HF 976

as introduced - 81st Legislature (1999 - 2000) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to wages; requiring that the commissioner of 
  1.3             labor and industry cooperate with data service 
  1.4             organizations in determining prevailing wages; 
  1.5             amending Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 79.61, 
  1.6             subdivision 1; proposing coding for new law in 
  1.7             Minnesota Statutes, chapter 177. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 79.61, 
  1.10  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.11     Subdivision 1.  [REQUIRED ACTIVITY.] Any data service 
  1.12  organization shall perform the following activities:  
  1.13     (a) File statistical plans, including classification 
  1.14  definitions, amendments to the plans, and definitions, with the 
  1.15  commissioner for approval, and assign each compensation risk 
  1.16  written by its members to its approved classification for 
  1.17  reporting purposes; 
  1.18     (b) Establish requirements for data reporting and 
  1.19  monitoring methods to maintain a high quality database; 
  1.20     (c) Prepare and distribute a periodic report, in a form 
  1.21  prescribed by the commissioner, on ratemaking including, but not 
  1.22  limited to the following elements:  
  1.23     (i) development factors and alternative derivations; 
  1.24     (ii) trend factors and alternative derivations and 
  1.25  applications; 
  1.26     (iii) pure premium relativities for the approved 
  2.1   classification system for which data are reported, provided that 
  2.2   the relativities for insureds engaged in similar occupations and 
  2.3   presenting substantially similar risks shall, if different, 
  2.4   differ by at least ten percent; and 
  2.5      (iv) an evaluation of the effects of changes in law on loss 
  2.6   data.  
  2.7      The report shall also include explicit discussion and 
  2.8   explanation of methodology, alternatives examined, assumptions 
  2.9   adopted, and areas of judgment and reasoning supporting 
  2.10  judgments entered into, and the effect of various combinations 
  2.11  of these elements on indications for modification of an overall 
  2.12  pure premium rate level change.  The pure premium relativities 
  2.13  and rate level indications shall not include a loading for 
  2.14  expenses or profit and no expense or profit data or 
  2.15  recommendations relating to expense or profit shall be included 
  2.16  in the report or collected by a data service organization; 
  2.17     (d) Collect, compile, summarize, and distribute data from 
  2.18  members or other sources pursuant to a statistical plan approved 
  2.19  by the commissioner; 
  2.20     (e) Prepare merit rating plan and calculate any variable 
  2.21  factors necessary for utilization of the plan.  Such a plan may 
  2.22  be used by any of its members, at the option of the member 
  2.23  provided that the application of a plan shall not result in 
  2.24  rates that are unfairly discriminatory; 
  2.25     (f) Provide loss data specific to an insured to the insured 
  2.26  at a reasonable cost; 
  2.27     (g) Distribute information to an insured or interested 
  2.28  party that is filed with the commissioner and is open to public 
  2.29  inspection; and 
  2.30     (h) Assess its members for operating expenses on a fair and 
  2.31  equitable basis; and 
  2.32     (i) Provide information to the commissioner of labor and 
  2.33  industry as requested under section 177.431. 
  2.34     Sec. 2.  [177.431] [DATA SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS.] 
  2.35     Before a wage determination is issued for any occupation in 
  2.36  any county, the commissioner shall request from data service 
  3.1   organizations licensed under section 79.62 any payroll data that 
  3.2   relates to that occupation and county and has been collected in 
  3.3   the most recent completed calendar year.  The commissioner shall 
  3.4   consider this data in determining prevailing wages pursuant to 
  3.5   section 177.43, subdivision 4.