WILMINGTON, Del.– Lieutenant Governor Matt Denn, chair of the state’s newly-formed IEP Improvement Task Force, announced today that the task force membership was near completion and that the state is seeking three more parents to serve on the task force.

The task force was created by the General Assembly (Senate Concurrent Resolution 63) at the end of June to make recommendations to improve the process by which the state creates Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) for students with disabilities. Lieutenant Governor Denn, who has authored legislation in prior years to address deficiencies in the IEP process, was appointed by Senate President Pro Tem Patricia Blevins to chair the task force.

The task force already has three parents with students on IEPs as members, all of whom were appointed by the Governor’s Advisory Council on Exceptional Citizens (the state council that represents the interests of children with disabilities in schools). However, the resolution creating the task force allows for three additional parents to be appointed to the task force. Those parents will be appointed by the four state legislators who are task force members.

Parents of students who are currently on IEPs – or parents of individuals who were on IEPs in the past – who are interested in serving on this task force can contact Michele Rush at the Department of Education at 302-735-4210 or michele.rush@doe.k12.de.us by Friday, August 1, 2014. The Department of Education will communicate the names of interested parents to the four legislators, who will in turn pick the three parent members.

The task force will meet once or twice a month beginning in August for a report that is due to Governor Markell and the General Assembly by January 1, 2015. Meetings will alternate between Dover and Wilmington with videoconferencing available at both sites. All meetings will be open to the public; audio and materials from all meetings will be posted on the Lt. Governor’s website.

Dover, DE – On Thursday, May 15, 2014 at 1:00pm, Lt. Governor Matt Denn will host a press conference to present the Workers’ Compensation Task Force Report to the Governor and the General Assembly, submitted pursuant to House Bill 175, 147th General Assembly. He will be joined by members of the Task Force – including Senators Blevins and Hocker, Representatives Briggs-King and B. Short – and the Governor, who will all make remarks, along with Rich Heffron of the State Chamber and others.

BACKGROUND – Created by House Joint Resolution 3, the task force was established on January 30, 2013 by the General Assembly and Governor to address the 34% increase in average workers compensation rates over the prior two years. Those rate increases increased costs for Delaware businesses and made it harder for them to compete for bids with businesses from neighboring states. On May 13, 2013, the task force made their first set of recommendations to Governor Markell and the General Assembly to stop the large workers’ compensation rate increases that burden Delaware businesses. The General Assembly accepted the recommendations unanimously, including keeping the task force in existence through June 30, 2014, both so that it could consider some issues that it did not have time to discuss during the short time that it had to make recommendations, and so that it could monitor the impact of its recommendations and suggest stricter measures with respect to medical costs if necessary.

The task force stated in the 2013 report that if the reforms recommended in that report were not successful in controlling workers compensation premium increases, then the task force would recommend stricter measures to control premiums. The task force believes that the 11.4% to 14% increase in rates resulting from the last filing was an unacceptable result, and that rates need to be reduced.

The report to be issued on Thursday offers those stricter measures.

Thursday, May 15, 2014
1:00pm
Tatnall Building (next to Legislative Hall)
3rd Floor – Governor’s Press Room
150 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. South
Dover, DE 19901

Lt. Governor Denn to Head Effort, First Meeting Scheduled for February 8

DOVER – Governor Jack Markell announced this week that he has asked Lieutenant Governor Matt Denn to head the state’s new Workers’ Compensation Task Force created by HJR3, established by the General Assembly and Governor to address the 26% increase in average workers compensation rates over the last two years.

The Governor and General Assembly have also appointed a number of other task force members.  In all, 20 persons will serve on the task force.

Lieutenant Governor Denn, who worked with the General Assembly in 2006 and 2007 to enact workers compensation reforms that cut rates by over 40%, expressed confidence that the task force would be able to make recommendations that would stem the recent increase in rates.  “We know this problem can be addressed because we did it six years ago,” Denn said.  “The reforms we enacted worked.  We need to find out what changed during the last two years and fix it.”

Denn said that the task force would hold its first meeting at 9:00 a.m. on February 8, 2013, and that meetings would continue through early May.  All of the meetings will be open to the public, provide an opportunity for public comment, and will be audio-recorded and posted on the Lieutenant Governor’s website.  Additionally, all documents reviewed by the task force will be posted on the Lieutenant Governor’s website.

“As the state’s Insurance Commissioner, Lt. Governor Denn played an integral role in drafting the 2007 update of Delaware’s workers’ compensation statute,” said Rich Heffron, Interim President and Sr. Vice President Government Affairs for the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce.  “His experience and expertise will serve him well as the Chair of the Workers Compensation Task Force. I look forward to working with him and the other members of the task force.”

Lt. Governor Denn is looking forward to working with all members of the task force including the 4 representatives of the General Assembly appointed to serve.

“We all know that workers’ compensation rates play an important part in Delaware’s ability to keep jobs and compete for new ones,” said Senate President Pro Tem Patricia Blevins (D-Elsmere).  “It’s important to Delaware’s competitive position to take a hard look at how these rates are set and see what we can do lower them.”

“I am happy to serve as a member of the Workers’ Compensation Task Force. Being an independent businessman for more than 40 years, I know that workers’ compensation is one of our most costly expenses,” said Sen. Gerald Hocker (R-Ocean View). “I would like to see lower rates and it is my hope we can find a solution that is business-friendly.”

Rep. Bryon Short, who sponsored the resolution creating the task force, said he hopes to build upon a similar workers’ compensation task force that succeeded in updating state law in 2007.  “The 2007 workers’ compensation review and changes have resulted in benefits for Delaware’s small business community while ensuring that employees continue to receive the coverage they need to recover from workplace injuries,” said Rep. Short (D-Highland Woods). “As co-chair of the House Small Business Caucus and a small business owner, I have been following the significant workers’ compensation rate increases – nearly 26 percent – over the last two years. I believe this is a critical time to reconstitute the task force to assess what was done right and where we can further improve Delaware’s worker’s compensation system.”

State Representative Ruth Briggs King (R-Georgetown) stated, “I am looking forward to serving on this committee and addressing some of the significant concerns facing small business owners in Delaware as another increase in workers’ compensation premiums takes effect.  Over the last several years, our small business men and women in this state have continually been hit hard by a sluggish economy and the latest rate increase only compounds the problem.  It is my hope that this task force will offer real solutions when it comes to controlling workers’ comp costs for the many struggling small business owners in Delaware.”

Friday, February 8, 2013
9:00am – 10:00am

Carvel State Office Building
820 N. French St.
Governor’s Conference Room, 12th Floor
Wilmington, DE 19801