The Second Injury Fund was created shortly after World War II to help returning veterans wounded in combat find employment. Many had difficulty getting hired because their injury or disability posed a higher liability to businesses. The SIF was a way to protect those employers while still providing workers’ compensation coverage for previously disabled individuals. Today, the SIF has far outgrown its original intent.

In recent years, the funding mechanism for the SIF has become unsustainable, mainly due to the 2008 recession. The SIF is funded through a surcharge on workers’ compensation insurance premiums. When unemployment began to rise, workers’ compensation premiums fell, bringing in less and less revenue for the fund. It is now nearly insolvent.

On Thursday, we approved Senate Bill 1, which modifies the state’s SIF and workers’ compensation system. Under the bill, the surcharge rate that funds the SIF will increase by 1.5 percent for the latter half of 2013, and 3 percent for subsequent years. The bill also removes permanent partial disabilities from the system, which will eliminate 70 percent of the claims, among other provisions.

Unfortunately, it is likely that the surcharge rate for employers will increase if this measure is ultimately passed by the Legislature. I am not happy about this. In these economic times, the last thing businesses need is a higher financial burden from the state. However, the SIF shortfall had to be addressed this year. Waiting would have resulted in a far more harmful solution.

Sometimes, it is better to eat the costs now than wait until later, when they will be a lot harder to swallow. And, the backlogged claims against the SIF should be paid out completely by 2020, at which point rates can return to normal. Senate Bill 1 now goes to the House for consideration.

We also approved Senate Bill 17, which establishes the Career and Technical Education Advisory Council. The council will create a short- and long-range plan for career and technical education in the state and recommend legislative measures to improve the system. This bill will ensure the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education continues to focus on career education and provides ample funding for its promotion in the state.

I fully support higher education. Every child should have the opportunity to go to college if he or she so chooses. But in reality, not every student will be able to attend college, whether for academic, financial or personal reasons. For these students, vocational and technical training provides a path to a promising career. I supported this legislation when it was heard in the committee I chair, and I was pleased to see my colleagues in the Senate approve the measure.

Additionally, we passed Senate Bill 28 this week, which modifies who qualifies for unemployment benefits. The current standards for determining who is eligible are fairly lax. It is not at all uncommon for an employee fired for misconduct to be awarded unemployment benefits. This goes completely against why the system was created in the first place. These benefits are meant to provide temporary support to unemployed workers who lost their job through no fault of their own; they are not meant to be a government handout to a person who got fired from their job for negligence.

Senate Bill 28 ensures only those who are truly eligible for unemployment benefits receive them. This will go far in easing the stress on our unemployment system, which has been overwhelmed with claims since the 2008 downturn. This measure also now goes to the House for consideration.

If you have any questions or comments about this or any other matter regarding your state government, please feel free to contact me at (573) 751-1503; you are also welcome to e-mail me at jay.wasson@senate.mo.gov.