Legislation that would revive Missouri's ailing Second Injury Fund and seek to reduce the number of occupational disease lawsuits was passed Thursday by the . It had already passed the during pre-dawn hours on Wednesday.
would temporarily double the surcharge businesses pay into the Second Injury Fund in order to deal with a backlog of more than a thousand cases. It would also place occupational disease claims in Missouri within the workers' compensation system and provides enhanced payments for those suffering from cancer and other diseases caused by toxic exposure. (R, Poplar Bluff) handled the bill in the House.
"This is not a perfect piece of legislation, but it's something that it was critically important for the state to get done and take a step forward in this direction," Richardson said. "I don't think anybody is under the delusion that this is the last workers' compensation bill we're gonna have."
House Democrats were split, with about half voting "yes" with the Republicans. (D, St. Louis) used his Twitter account to blast the workers' comp portion, saying that it places a price on human life. However, two high-profile Democrats, and , are praising the bill's passage. It now goes to (D), who's expected to sign it into law.
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