Lawmaker Aims to Shield Guaranty Fund From Constitutional Sweeps

The Alaska Workers’ Compensation Benefits Guaranty Fund would be protected against raids to replenish a constitutional reserve account, under a bill moving through the Legislature. Senate Bill 183, sponsored by the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee, would eliminate language establishing the guaranty fund as part of the state’s general fund and instead establish it as separate in the state treasury. The Workers’ Compensation Benefits Guaranty Fund was created in 2005 to pay benefits to injured workers whose employer was uninsured. The fund is financed by civil penalties a...