Democrats criticize hiring of firm for House remap
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Democratic lawmakers are raising complaints about Republican House Speaker Jim Tucker's decision to hire a law firm with national GOP ties to submit the state House remap to federal officials.
The head of the House redistricting committee, Democratic Rep. Rick Gallot, said Friday the choice creates the appearance of impropriety because the firm had given the Republican delegation advice about redistricting.
The Senate is using its staff to do its redistricting submission.
Tucker has hired Washington, D.C.-based Holtzman Vogel PLLC to guide the redesign of the 105 House districts to the U.S. Justice Department for review under the Voting Rights Act.
Tucker says he chose a firm with the expertise needed for the complex legal work.
The managing partner of Holtzman Vogel is chief counsel to the Republican National Committee.
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Workers’ Compensation Subrogation of Administrative Fees and Costs
When a worker covered by workers’ compensation makes a claim against a third party, the workers’ compensation insurance retains the right to subrogate against any recovery from that third party for all benefits paid to or on behalf of a claimant injured at work. When subrogating for more than basic medical and indemnity benefits, the Texas workers’ compensation subrogation statute provides that “the net amount recovered by a claimant in a third‑party action shall be used to reimburse the carrier for benefits, including medical benefits that have been paid for the compensable injury.” TX Labor Code § 417.002.
In fact, all 50 states provide for similar subrogation. However, none of them precisely outlines which payments or costs paid by a compensation carrier constitute “compensation” and can be recovered. The result is industry-wide confusion and an ongoing debate and argument with claimants’ attorneys over what can and can’t be included in a carrier’s lien for recovery purposes.
In addition to medical expenses, death benefits, funeral costs and/or indemnity benefits for lost wages and loss of earning capacity resulting from a compensable injury, workers’ compensation insurance carriers also expend considerable dollars for case management costs, medical bill audit fees, rehabilitation benefits, nurse case worker fees, and other similar fees. They also incur other expenses in conjunction with the handling and adjusting of workers’ compensation claims. Workers’ compensation carriers typically assert, of course, that, they are entitled to reimbursement for such expenditures when it recovers its workers’ compensation lien. Injured workers and their attorneys disagree.