req. No. 1100 Page 9 1
618	618	2
619	619	3
620	620	4
621	621	5
622	622	6
623	623	7
624	624	8
625	625	9
626	626	10
627	627	11
628	628	12
629	629	13
630	630	14
631	631	15
632	632	16
633	633	17
634	634	18
635	635	19
636	636	20
637	637	21
638	638	22
639	639	23
640	640	24
641	641	1
642	642	2
643	643	3
644	644	4
645	645	5
646	646	6
647	647	7
648	648	8
649	649	9
650	650	10
651	651	11
652	652	12
653	653	13
654	654	14
655	655	15
656	656	16
657	657	17
658	658	18
659	659	19
660	660	20
661	661	21
662	662	22
663	663	23
664	664	24
665	665
666	666	e. “Volunteer firefighte r” means a person who is enrolled
667	667	as a member of a fire depar tment with two or less
668	668	salaried firefighters and who serves withou t receiving
669	669	a regular salary.
670	670	SECTION 3. This act shall become effective November 1, 20 21.
671	671
672	672	58-1-1100 TEK 1/21/2021 10:13:51 AM

Oklahoma 2022 Regular Session

Oklahoma Senate Bill SB655 Compare Versions