Oklahoma House OKs Bill on Workers’ Comp Jurisdiction

The Oklahoma House has approved a bill that says judges in an administrative workers’ compensation system would have jurisdiction in workers’ compensation lawsuits against Oklahoma towns, counties and education boards.

The House voted 77-19 Monday and sent the bill to Gov. Mary Fallin for her signature or veto.

The bill is a companion to a much larger bill by legislative Republicans to overhaul the state’s workers’ compensation system, which is currently run as a group of courts. The proposal has been mired in amendments and rewrites as Republican leaders hash out details. It would generally replace the judiciary with an administrative system.

Republican Rep. Mike Reynolds questioned why the House would vote on the smaller companion bill before the larger proposal has been approved or even fully written.