By Marshall Griffin, KWMU
Jefferson City, MO – The Missouri House voted down a bill Thursday that would have reduced payouts to workers from the financially-troubled Second Injury Fund.
The bill would have lowered the cap on one-time lump sum settlements for eligible injured workers from $60,000 to $40,000.
State Representative Tim Jones (R, Eureka) says the bill was needed to save the Second Injury Fund from insolvency.
"I don't know that there will be enough votes to even reconsider the issue, which is really sad because the State Auditor has released a report where she has stated that she believes the fund will become insolvent in about 18 months," Jones said.
Jones says it could also happen as early as one year from now.
The bill's opponents say other means of shoring up the fund need to be found.
State Representative and Attorney General Candidate Jeff Harris (D, Columbia) voted against the bill.
"Persons have to be made whole, persons who have legitimate claims need to be compensated, and the arbitrary and exceedingly low caps that the bill had tried to impose...were really unfair and harmful to workers," Harris said.
The Second Injury Fund provides payments to workers who return to the workforce after being injured on the job, then are injured on the job again.
But two separate audits have concluded that the fund will become insolvent sometime in mid to late 2009.