Ditchmen • NUCA of Florida Ditchmen • May 2017 | Page 17

In April and June of 2016,
the Florida Supreme Court
held unconstitutional
portions of the 2003
workers’ compensation law
which weakened legislative
reforms approved in 1994
and 2003. The ruling in
Castellanos v. Next Door
Company and Westphal
v. City of St. Petersburg
were released almost two
years after the Court first
heard oral arguments in
the cases. The decisions
struck down Florida laws
that restricted the fees for
claimants’ attorneys to a
statutory formula tied to
the benefits secured by
the claimant and limited
the recovery of benefits to
104 weeks for temporary
total disability, respectively.
As a result, the National
Council of Compensation
Insurers (NCCI) proposed
a workers’ compensation
rate increase of 19.6
percent. Ultimately, the
OIR approved a 14.5
percent increase effective
December 1, 2016. The
premium increase resulted
in the Senate and House
advancing competing
measures this session.
On the final day of session,
Sen. Bradley offered a
strike-all amendment to
the workers comp bill in
an effort to gain House
approval. That amendment
would have, among
other provisions, lowered
the cap on attorney’s
fees from $250 to $200.
However, Sen. Gary Farmer
(D-Fort Lauderdale), a
trial attorney, offered a
motion which led to the
Senate’s rejection of the
Bradley amendment. As
a result, the Senate sent
the original SB 1582 to the
House. The House rejected
that version and offered its
original proposal along with
an increased attorney fee
cap from $150 to $180. The
Senate did not accept the
offer, and the bill died at
the close of the session.
Workers’ Compensation
Public Records
Exemption: HB 1107 by
Albritton/(SB 1108 by
Perry)
This measure clarifies
that personal identifying
information of an injured
or deceased worker filed
with the Department of
Financial Services (DFS),
the Agency for Health
Care Administration
(AHCA) and the Division of
Administrative Hearings
(DOAH) is confidential
and exempt from the
public records mandates,
both constitutional and
statutory. Disclosure would
be allowed under the
following circumstances:
• To an injured employee
or the surviving spouse or
dependents of a deceased
employee;
• In an aggregate reporting
format, subject to content
and time limitations;
• To participants in workers’
compensation claims
litigation at DOAH;
• Pursuant to a court order
or subpoena;
• To an anti-fraud unit of an
insurer; or,
• To other agencies in
the furtherance of such
agency’s official duties and
responsibilities who must
maintain the confidentiality
of the information.
The exemption would
be repealed on October
2, 2022, unless the
Legislature acts to reinstate
it.
Homestead Tax
Exemption: HB 7105 by
LaRosa
A proposed constitutional
amendment increasing by
$25,000 for the non-school
homestead exemption for
properties worth between
$100,000 and $125,000
was approved in the final
week of session. The bill
was approved by the
House along party lines by
83 to 25; the Senate vote
was 28 to 10. If approved
by sixty percent of the
voters in the 2018 General
Election, the combined
tax exemption on these
properties would be
$75,000 beginning in 2019.
The measure was a priority
of Speaker Corcoran
MAY 2017 • DITCHMEN
17