Lawmakers Hear Testimony on Proposal to Eliminate Appeals Commission

Supporters of a proposal to eliminate Alaska’s Workers’ Compensation Appeals Commission told lawmakers that the costs of maintaining the panel don’t justify the results it produces. The commission was created in 2005 in an effort to keep appeals of Workers’ Compensation Board decisions out of the state’s court system. Before the commission was created, board decisions were appealed to the Superior Court. Now, board decisions are appealed to the commission, and its decisions are appealed to the state Supreme Court. Sen. Bill Wielechowski, D-Anchorage, told me...