HBA-ATS H.B. 3493 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3493 By: Dunnam Business & Industry 3/26/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The Labor Code provides a formal dispute resolution process to resolve benefit-related disagreements between injured employees and their employer's workers' compensation insurance carrier. A contested case hearing is a part of that process. The hearing is conducted by an employee of the Texas Workers' Compensation Commission (commission). During the contested case hearing, each party presents its side of the dispute and may question witnesses and introduce evidence to support its case. After examining the evidence and testimony, if any, the hearing officer issues a decision on the dispute. If either party disagrees with the hearing officer's decision, the decision may be appealed to the commissions' Appeals Panel (panel) within 15 days after the decision of the hearing officer is handed down. The panel reviews the decision and the record from the contested case hearing. The panel issues its decision, either upholding the hearing officer's decision, overturning the decision and rendering its judgment, or ordering that a second contested case hearing be held on the dispute. A party who is aggrieved by a final decision of the panel may seek judicial review not later than the 40th day after the date on which the decision of the appeals panel was filed with the commission's division of hearings. A party who sues must simultaneously file a copy of the petition with the court and the commission and serve it on any opposing party. If the party does not know the true name of the opposing party (usually it is an employee who does not know an insurer's true name because a different one may have been used throughout the dispute resolution process), it may not be possible to serve that party within 40 days. H.B. 3493 requires that each final decision of the appeals panel hearing a workers' compensation claim conclude with a separate paragraph that states: "The true corporate name of the insurance carrier is (NAME IN BOLD PRINT) and the name and address of its registered agent for service of process is (NAME AND ADDRESS IN BOLD PRINT)." RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Section 410.204, Labor Code, by adding Subsection (d), as follows: (d) Requires that each final decision of the appeals panel hearing a workers' compensation claim conclude with a separate paragraph that states: "The true corporate name of the insurance carrier is (NAME IN BOLD PRINT) and the name and address of its registered agent for service of process is (NAME AND ADDRESS IN BOLD PRINT)." SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 1999. Makes application of this Act prospective. SECTION 3. Emergency clause.