HBA-ATS H.B. 3497 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3497 By: Dunnam Business & Industry 3/27/1999 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 appellant is required to file a written request for an appeal with the panel and serve a copy of the request for appeal on the other party within that time. The respondent is then required to file a written response with the appeals panel within 15 days after the copy of the request for appeal is served and serve a copy of the response on the appellant on the same day the respondent files the response. H.B. 3497 specifies that Saturdays, Sundays, and state-recognized national, state, and optional holidays are not included in a computation of the respective 15-day periods during which an appellant's request for an appeal of a hearing officer's decision or a respondent's written response to the appeals panel must be filed. This bill also authorizes the Texas Workers' Compensation Commission to provide, by rule, for an extension of time for filing a request for an appeal or a response if good cause is shown by the party seeking the extension. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking authority is expressly delegated to the Texas Workers' Compensation Commission in SECTION 1 (Section 410.202, Labor Code) of this bill. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Section 410.202, Labor Code, by adding Subsections (d) and (e), as follows: (d) Specifies that Saturdays, Sundays, and state-recognized national, state, and optional holidays are not included in a computation of the time in which a request for an appeal of a hearing officer's decision under Subsection (a) or a written response to the appeals panel under Subsection (b) must be filed. (e) Authorizes the Texas Workers' Compensation Commission to provide, by rule, for an extension of time for filing a request for an appeal under Subsection (a) or a response under Subsection (b) if good cause is shown by the party seeking the extension. SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 1999. Makes application of this Act prospective. SECTION 3. Emergency clause.