A fight is brewing in Sacramento over whether employer premiums for workers’ compensation coverage should climb by as much as 30 percent.

Last week, the state Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau, funded by workers’ compensation insurers, recommended a 30 percent increase in premiums paid by employers, effective Jan. 1.

The bureau cited 2009 data showing that insurers are paying out 16 percent more in claims and administrative expenses than they are taking in through premiums. That 116 percent ratio is the highest since 2002, the height of the last workers’ compensation insurance crisis.

It’s now up to state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner to issue his recommendation for workers’ compensation rates, which is due sometime in September.

In past years, Poizner and his staff at the Department of Insurance have come up with far smaller increases in workers’ compensation rates or have called for no raise at all.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last week sent a letter to Poizner urging him to reject the 30 percent recommended increase, saying it would undo the reforms Schwarzenegger helped pass in 2004.

“This possibility raises grave concerns about the impact an increase in premiums will have on businesses in California,” the governor said in the letter.

Under the state’s deregulated workers’ compensation insurance system, the insurance commissioner can recommend changes in premium levels, but insurers are free to charge whatever the market will bear, as long as their solvency is not threatened.

Hot Times

Employers in agriculture, construction, landscaping and other outdoor industries may soon have to take additional steps to keep their workers cool.

On Aug. 19, the California Occupational Safety & Health Standards Board is set to take up a set of amendments to regulations aimed at preventing heatstroke and other heat-related illnesses among outdoor workers. The amendments require employers to provide shade or other cooling measures for their workers whenever the outside temperature exceeds 85 degrees.

In Los Angeles County, these regulations will hit hardest in the construction and outdoor landscaping industries. In other parts of the state, particularly the Central Valley, the rules are aimed at farming enterprises.

The state board initially took up these amendments in June 2009 on an emergency basis at the request of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. That request came after state inspectors cited several companies for failing to provide enough shade for their outdoor workers. The emergency amendments required employers to provide shade breaks of at least five minutes for 25 percent of their workers at any point in time while the temperature is more than 85 degrees.

But after employers explained that providing shade for that many outdoor workers was not always practical, the board took a pass on the emergency amendments, kicking them back to the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Cal-OSHA has since resubmitted the amendments to the board. The biggest difference is that in cases where canopies, umbrellas or other shade devices are impractical, nonagricultural employers can take other measures to keep their outdoor workers cool. The amendments specifically mention use of portable misting fans.

For more information on the proposed heat illness prevention regulations, log on to the Department of Industrial Relations’ website at www.dir.ca.gov.

Development Targets

The California Air Resources Board last week released proposed greenhouse gas reduction guidelines that local planning agencies will have to use when considering proposed development projects.

The targets are required under SB 375, a law enacted two years ago to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from future development projects. The law is designed to encourage so-called “smart growth” developments that would be planned with mixed-use features that would allow residents to walk to shops or use mass transit.

The reduction targets the air board has proposed for the L.A. region are an 8 percent cut from current emission levels by 2020 and a 13 percent cut by 2035.

The air board is set to consider the proposed targets at its Sept. 23 meeting.

Fraud Alert

The Secretary of State’s Office is reporting an increase in fraudulent solicitations for fees by third-party vendors offering to file required documents, such as articles of incorporation and business registration forms.

These vendors, who often use official-looking letters saying failure to file these documents could result in hefty penalties, charge fees of up to $500 per document. But all the documents are available for free download on the secretary of state’s website and the filing fees typically range from $25 to $150.

The state Attorney General’s Office said it has received more than 10,000 complaints about these solicitations and that the trend has been increasing.

Last week, the state Senate passed a bill by Assemblyman Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, that toughens penalties for deceptive business practices in cases related to these documents.

Staff reporter Howard Fine can be reached at [email protected] or at (323) 549-5225, ext. 227.